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Mandy Noell

@mandynoell

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📍San Antonio
Enjoys long walks in the newsroom before sunset & meaningful conversation by studio 💡
@news4sa PM Anchor | Dogs | 🦃 VT Hokie | 🌎 Traveler

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I’ve spent most of my adult life in a profession that requires me to be visible.
Most of the people I meet because of that are wonderful. You tell me about your families. You stop me at the grocery store to talk about something we covered. You hug me, I hug you. That connection is one of the privileges of this job.
But visibility can create a strange sense of familiarity — and sometimes, entitlement.
Over the years, I’ve received comments about my body, my clothes, my hair, my weight and my appearance. I’ve gotten messages that were sexual, threatening and frightening. I’ve filed police reports. I’ve had strangers call the newsroom to tell me they were watching me. I have a massive box of letters I’ve kept because some crossed a line worth documenting.
And none of this is unique to me.
Ask almost any woman who works in a public-facing profession and she probably has her own version of this story. Frankly, ask a lot of women who don’t work in public and they’ll have one too.
The exchange in this post is comparatively minor. It didn’t ruin my day. It didn’t hurt my feelings. It made me laugh, but that doesn’t excuse the context. What interested me was how quickly a stranger went from complimenting me, to requesting something from me, to expecting a response from me — and then insulting me when I challenged that expectation.
That progression is the point.
Seeing someone does not mean you know them. Knowing someone’s work does not mean you know them. And someone being publicly accessible does not make them personally available.
No one is owed another person’s attention, response or access. And a boundary — spoken or unspoken — does not require justification.
I love what I have built for myself. I’m not interested in becoming less visible, less outspoken or less myself to make someone else more comfortable with my boundaries.
Visibility is not an invitation. Attention is not access. And boundaries do not require justification. by @mandynoell

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2 days ago

Texas wine country! by @mandynoell

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16 days ago

Somewhere in France, Martha—who carefully stitched her name into the bottom of this blouse—has no idea it eventually found its way into a vintage shop in Paris, crossed the Atlantic and appeared on the evening news in San Antonio, Texas.

Martha, wherever you are: your blouse has moved to America and landed a job in television.

She’s doing very well. 🧡 taken in News 4 San Antonio by @mandynoell

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a month ago

One more from Big Bend. taken in Big Bend National Park by @mandynoell

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a month ago

Somewhere between a hike and an incident report. I met a new friend named Rattles on Emory Peak.
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#bigbend #bigbendnp #hiking #climb #texas taken in Big Bend National Park by @mandynoell

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a month ago

Trails optional.
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#BigBend #Texas #bigbendnp #bigbendstatepark #bigbendtexas taken in Big Bend National Park by @mandynoell

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a month ago

Subbing in on a Saturday night and it’s the lady show 💡 🎥 🎤 taken in San Antonio, Texas by @mandynoell

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2 months ago

Can you two step to a saxophone? 🎷
It’s Texas, honey. Sure you can. taken in Jazz, TX by @mandynoell

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2 months ago

Scored ‘cool mom’ points with my girls today 💖

Thanks for having me @news4sa @mandynoell taken in San Antonio, Texas by @mandynoell

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2 months ago

Vino please 🍷 by @mandynoell

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2 months ago

Dreaming of sunset strolls somewhere by the Seine… taken in Paris, France by @mandynoell

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2 months ago

USA 🇺🇸
An American in Paris tests the bonds of international friendship. They are stronger than ever.
#ThatsMySock #USA #IndependenceDay taken in Paris, France by @mandynoell

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3 months ago