Most people tend to enjoy their Fridays, as it is generally considered a good day. Friday is the end of a long week, the beginning of a hopefully relaxing or fun weekend. Having said that, my Fridays tend to be very different, especially with a teenage girl at home.
I would have thought 'the girl child' would be happy to get home on a Friday afternoon because it means the end of the week. Instead, she got home, slammed the door and proclaimed, "I hate school and I never want to go back again!" After this great proclamation, she stormed off to her room then finally emerged with a reason. Apparently some girls at school are calling her names, such as, "bitch." She hates it so much she now wants me to take her out of her current school and enroll her in a new one. WHAT????
Now, I clearly remember being a teenage girl and hating it so much sometimes. I remember coming home, slamming doors, and making great proclamations myself. I don't think I ever recall asking to change schools though. I kept thinking to myself, what could possibly be so bad that my 'girl child' would want to change schools? So, I enquired further, why do you want to change schools? "Because I hate it there" was the reply. Fair enough, I think each of us at one point in our teenage lives had a moment of hatred for our school. So, trying to be understanding I told her that. Apparently this information was not good enough for her. School is apparently so much worse for her now than it ever was for me. So, I asked her to enlighten me. Teachers don't care, some students are idiots, and sometimes she said she "wishes she could just beat them up, but has a stupid little voice in her head telling her not to." After this revelation, I promptly informed her to continue to listen to that little voice.
So, I try to do the 'mom' thing and try to be understanding. I try to explain that no matter what school she will ever attend, she is going to encounter the same kind of crap. This information she doesn't believe. To try and convince her, I explained that I had been to many, many schools and at each and every one I encountered the same kind of people and same kind of crap.
As I sit here and write she is continuing to go on and on about a particular girl who is threating to hit her, calling her names, etc. There have been prior problems with this one particular girl before and it had been addressed with the school's principal, vice principal, and guidance counsellor. I asked her if she had gone back to the school officials to express her concerns? She, of course, said that she hadn't. "They aren't going to do anything, she'll stop and then it'll start again, I know it mom, it will." Keep in mind, she is yelling this information to me. I told her she needs to go to them on Monday, at which point, she yelled, "See, you don't care!" WHAT??? How is that not caring? I tried to explain to her that the last time this girl was spoken to, she was told that if she behaved in such a way again, she would be punished for it. So I told my 'girl child' that if she goes to complain, the other girl will suffer the consequences. "Whatever! You don't understand!"
I'm so confused.
This is just a taste of her homecoming this evening. I'm sitting here trying to remember if I was ever that way when I was her age? I can't think that I was, but then again, I am not my father, who may have a completely different perspective than I do. Maybe I was that 'nutty'. I remember having terrible moments of feeling like the world was out to get me, and making great proclamations, but I don't ever recall that I was so overly dramatic. Holy cow, the dramatics! I don't know if I ever acted the way 'the girl child' has this evening.
When we are adults, I believe we tend to view our actions when we were teenagers very differently than perhaps a parental figure did. So, maybe I was that 'nutty"!
When people ask me if I would ever like to be a teenager again, I always reply, "Hell NO!" This is partly why.
I cannot wait until she grows up and all the dramatics end. I also pray to God that 'the boy child' will not be as dramatic. Although, I have a sneaking suspicion this is purely a girl thing.
