Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Real World: A Mom’s Take on it All



I loved high school. I’m not here to bash it…or make fun of it.

High school was one of my favorite times. I have only fond memories. And I often wish I could go back and relive it.

Not everybody can say that.

But it’s true, what they say. That it’s not “reality.”

The real world is so very different.

But so many high school kids live or die for what high school means to them. And for some of them, it really is their “heyday.”

What you don’t realize, when you’re smack dab in the middle of it, is how insignificant high school really is, compared to the rest of life.

Now, I’m not here to steal anybody’s thunder. EVERYONE deserves to have good high school years.

But how realistic is that, especially these days? With all of the bullying and peer pressure and pressure to excel…to go above and beyond. It’s such a volatile time, for so many.

And if you’re not popular…or accepted… High school can be an absolute nightmare.

I don’t want to sound like I’m knocking kids that are in school. All kids have their wants, needs, desires and challenges.

It’s just all kids (teens especially) should realize that this is just the beginning of your life. There’s so much more out there to experience.

For all of you teens out there (whether you’re in public school, private school, or if you’re homeschooled)…don’t let the little stuff get to you.

Take it easy, take it slow and enjoy the ride!

3 comments:

  1. When my dd was almost 16, she came home from school in tears because of the way she was being treated there by her classmates. As I was consoling her, she wailed "These are supposed to be the best years of my life! If this is as good as it gets, what's the rest of my life gong to be like?"

    I had to work very hard not to laugh at the idea that the ages of 14-17 were the best years of one's life. I managed, though.

    Hubby and I were quick to point out that adolescence is often not the time of life that people identify as "the best" once they are through it, and that once she was older, she would have a lot more opportunity to choose the people she associated with and what she did with her time and energy than she had sitting in a public school classroom.

    We also pointed out that she was always free to homeschool, and since we were already teaching one child at home, a second wasn't going to be that big a deal to add in...and she could take surfing for her PE credit if she wanted to. A few weeks later, she asked me to write a letter of intent for her.

    She spent the next few years much happier, (and more tan) and ended up doing dual enrollment classes at community college for part of her high school program, where she found the atmosphere to be much, much different than high school. The "real world" has been far kinder to her than high school was, in no small part because she has been willing to go after what she wants and speak up when circumstances are unacceptable. I think if she had been forced to stay in a bad school situation and just accept it, she might not have fared so well in "real life."

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  2. Thanks for sharing your DD's story, Jennie. It's nice to hear from somebody else! I can only draw from my own experience (which was many moons ago). And mine was a GOOD experience!!!

    I'm so glad she's doing well!!!

    ~ Linda

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  3. I enjoyed much about high school. No bad experiences, I had friends, did well, had some great relationships with teachers. Nevertheless, graduation was one of the happiest days of my life. I felt like I was being let out of prison. Actually I think I was being let out of a kind of prison. There were almost 4000 kids in my high school, so it was run like a police state. I learned to put up with, or navigate around a lot of bad behavior, and eventually keep most of my close friendships out of school. The one thing I do wish my daughter cold have is the exposure to the many kinds of people that I met in high school. We'll have to be creative as she progresses through her teens.

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