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It Was A Very Good Year.....
by
Robin C. Westmiller
My daughter turned seventeen last week and the changes in my life seemed to have happened overnight. Cases of Huggies have been replaced by boxes of tampons. In first grade, she came home in tears because her best friend had just told her she no longer wanted to play with her because she'd find a new best friend. This year her best friend no longer wanted to play with her because she'd found a new boyfriend. When she was two, I got angry with her for getting into my makeup...well, some things haven't changed.
I suddenly felt very old. How could I be the mother of a High School Junior when I just graduated two years ago myself? OK, so it was more like twenty eight years, but I can still remember every magical moment when I was seventeen. The future was full of unlimited possibilities and my biggest worry was who was going to take me to the prom.
I have to admit I am a more than a bit envious of the advantages she has that I didn't at her age. My word processor was an SCM electric typewriter and erasable paper. My parents couldn't help me with homework, the war had halted their education in mid-term. They only knew that they wanted their only child to go to college, but they didn't have a clue as to which college or how to find the means to afford it. I took the SATs once, without the slightest idea of the enormous weight the scores would have on my future. My guidance counselor had very limited information about scholarships and financial aid and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Now, less than three decades later, the sources for information are vast. There's workshops, study guides, and SAT software. She can take the SAT several times to get the best score. College web sites are just a mouse click away on the Internet. Scholarships sources and financial aid are also on-line and ready to help finance her education. And she has absolutely no idea what she wants to be when she grows up. Oh well, some things never change.
It was much more fun being a teenager than raising one. At seventeen, I had my own room, my own phone and my own car. Parents complained about the crazy music they couldn't understand and how something needed to be done about the sex and violence on television and in the movies. There was raging in the Middle East.
My daughter turned seventeen last week. She has her own room, her own phone and her own car. Parents complain about the crazy music they can't understand and that something needs to be done about the sex and violence on television and in the movies. There is a war in the Middle East. Unfortunately, some things still haven't changed.