I spent this week working at Odyssey, subbing actually for a position with a student who has a behavioral problem. From the moment I walked into the 9th grade classroom to my last hour with my student yesterday I was caught in this retrospective sense of awe. Why do all the boys now wear Timberland's with their jeans (I admit I like this one)? When did real backpacks get replaced by those string ones ? Why do 14-year-old girls go tanning every other day? How come freshman in high school know what beer pong is?
I suppose that if I went back and watched myself when I was that age I would see that I had a vague knowledge of the same things, and that I talked to my friends about them with the same empty facade of knowing what it meant to sleep with someone or get too drunk. I remember asking my mom if I could go tanning for the two weeks before Junior Prom, which was really just an excuse to go so I could feel like I fit in more with my new friends. Now when I watch as these children walk by me in the halls, I wonder why they think it's okay to grow up so fast. More importantly, who's letting them? Most of the boys in the freshman class at Odyssey are considerably taller than me, and I'm no shrimp. If I'm the average height for most grown women, what the hell is in the water that's making these 8th grade boys so much taller then me?! I've noticed that these kids don't care, and at this school it's not cool to care. There are more students concerned with who "Biffie's bopping" than getting into college. Is that new or something? It's funny the way five years can play tricks on your memory.
I feel old there. Is that new too?
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