And Here We Go!

I can't believe my little girl will be going to high school next year. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was sending her off to kindergarten. Time sure does fly! I have to say that I am absolutely terrified! We've all heard the stories of a group of girls ganging up on one girl in particular and beating them senseless. We've all heard about kids committing suicide because of bullying. I know from experience that kids, especially teenage girls, can be vicious. My daughter is not the type to stand up for herself, and I worry about her being targeted. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but the high school that she will be going to was in the news when we first moved here, because of a couple of teenagers that were responsible for the death of another. That is not the only thing that I am afraid of.

I find myself wondering if she's ready. Is she grown up enough to handle the real world? Can she resist peer pressure? We have always told our daughter the truth (as much as she was able to understand), and we have already made it very clear that trust is earned. As long as she maintains our trust there won't be any problems, but if (for any reason) she gives us a reason not to trust her then her privacy goes out the window. Don't get me wrong, she's a really good kid, but we were teenagers once too. Her father and I are well aware of the things that hormones can do. Not to mention the search for ones own identity. It is a scary time for any youngster, or parent.

So, in six more months our daughter will be a freshman in high school. I can only hope for a reasonably smooth transition. The first hurdle? Trying to figure out the whole registration process. Before we know it she will be graduating from high school and be off to college! Oh god, what did I get myself into?