Never Go Back

I have spent a pretty good amount of time at the pool this summer. Do you know who else goes to the pool? Kids. Yea, a lot of them. I usually just hang out in my chair with a book and soak it all in. The things that I overhear are pretty hilarious. 

The other day I was standing in line and two younger girls were flipping their hair and checking their cell phones. One said to the other, "Oh my gawsh! He's, here!" I looked around because I wanted to know who he was. I couldn't figure it out, but for some reason I was excited for them. Weird.

I also watched a young couple leaning against a fence having what looked like a pretty intense conversation. My mind wandered back to 7th grade. What could they possibly have to "discuss?" Maybe he was flirting with another girl at the baseball diamond. Or he could have been texting someone else behind her back. Really, the possibilities are endless. For the record, they hugged it out in the end (P.S. I'm not creepy - just observant).

Just last week I was at the pool with my friend. There were about a dozen tweens gathering for a 12-year-old birthday party. A handful of them were wearing matching swimsuits. You could tell they all had a specific role in the group. There was one bigger girl in a tankini. I wanted to yell to her, "It gets better! I promise!" My friend and I just rolled our eyes and said, "I would never go back to that age." Except, remember when you could eat anything you wanted? That I could handle again. 

When I'm teaching, this a lot of time to observe teenagers. I just keep in mind that this is a really egocentric time of their life. They really don't think about what will have tomorrow, next week. This can be good and bad. It's important to consider consequences of one's actions, but there is something to be said about just living for today. 

With that said, it's pretty safe to say none of us would ever go back to junior high.