I never knew that taking my daughter to register for high school would unleash such a pile of emotions for her.
Prior to this day, all my daughter could talk about was school. Clothes shopping, no more uniforms, new friends, high school activities, registration, and everything that goes along with attending school, however, the reality has set in and the nerves have been singed. It was all so overwhelming.
We arrived to a long line of students and their parents waiting to enter the Little Theater for orientation. The chatter was sparse as students stood anticipating what the first week of school would deliver, as the large stone walls of the surrounding buildings shot up all over the campus, ominous and cold.
We went to five different stations herding through lines like penned up cattle ending with a piece of paper that would determine the course of the first semester. P.E. third period before lunch, drama, great, Algebra and English after lunch, at the end of the day, ugh.
Homework made its way into her thoughts, classrooms with teachers unknown to either of us, upperclassmen with man voices, and girls bored with high school and ready to move on to college. P.E. uniforms, dressing out, locker issues, making it to class on time, finding someone to sit with at lunch, waking up early - all the stress came at her like an bolt of lightning.
She comes from a class of 60 students in her graduating class to an overwhelming 600. Ten times the size. I would have understood if she broke down and cried since I was on the verge of tears myself.
Our little girl who donned her "Bug's Life" purple backpack, and quickly shooed us away, armed and ready for preschool, independent and confident now has a woman's body, highlights, a cell phone, and half of her confidence has been smothered.
We'll see what happens. This school might not be the right fit. We may have to contemplate other options and that is okay. The "high school experience" isn't for everyone. It was for me, but she is not me.
Now we wait. Freshman fun night is coming up where there are more friends to meet and more to get used to. Perhaps the "first day of school jitters" will subside and the nerves with resume to normal or perhaps not. For now, that bridge has yet to be crossed.
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