I’ve started to panic!

It’s bloody irrational.

It was brought on by ‘yuffs’ today invading the building I work in.

I work in an investment centre, there are conference rooms and meeting rooms that can be hired out. As well as the ‘units’ that companies and businesses like the one I work for rent. Today the whole place was crawling with 100s of high school kids. They were there all day, it must have been some kind of enterprise day or something!

They invaded the canteen thingy, even though they had been provided with a lunch of their own in the large room they were occupying, they would rather spend their pocket-money on overpriced crisps (65p a bag) and over priced cans of pop (70p.)

100s of them!

Teenagers.

I spent most of the time admiring their footwear, as they had been released from the confines of their actual place of education they were uniformless, some of them had some pretty nice shoes.

Some of them rocked some serious style. The youth of today seem to get away with wearing whatever they want and look fashionable. When I was at school it was kickers, tracksuits, over sized jumper, fruit of the loom or the sweater shop, lots of naff naff bomber jackets, those coats that were a bit like flowery carpets, I remember getting one for my 12 or 13th birthday from one of the big markets in Manchester. All very 90s! We weren’t that fashionable from what I can remember. Or maybe it was just me!

OH GOD!! IT WAS JUST ME, WASN’T IT!!!

All these bloody youths got me thinking about the time I was a youth!

I don’t think I was popular at high school really, I mean I had a good group of friends and looking back they were quite popular, they were the group that the popular lads would have a laugh with. I was pretty scared of asking my parents if I could go to town or anywhere with them and then at 14 I got a boyfriend who was a couple of years older so wasn’t allowed out with them after school or at the weekends (a story for another time.) At the time that everyone was out hanging round the park or at peoples houses I kind of missed out. My youth was not misspent in the carefree way a teenagers should be. I missed out so couldn’t join in on the chat in class of what happened at the underage disco everyone went to, and I mean everyone or what had happened at the weekend. That didn’t seem to matter to my friends though and I was never left out or made to feel like an outsider. Luckily I wasn’t bullied which I know is a blessing, my sister was bullied horrifically all through her education. I’m not saying I was liked by everyone, I was pretty awkward, pretty geeky, had some pretty horrific hair cuts and like I said, my clothes were not fashionable!

Sat on my dinner today I was talking to a friend I work with. We were discussing this very thing, because of all the youth. She said she wasn’t popular, but like me had a good group of friends and her group were kind of in the middle of the social standing at school.

Here’s the thing that got me thinking, which has led to a low level panic rumbling all day!

How is this social standing determined? I’m pretty sure it must be, we leave primary school fresh faced and shitting our pants about high school and then we’re just thrust into these groups that can make or break our entire high school experience!

Now I’m worried about the kid. The Kid being a teenager. The Kid at High School.

I told you it was irrational!

I have 7 whole years before she goes to high school, before I have to start worry about boys and hormones, whether she’ll make the curfew she’s set and her just being a teenager. Although I wonder it’s not already happening with the attitude she has sometimes! I mean both me and Mr C got through high school fairly unscathed. If she’s anything like Mr C she’ll fly by, he could/can talk/joke his way out of anything.

I should not be even thinking about this stuff now!

I mean she’s only been at school since September and nothing so far has caused me to worry about her. Although I do get the odd hairs on the back of my neck prickle sometimes when she mentions whats been said to her at school by other kids. Kids can be so cruel with the things they say without even realising!

Being a teenager is bloody tough.

I look by at my teenage years with a lot of regret.

I don’t want her too.

Irrational See!! 7 BLOODY YEARS OFF!!!!!

I want to make sure she’s never afraid to tell me anything. Never worried about asking me anything.

Never be afraid to be herself.

I just want to make sure she is as happy as she can be.

I suppose I should just stop worrying about something that may not even happen and is ages off!

Holy Shit balls, the panic is not subsiding!

Bloody Yuffs!!

 

 

I kept in touch with my friends from school until Uni and then life got in the way, remember this was before mobiles were that popular.

Several years later we got back in touch (thanks to facebook) and now I’m pleased that we stay in touch and every so often, when we can arrange it, those of us who are still in the UK try to get together for a good catch up and it’s like we’ve never not seen each other.

I want friends like that for the kid.