Last night Nix and her fellow 8th grade band members were invited to play with her future high school's band at a football game. She had a great time and met some really fun kids, but she was nestled into the band bubble. I had a chance to venture out and get a broader look at her future classmates. I wanted to make pictures of some of what I saw to post, but Rocky cautioned that the worst of it might qualify as child pornography. Let's just say, it was breast cancer awareness night, and I guarantee that no one left that stadium without being aware of breasts, and trust me when I tell you, it had nothing to do with everyone wearing pink.
Rumor has it that the "in crowd" can be pretty tough. As with every other high school in America since public school began, a lot of getting in with the in crowd revolves around what you wear. More specifically, the labels on what you wear and how little coverage you can get away with.
Now here's the funny twist. I realized I was sitting there making judgements about these kids, their intelligence, their extra curricular actives, their lack of parental supervision, etc. This brought me to a few conclusions. First of all, I don't want my daughter projecting the stereotypes that these kids were. Partly because the assumptions would be wrong, but also for her own personal safety.
Have you caught the irony yet? At least I think it is irony. That silly Alanis Morisette song about irony has clouded my ability to accurately spot it. Anyway, I was using clothes to judge the kids who will be judging my kid based on her geeky shirts and Old Navy jeans.
So here is the painful truth. We all make snap judgements based on first impressions, and although it is possible to overcome that, it takes time and effort from both sides. I'm sure there were some really nice, smart kids in the cool section, but they were excellent at camouflage. My daughter seems to be projecting a geeky good girl with over protective parents. I'm good with that, and she seems pretty happy with that, too. I think she is going to be just fine.
