Yes! Parenting is amazing, tough, rewarding, challenging, incredible, invigorating and exhausting all at the same time. Throw in a couple of teenage daughters into the mix, and life is brought to a whole new level.
We teach our children each and every day, but they also teach us!
Many parents complain that the teenage years are rough. And perhaps they are, but I have always believed that within each challenge is a gift. We just need to know where to look for it.
I took some time over the past few weeks, as my second daughter, a senior in high school, is preparing to leave the this August, to think about all the gifts I have received by raising two daughters through their teenage years. Narrowing it down was tough, but listed below are the top twenty things that my teenagers have taught me:
20 Lessons From My Teenage Daughters
1. The snooze button, that goes off at least ten times, works for waking up the entire house. So you really never need to purchase an alarm clock.
2. Snapchat filter is the easiest and cheapest way to look 10 years younger. Forgo the Facelift and Makeover!
3. There is such a thing as posting too much or too little on Social Media. Finding the right balance is as important as discovering the best Chinese food restaurant for take out.
4. There is an app for everything.
5. You do not need a date to go to the prom, but you do need to buy your dress months in advance, showcase it to everyone on a specific Facebook group, so nobody shows up wearing the same dress. (Because that is far worse than bad tasting Chinese take out)
6. Starbucks is the new “library” and the best place to study, no matter how loud it gets.
7. Facebook is out, Instagram is in, until Facebook becomes in again, and then Instagram is out. (This can happen all in the same day)
8. The Breakfast Club is still a cool movie.
9. It is ok to follow someone on Instagram, it is not ok to do this in real life. Then it’s called stalking.
10.It is more acceptable to break up with someone face to face, although nobody does it.
11. Actually calling someone as opposed to texting is only acceptable in an emergency and if you are over the age of forty.
12. Coming out is brave, bullying is cowardly, and both of these are always happening somewhere in the United States every day.
13. Where you choose to go to college depends on, but is not limited to: reviews on website, what friends you have met online before you even set foot on campus, what the dress is for football games, if the mascot and school colors are cool.
14. What college chooses you depends upon highest ACT score even if you have taken it ten times, how many extra curricular activities you can jam into one so you don’t have time to breathe, how much you stand out, even though everyone is trying to stand out.
15. Having a family dog is awesome. Cleaning up poop or throw up from the dog – not so much.
16. Popularity still matters, but only to those who are popular.
17. Getting your driver’s license is code for “I will be eating dinner out at Qdoba or Panera at least five times this week” and “I didn’t have time to pick up your dry cleaning.”
18. You do not run to the mailbox to check for large envelopes of college acceptance letters but you do check your email at least ten times a day for a notification that you have been notified.
19. It is no longer a thing to go out in “groups” but is a thing to be in a “group chat.”
20. When teenage daughters are dying to grow up and go off to college , it is the exact moment when they realize all that they will miss and love about home. This is the real definition of having mixed feelings.
Related:
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How to Tell Your Daughter Goodbye at College: 50 Steps
21 Absolutely Fabulous High School Graduation Gifts for Girls
