MY NAME IS MASHA AND I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU ABOUT WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING TO ME LATELY. IT'S ALWAYS EASIER WHEN YOU SHARE SOMETHING WITH FRIENDS AND I HOPE WE CAN ALSO SHARE SOME USEFUL PIECES OF ADVICE AND INFORMATION. I'M IN THE SEVENTH GRADE, I DO KARATE, AND EVERYONE SAYS I'M A BRIGHT SPARK!
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I LIVE WITH: - MY MUM SUZIE,
who is an
artist and thinks that she’s a very liberal parent (but very often she’s not, mind you),
- MY DAD STAN,
who is by
his vocation a man for the new age – a computer programmer, but judging by his beliefs, he’s still way into the 20th century,
- MY OLDER BROTHER IVAN (lovingly called Ivan the Terrible), who’s a Grammar School senior and thinks he’s the smartest person under the Sun, 3
- MY YOUNGER SISTER PETRA (the Princess of Bores, ruling all the bores there are in this universe), who’s in the third grade and still believes in Father Christmas (?!),
- OUR PETS, RUFUS THE DOG AND MIA THE CAT (the most predictable and the most laid back members in our family).
MY PARENTS ARE OFTEN ASKED:
“Why do you need pets when you have three children?” Those people seem to think that kids are pets too, or else I don’t know how to explain such (stupid) questions.
HERE'S A THOUGHT:
TAKE A NOTEBOOK AND DECORATE IT WITH SOME DOODLES AND STICKERS TO MAKE IT SPECIAL. WHILE YOU'RE READING THIS BOOK, WRITE DOWN YOUR THOUGHTS, SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS IN THE NOTEBOOK, ANSWER MY QUESTIONS OR DRAW THINGS THAT I ASK YOU TO. WHEN YOU'RE DONE READING, YOU'LL HAVE A PROPER TEEN DIARY, WITH ALL THE UPS AND DOWNS THAT COME WITH TEEN YEARS. THE VISUAL CUE THAT IT'S TIME YOU PICK UP YOUR SPECIAL NOTEBOOK WILL BE THIS: 4
EVERYONE TREATS ME AS IF I WERE STILL
LITTLE DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? – Are you dressed warm? Wrap up that scarf tighter. It’s windy outside! – Would you like me to wait for you after school? The days are getting shorter, it’ll be dark by the time your classes are over! – You didn’t pull your hair up nicely. Come here, I’ll fix it for you! – Are you sure you’ll be fine all alone at home? You won’t be frightened? – I don’t care if everyone else is going to stay out until 11 pm, you have to be back by 9.30 and that’s it! – Ice cream is out of question, it’s still too cold for it!
I'VE BEEN HEARING SUCH THINGS EVERY SINGLE DAY, EITHER FROM MUM, OR DAD, OR MY BROTHER, OR GRANNY, OR GRANDPA, OR AUNTIE...
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These people don’t seem to understand how old I am! If you asked them, I bet they’d get embarrassed trying to figure it out there and then, cause it’s impossible that they actually know how old I am and that they treat me like this at the same time! Do you have the same problem with your family? If you do, note down the things they keep reminding or lecturing you about.
THIS IS HOW I BEHAVE WHEN THEY TREAT ME AS IF I WERE STILL LITTLE [HOW I ACTUALLY REACT DEPENDS ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS] 1. I GET ANGRY
This usually means I shut myself in my room and refuse to talk to anyone.
2. I GET REALLY MAD
Again, I go to my room slamming the door behind me, then throw a tantrum in my room and yell my head off.
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3. I ARGUE WITH SOMEONE
I try to reasonably explain to them why I think what they’re telling me is pointless, but I do it in a raised voice (meaning: I roar) and by using pretty hard words.
4. I DO WHAT I WANTED TO DO ANYWAY
even though I know there would be consequences.
How do you behave when they treat you as if you were little?
THE USUAL OUTCOMES OF SUCH REACTIONS ON MY PART [AGAIN, THE ACTUAL OUTCOME DEPENDS ON A SERIES OF FACTORS, BUT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING IS INEVITABLE]: - they still treat me the same, or worse, - they ignore me, - I get punished, - I get a ban of this kind or the other, - in effect: I achieve -
NOTHING!!!
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