FIFTEEN. Fif-daggum-teen.
Top 10 Things You Love
Art (you still love paper and pencil, but you’ve been focused on digital art this past year)
Reading
Your family and friends
Your school and church
The online writing community that you’re a part of (I just ended a sentence about writing with a preposition - maybe I should join this community …)
Biology (who knew this would be the year you found a love of science?!)
Music, especially the eclectic combination of showtunes, electronica soft pop, and folk
Your hair
Being cozy/cozy things - fuzzy blankets, soft sweatshirts, leggings, squishy pillows, your bed
YouTube, specifically Brandon Shepherd, Studio C, Moriah Elizabeth, and Mark Rober
Top 10 Things You Don’t Love
Not being in drama this year (hi, my name’s Mom and I’m the reason for this specific tale of woe)
The mood swings that are inevitable with teenagers (you’re convinced you’re the only person in the world who has them)
Entertaining younger children
Your hair (see #8 above; it’s a love/hate relationship)
Tornadoes
Cutting your fingernails (I’ve never met someone who hates this task as much as you do)
When I cook fish that’s not salmon (my track record for cooking non-salmon in a way that’s yummy is a solid 0%)
Feeling over-peopled and not having an opportunity for introverting
That you have you put your iPad away at 8pm
When you have to cook/bake something that’s not mac & cheese
Top 10 Things You’re Good At
Drawing
Singing
Landing a zinger (you get funnier each year)
Decluttering (you’re bordering on heartless with how quickly you are to throw things away)
Spanish pronunciations
Driving around a parking lot
Speaking in front of people
Time management
Washing dishes (thankfully, this is also a task that you don’t mind doing)
Top 10 Things You’re Not Good At
Completing a math lesson without squawking and carrying on about how you’ll never get any of this right … only to get it right 15 minutes later.
Loading the dishwasher in such a way as to maximize the number of cups that can fit in the top rack
Wing walking
Swallowing pills
Feeling comfortable in situations where you don’t know anyone
Taking things out of the oven without providing a running commentary of how you’re going to burn the house down
Knowing what to do when someone gets hurt
Accepting that throwing up can help you feel better (not like as a general rule, of course - but you will avoid throwing up at all costs, even if you’re super nauseous.)
Not being a control freak
Rewiring a house
Who knew that you’d start out the year with your hair doing one thing and end the year with your hair doing something totally different. Your hair went from thick and wavy-but-very-easy-to-straighten-if-you-wanted-it-straight to thick and WELCOME TO CURLY TOWN, BOIIIIII. WE’VE GOT A MIND OF OUR OWN AND YOU BETTER FIGURE US OUT OR ELSE YOU’RE GONNA LOOK LIKE A LABRADOODLE.
You and I have taken quite a hair journey this year. We’ve tried a ton of stuff that hasn’t worked great, and we’ve found a few things that work pretty well. I’m realizing that curly hair is a whole thing. A whole lifestyle. A whole vibe, as the kids say. Gone are the days where you can just brush your hair and be good to go. Gone are the days where you can wash your hair in 15 minutes. Gone are the days where you owned just two hair products - shampoo and conditioner. You’re an incredibly low-maintenance teenager, but these gorgeous curls of yours require you to be a bit higher-maintenance than you’d prefer. Depending on your mood, you either love your curls or you’re ready to hack them off with a hatchet.
This is the first year since 5th grade that you haven’t taken drama at school. And it’s been a point of contention ever since the 2023-2024 schedule came out. And listen, I know. I KNOW. I’m one of the ones who made the silly schedule - and even as we were making it, I was all Oooooh Natalie’s gonna be so mad. And I was right. Because when given the chance between taking Drama and taking English, my girl will always pick Drama. But I wanted/needed you to take English. So you did. You’re only slightly salty about it, four months into the school year.
But you got to be in a local production of Newsies over the summer. And that was such a highlight for you. You played your parts to a T (you were tailor-made for the part of the dramatic stage manager) and you had an absolute blast. You’re already thinking about next summer’s show.
Dad’s taken you driving a handful of times over the past few months. You’ve clocked a lot of laps around the parking lots of various local schools. The thought of you driving gives your ol’ Mom quite a few heart palpitations. Please know - it’s not that I don’t think you’ll be a great driver. I have zero doubt that you’ll be an excellent driver. It’s the other knuckleheads on the road who I’m worried about for you - particularly the ones who are texting their friends, eating a spaghetti dinner, and applying their mascara all while also trying to drive the streets that you’ll be on.
I know the teenage years aren’t your favorite. I remember it not being a favorite for me either. But being the mom of a teenager has been such a blast. Your mood swings are (usually) endearing and (often) humorous. Your flair for the dramatic is center stage as you wail and moan about how you’re the only teenager in the WORLD who struggles with <insert whatever struggle you’d like>. You like to insist that I was never ever a teenage girl and, therefore, can’t POSSIBLY understand your woes. Because, duh, I was born as a 43-year-old woman. And if you relent and agree that I was, at one point, a teenage girl, it doesn’t matter anyway because when I was a teenager, my biggest woe was the wrong stegosaurus picking me up for school at the local cave (I’ll refer you to #3 on the Top 10 Things You’re Good At).
This birthday has hit me differently than others have; I wasn't really expecting that. Your big gift was your first smartphone - while I was (half-jokingly) lamenting this milestone to a friend a few weeks ago, she stopped me and said, "Nope - this is a good thing! It's just one more step on the road to being independent - which is the goal of parenting!" I love that wisdom. So I shifted my mentality and am welcoming this new season.
Dad and I are immensely proud of you. We’re proud of you for the obvious stuff, sure. Kindness and good grades and good morals are certainly all worthy of celebration. But we’re also proud of how you’re learning the hard stuff. We’re proud of how you keep us on our toes. We’re proud of how you’re learning to not be absolutely amazingly wonderfully perfect at everything you do. We’re proud of how you’re learning to let God shape your character and heart.
You made us parents 15 years ago. You filled our hearts to overflowing the second you were born, and we find our hearts still overflowing. You’re our girl. Our peach. Our babydoll. You are a treasure, and we’re so glad you’re ours.
Hugs and smooches,
Mom & Dad
PS: Unrelated, but worthy of a mention - Charlie grew at least 1” since September. He’s dangerously close to becoming your bigger little brother. Time to hit that GROW TALL NOW switch.
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