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Family life
I really wonder why I moved home sometimes. Sure, there's food and warmth and a magic laundry. But there's also my family. Who I love, don't get me wrong. It's just that everyone expects me to be an example, an objective person, the one who knows what to do. And also on their side, since of course they're the right one. It's like because I did well at school, I'm the oracle who knows the answers to the universe. (They won't accept "42", sorry!) They don't seem to believe that sometimes I just don't know the answer. The perennial argument this year is about my sister and extra-curricular activities.
My sister's in her final year of high school. Sure, it's a big year. She's a house vice-captain, in the school musical, debates, plays hockey and soccer, and, IMHO, is far too concerned about rules! It's not like the girl is a heroin addict. So why can't my parents calm down about the whole thing? Sometimes I think I would have done my sister more good by failing VCE and running away to join a circus as a ticket seller. Then at least she wouldn't have anything hanging over her head for everyone to expect her to live up to. It's ridiculous. I haven't even done anything that impressive. I wish my parents would just learn to relax. She's studying. Lots. She's tired, but who isn't? The rat race is like that. If dance rehearsals are how she wants to spend her spare time, there's really no point making her feel guilty about it.
Anyway, it happened the way it always does. I could hear the argument start up in the living room from the study room where i was in front of the computer (I live in front of a computer, in case you didn't notice.) The usual. Mum and Melanie getting excited, Dad trying to calm them down at the same time as telling them off for being excited. Which makes everyone overly irritated. Then I get called in and asked to give my unbiased opinion on whatever they were talking about. (Naturally, they spent 15 minutes ranting about how unreasonable each of the others were before they would tell me.) In this case, whether Mel should do a fairly small party in a dance her friend is choreographing for August. I really don't get my parents. It's probably no more than 15 hours, mostly in one week in August. It's unlikely to do much to Mel's spare time that say, computer games, wouldn't already be doing.
But Mum does have a point. Melanie's made stupid mistakes. And it's always the stupid ones - she's smart enough that she can do all the hard questions, it's just the easy ones she gets wrong. Me, I think that's exam technique, not more problems to do. She could do everything she got wrong. She just didn't think about what she was doing. So maybe we need to try something different to help her out.
I kinda like that I can make everyone calm down.
My sister's in her final year of high school. Sure, it's a big year. She's a house vice-captain, in the school musical, debates, plays hockey and soccer, and, IMHO, is far too concerned about rules! It's not like the girl is a heroin addict. So why can't my parents calm down about the whole thing? Sometimes I think I would have done my sister more good by failing VCE and running away to join a circus as a ticket seller. Then at least she wouldn't have anything hanging over her head for everyone to expect her to live up to. It's ridiculous. I haven't even done anything that impressive. I wish my parents would just learn to relax. She's studying. Lots. She's tired, but who isn't? The rat race is like that. If dance rehearsals are how she wants to spend her spare time, there's really no point making her feel guilty about it.
Anyway, it happened the way it always does. I could hear the argument start up in the living room from the study room where i was in front of the computer (I live in front of a computer, in case you didn't notice.) The usual. Mum and Melanie getting excited, Dad trying to calm them down at the same time as telling them off for being excited. Which makes everyone overly irritated. Then I get called in and asked to give my unbiased opinion on whatever they were talking about. (Naturally, they spent 15 minutes ranting about how unreasonable each of the others were before they would tell me.) In this case, whether Mel should do a fairly small party in a dance her friend is choreographing for August. I really don't get my parents. It's probably no more than 15 hours, mostly in one week in August. It's unlikely to do much to Mel's spare time that say, computer games, wouldn't already be doing.
But Mum does have a point. Melanie's made stupid mistakes. And it's always the stupid ones - she's smart enough that she can do all the hard questions, it's just the easy ones she gets wrong. Me, I think that's exam technique, not more problems to do. She could do everything she got wrong. She just didn't think about what she was doing. So maybe we need to try something different to help her out.
I kinda like that I can make everyone calm down.