Syd the Kid

This post has been rattling around in my head for a couple weeks. I recently got to hang out for a bit with my friend, Syd, who is an almost-14-year-old girl. Syd's great - smart, cute, and funny, with a sense of her own style. She's got parents who love her and a bratty little sister (sorry, Syd's sis, I mean that strictly from Syd's point of view - I think you're adorable). She has a boyfriend, all the cool stuff a teenager "needs" and a plan for her future. Dang, I am so jealous. I'm often surprised at the people who say things like "Oh man, I'd never want to go through high school again" or who talk about how awful puberty was. Sure, some of it's rough, but I had a ball at that age. Syd has me way outclassed in the BF department (that's "boyfriend" to all you old folks who don't text message). I always had plenty of friends who were boys, but by her age, I'd've sold my left arm to have a boyfriend. Meanwhile, the name of the boyfriend I managed to dredge out of my 32-year-old brain to ask her about was "like 3 boyfriends ago". She's also got the whole world of the internet at her fingertips, a power I could have only dreamed about way back when. Luckily for me, I was a pretty confident teen, and I can see that in Syd, too. It makes life in high school a lot easier when you can tell someone to go shove it, instead of doing whatever to gain their approval. She knows what she likes and what she wants, and I certainly wouldn't make any bets against her getting it. She completely held her own in a discussion where not only was she the only teen, but the only person under 30, and she fit in as naturally as you please. Now, she surely is a teen, as attested to by the 1 hour and 37 minutes logged on my phone calling said BF. When was the last time I talked on the phone to anyone for 1 hour and 37 minutes? I can't even guess. But I remember doing the same thing. And probably talking about the 80s versions of the same topics. What's the point, you're asking me, other than me letting you know that Syd's pretty cool? On the way home after seeing Syd, I thought I'd like to be 14 again. I'd like to go back and do it all again, be that age, be that way, be that free. But you know what I realized? As much as I might want to go back and be me at 14 again, I think I might rather be Syd at 14. She's about to start the ride of her life, and she might not even know it. Enjoy each minute, Syd; wish I could ride along with you.