Last night, my daughter and I had a conversation that reminded me of your original post. At 12, DD is highly aware that she bears the blessings and curses of multi-potentiality. She was reflecting on an anti-bullying seminar that they had had at school. She acknowledged that she lives a privileged and somewhat sheltered existence -- she has family that is together and (mostly) gets along -- she does have siblings so there are limits , she doesn't have a parent with alcohol or substance abuse problems, her family is not rich or poor, but she never has to worry about whether there is food, she has had the opportunity to pursue and abandon interests and most importantly, at this moment in her life she says that she is incredibly happy. She acknowledge that today she realized that most kids in her middle school don't have things so good and lots have self-esteem issues that surprised her. So far so good.
Then, she said that she sees this as a "break" because high school will be the beginning of trade-offs -- continuing with her music or taking another AP whatever class; taking art or taking a language (not an interest right now) or something that seems more "productive" and might look better to a college admissions panel; and overall balancing her needs for herself versus the ghost of college admissions future. She realizes that she is good at so many things but not all of them make her happy and that some of her choices will disappoint various mentors who she loves and respects. She spoke with with equanimity and poise. I marveled at her depth of insight and mourned a little for the weight she already feels.
