Enjoy the Bubble While It Lasts
It will burst soon enough.

By:  Alissa Grisler, FCHS

Most kids live in a bubble. Created by our parents, this bubble protects us from the more unpleasant things in life. There are no bills in the bubble. There is no heartbreak in the bubble. In the bubble, right and wrong are clear-cut. This bubble guards our dreams and allows them to grow vibrant and strong. It shields us from realities that we are not yet mature enough to understand. We can do anything; become anything, in our bubble.

Our bubble is mostly filled with spectacular (if somewhat unrealistic) expectations of our future. We were all going to be an astronaut, an actor, or the president. Our best friends in elementary school were going to stay our best friends for life. We would all get straight A’s, go to the same college, and live right next door to each other forever. These grand presumptions lived on in our bubble.

However, as we grow up, our bubble faces normal wear and tear. Our BFF dated the boy we had a crush on, we lost the school spelling bee, and we eavesdropped on our parents talking about money. But our bubble is resilient and does not break.

In high school, the crowded hallways are filled with bubbles of different shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. We are faced with new challenges that test our bubbles. We failed that big exam, and we cried when we got our first speeding ticket. We thought sneaking out of the house was a good idea, that is, until our parents found out and we were grounded for a week. We made stupid decisions and usually got caught. Some of our bubbles get dented; others break. Reality, for the most part, finally begins to set in when we start working jobs, paying for gas, and applying to college.

Over time, we forget the bubble ever existed. We can’t remember a time when we weren’t paying for car insurance and weren’t separating our laundry into whites and colors. One day, our warm, comforting bubble just disappeared. We didn’t need it anymore.

Being a junior in high school, my bubble is still intact - thank goodness, because I’m not sure I’m ready to start making my bed every day. As teenagers, we live in this wonderful transition period where our potential has not yet been realized, and our future will be awesome and everything is going to go exactly according to plan. Wait…what do you mean that’s not how life works? My bubble is telling me otherwise.

 

Falls Church High School
7521 Jaguar Trail
Falls Church, VA  22044
703-207-4000
www.fcps.edu/FallsChurchHS/

(Students who reside on the north side of Annandale attend Falls Church High School)