The summer I turned 11 was when I was allowed to go to the park by myself. I got into super heaps of trouble once because I'd been playing with this group of boys and they'd peer-pressured me into trying to jump off this really high thing in the park. I was just about to climb up it when my mom came by the park walking the dog and caught me. So that put the kibosh on that for a while.
But, 6th grade (a couple months after the above incident) was when I was allowed to start taking the bus home by myself. In 8th grade I was allowed to take the bus to school, but I was, under no circumstances, allowed to take the subway to school. Until the following year. (I started taking the subway on the weekends, though. Often I would take the bus anyway because I knew the routes better.)
I felt very restricted in my freedom as a tween and teen, but mostly out of comparison with my older brother. The problem there was that he had lots of friends in nearby neighborhoods, I did not. So where my brother's friends were a short walk or bus ride away, my friends pretty much required the subway, or at least two buses. So it was a weird combo of accessibility and supply. I'm sure there was also some sexism involved, as it's a lot easier to worry about a 5' tall teenage girl than it is to worry about a 6'2 teenage boy.
I was, however, allowed to go to Boston the summer before my senior year of high school. I was accepted at the Berklee College of Music songwriting and guitar sessions, a week a piece. There was no supervision to speak of, and I definitely got up to shenanigans that my parents wouldn't have appreciated, but probably expected. My mother's sole request of me was, "Don't ever go to someone's house." Which, honestly, is pretty good advice for any seventeen-year-old going to another city.
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Date: 2010-09-20 06:10 pm (UTC)But, 6th grade (a couple months after the above incident) was when I was allowed to start taking the bus home by myself. In 8th grade I was allowed to take the bus to school, but I was, under no circumstances, allowed to take the subway to school. Until the following year. (I started taking the subway on the weekends, though. Often I would take the bus anyway because I knew the routes better.)
I felt very restricted in my freedom as a tween and teen, but mostly out of comparison with my older brother. The problem there was that he had lots of friends in nearby neighborhoods, I did not. So where my brother's friends were a short walk or bus ride away, my friends pretty much required the subway, or at least two buses. So it was a weird combo of accessibility and supply. I'm sure there was also some sexism involved, as it's a lot easier to worry about a 5' tall teenage girl than it is to worry about a 6'2 teenage boy.
I was, however, allowed to go to Boston the summer before my senior year of high school. I was accepted at the Berklee College of Music songwriting and guitar sessions, a week a piece. There was no supervision to speak of, and I definitely got up to shenanigans that my parents wouldn't have appreciated, but probably expected. My mother's sole request of me was, "Don't ever go to someone's house." Which, honestly, is pretty good advice for any seventeen-year-old going to another city.