So, our daughter has gone full-on "emo"

[Chan790]

27. An alternative perspective.

14 is really the earliest age we're comfortable to assert ourselves as individuals separate from our parents' wants of us. I'm going to take aguess that dance and softball were things that stopped being fun a long time ago and she's now just comfortable enough to assert herself. This isn't bad, it's good. It's likely that she'll miss them and go back to them...she needs a break. Fuck, who doesn't need a break from a lifelong pursuit sometimes. I write...really well. Published and everything. Haven't opened my writing laptop in 15 months; just fucking burnt-out.

I'm concerned that she is entirely changing her friends...but it's not uncommon, it's less that they're no longer her friends...think of it as more of the honeymoon phase of a new relationship, except not romantic or sexual...you meet someone new, they excite you about parts of you that you didn't know existed and you crave their presence for how it feels. (There is a term for this (squish) used to describe the non-sexual crushes of asexual/aromantic (and other "graysexual" identities) that I think works well.) So, it's a squish...she wants the attention and presence of her new friends and old friendships will fall by the wayside or get set on the shelf. If they're important to her or ever were, they'll get picked back up in time when the squish-buzz fades.

As a former emo kid, her taste in music sucks...but every 14 year old has shitty taste. It's how you know you're 14. Tell her Sunny Day Real Estate is much better, even if they did break up before she was ever born.

Relax, this too will pass.