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Nicole completed her first year of High School. She enjoyed the increased freedom of high school where she had the flexibility to sit where she wanted for lunch instead of being required to eat in the cafeteria.  Nicole has always hated school cafeterias so that was a good change for her.  She also got to know many upper grade students that she didn’t know before and has enjoyed some new friendships this year.

High school dances were a new fun thing for Nicole.  She was excited to be asked by a boy to go to the Halloween dance which happened at the end of the day during school hours.  The same boy invited her to go to the Winter Formal with him. After the dance, she said it was the best night of her life. We encouraged her to not date any one boy exclusively so she made plans with a different boy for prom.   

Nicole loves music and enjoys dancing and singing.  Last summer she went to For the Strength of Youth (like a church summer camp for teens known as FSY). She texted me after the first night that she had won the dance competition and danced with 2 different boys.  By the end of the week, she reported several fun experiences and she came in 2nd place for the final dance competition.

Nicole says her taste in music has changed some this year, though she still loves a lot of older music and complains about modern music.  She says that she’s more into ‘synth’ music and really likes Electric Light Orchestra.

Nicole’s interest in fashion has continued to blossom.  She got her ears pierced over Spring Break and has enjoyed creating entire outfits around some of her new earrings.  She loves to have a theme for her outfits and only wishes she had an infinite supply of clothing to accessorize with. I’m glad that the daughter who used to compose the most extreme, mismatched, clashing outfits, now understands how to match and coordinate in a way that no longer offends the eye.

She has started studying her driver’s ed manual in preparation for getting her learner’s permit, but I think we’ll take our time getting to the point where I feel comfortable letting her drive anywhere outside of a parking lot.  She has also started talking about getting a job and thinking about where she’d like to apply for her first job.

The insect world still fascinates Nicole. She has become more selective about the insects that she’ll collect.  She passed up two perfectly good cockroaches that I found outside yesterday, but was delighted by the swallowtail caterpillar.  Some of her more unique bug interactions this year included trying to teach a grasshopper to skateboard and attempting to feed a praying mantis lunchmeat.

Nicole is still very interested in medicine and diseases.  She enjoys studying books with descriptions of causes, treatments, and symptoms.  She has fun trying to diagnose people from her hypochondriac’s guide to deadly diseases.  She also has a book about quackery which describes odd and sometimes dangerous ways people used to try to cure and treat disease that she has read over and over.

Nicole has always enjoyed drama and was excited to play the role of Cecily in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” She has always loved having an audience and hopes to continue preforming. She started writing a musical in hear head, I think it had something to do with aliens blending in and then falling in love on Earth.

Nicole loves Japanese treats, especially Ramune soda and Popin Cookin.  Panda Express is her favorite place to eat. She still loves eggs and bacon for breakfast, mini corndogs, imitation crab, and bagel bites.  Sodas and fancy drinks bring her much joy.

Nicole appreciates sleeping with a cat in her bed and enjoys going across the street to pet her grandparent’s cats.  She loves all animals.  She has spent many hours watching and trying to feed some deer that have been living in an orchard near our home.  Whenever I couldn’t find her, the orchard is one of the first places that I’d look and I’d usually find her trying to entice a deer to eat out of her hands.

Roblox is probably Nicole’s favorite computer game.  She enjoys trying to make games that others would want to play and she enjoys interacting with others from the comfort of home.  She also likes to try the games that other people make in Roblox.  She also really enjoys Jackbox games, and People Playground, which help them develop their sensory processing, communication, fundamental movement skills, and learning through play. Visit https://specialeducationalneedsanddisabilities.co.uk/benefits-of-inclusive-play-for-children/ for more details. 

Nicole finds AI fascinating and enjoys having conversations with AI and role playing games with AI.  She has experimented with AI chat rooms and AI generated discord servers.

Nicole loves to laugh and always enjoys a good meme.

Nicole also enjoys exploring the concept of Liminal space and Backrooms. I had to ask a lot of questions and do some internet research to understand this concept well enough to define it.  It’s basically an eerie inbetween space, sometimes a disquieting image that just feels off or unsettling. Liminal space has developed into a particular aesthetic in itself. It includes empty paths, hallways, waiting rooms, lobbies, or even abandoned malls carrying an “eerie and unsettling vibe.” Nicole’s first attempt to describe it was “like falling through the floor into an empty room with yellow walls, moist carpet,and a buzzing sound.” Nicole says she enjoys reading about and looking at pictures of these types of spaces.  Many years ago she enjoyed watching Gravity Falls and started imagining mysteries that only she could see all over her school.  I think the mysterious, unsettling nature of that idea that appealed to her then, has matured into this liminal space fascination that she enjoys now.

Nicole is full of life.  She is engaging and creative.  She is fun and kind.  I enjoy Nicole on many levels and enjoy being her mom.  Here is what I wrote about her last year.