“我得骑会儿车离我那十来岁的闺女远点。她错过了申请大学的最后期限，却骗我说按时递了申请。我相信她，决定给她空间，让她自己申请。结果昨天发现了一封信，信上说她的申请来得太晚。所以我若无其事地给她做了晚餐，让她好好吃了顿饭，完了把信当甜点拿给了她。接着我们俩就吵了起来。她说她想休一个学期的假。她觉得我总是命令她做这做那的，现在她想自己做主。但我为了她打两份工，独自一人抚养她，把一切也都给了她。她是晚上11:58出生的，离我生日只差两分钟。她长得像我，行为举止也像我，个性还跟我一样犟。我们一有争执，我就会想，‘天哪！我是Angie，我竟然在跟18岁的自己吵架。’只是我18那会儿已经怀了她哥哥了。现在我只是希望她能过得好一些。”

“I had to take a bike ride to get away from my teenage daughter. She missed the deadline for her college application, but she lied and told me that she’d sent it in on time. I believed her. I decided to give her space and let her do it on her own. Then yesterday I found a letter saying that her application came too late. So I cooked her dinner. I let her have a nice meal. Then I served her the letter for dessert. We started arguing. She told me that she wants to take a semester off. She thinks I’m bossing her around and she wants to do things her own way. But I worked two jobs for this girl. I raised her on my own. I’ve given her everything. She was born at 11:58 PM, two minutes before my birthday. She looks just like me. She acts just like me. And she’s stubborn like me. Whenever we butt heads I think, ‘Oh my God. I’m Angie. I’m fighting with my eighteen-year-old self.’ Except I was already pregnant with her older brother by then. And I just want things to be easier for her.”