14 Oct G Day Story: Coleen

Coleen Christie is the Anchor for CTV News at 5 and Noon. We thank her for sharing her G Day Story with us!

As I approached puberty, life was confusing, exciting, and a little scary. I just wanted to grow up so fast…and I kind of did.  I always wanted to skip a grade and hang out with the older kids. I was precocious to say the least.

I thought I was ok, and I was. My best friend was 3 years older than me (do you see a theme here?). My parents gave my brother and I a lot of freedom which we didn’t abuse…not at that point anyway. We got to test our wings in a safe way.

I remember the excitement of learning something new almost every day. The world seemed wondrous at times…still does.

I would have loved to have gone to a school for the performing and/or visual arts.  That was my passion. Funny that I ended up with two careers using both skills.

I couldn’t wait to become an adult. It wasn’t about breaking away from the perceived tyranny of my parents or anything like that. It was more about getting to have adult experiences, making choices, blazing a trail. My parents always treated us with a lot of respect…like adults in a way…so the prospect was never scary for me.

There was no formal acknowledgement of the transition from childhood to adulthood.  As a WASPy kid, that would have been weird and embarrassing, especially since I hit puberty young. I also believe it’s a process that takes years to complete. Considering my mother entered adolescence without a mother, or support of any kind, she was amazing with me.  She made me feel… normal and that there was nothing to fear. I’ll always be grateful to her for that and so much more.