Is this real life?

There is a certain female student, JM, who I have this year in my class again. She is now a senior and the class she's in now is more or less a study hall with other seniors that is meant to provide them with an opportunity to work.

Last year, she was one of my worst students. She had a bad attitude, would always try and talk back to me, and would pretty much attempt to do whatever she wanted to do. It's not that she wasn't smart. She was one of the smarter students I had, and this was what made things difficult. JM would turn other students against me, and sour the mood of the whole class.

This year she's completely different. She is one of my best students. JM will actually quiet the class down if they are being loud. Today she came up to me and showed her progress report because she was proud of her GPA. This girl is nice to me. I am almost afraid of her because I expect her to turn on me at any minute (almost).

I haven't really done anything to warrant this change in her attitude other than to be relentlessly nice. I have helped her out with papers and showed her tricks on the computer. Really, I've always liked her in a way, as I do most students, and I enjoy seeing them succeed.

Today, JM invited me to come to her debate event this Saturday. I can't overstress how much this girl's attitude towards me has changed. I used to think she literally hated me; now I'm beginning to think she may actually like me.

Is this what it's like to parent a teenager?