I remember the feeling clearly. I thought my stomach was going to boil over with hot bubbly goo. A sour taste sat in my mouth. My hands shook like a sudden case of immature Parkinson's had taken over my body and as I looked down at my feet pressing against the pavement and the green grass, they seemed to be a million miles away. I walked out of the school's office with my family. I didn't say much, mostly because I was still trying to adjust to what had just happened. I knew that my life was going to be different forever. I wasn't in trouble. I didn't get kicked out of school. It was quite the opposite actually. I was placed in school.

Up until October of my sixth-grade year, I was home-schooled. I attended a private Christian academy until Kindergarten, but when it closed, my parents were forced to find other arrangements. Growing up in a household heavily influenced by the church, my parents (God bless them) decided that public school would soon be too much for the innocence that they wanted me to possess. So after Kindergarten, I was kept at home.

There are some things you should know about my parents. They grew up in southeastern Michigan where one city poured into the next, and everything was gray and greasy. They went to public schools, and their schools were rough (they went to high school in the 1980s, everything was rough in the 1980s). They got picked on and made fun of and their teachers, quite frankly, should not have been teachers. I have heard so many nightmares of children lighting other children's hair on fire on buses, and name calling and verbal abuse that has a lasting, devastating effect on someone's self-esteem. This turned them into introverts, only needing each other. So to be fair, they were only trying to protect me from the only world they knew.

But there's a difference between me and my parents. I grew up in central Michigan in a city barely large enough to be called a city. My family and I lived in the green wholesomeness of the country. Our only concerns were avoiding potholes in the dirt roads and making sure the deer didn't eat the corn out of our garden. I am an extrovert. I crave being around other people. But my parents never thought of that.

In short, being home-schooled was hell. I hated it. It would take me all day to do a few lessons because I dreaded it. In addition, it had a myriad of other effects on my health: emotionally, mentally and socially. In first through fifth grade, I spent all my time at home. I didn't attend school. While you might think surely was a dream come true, it was quite the opposite. I woke up at 7 in the morning. I was required to make my bed before heading to the basement where I "attended" school (my parents set up a little area with a desk and books and a white board). My mother would sit with me all day while math, science, English and Bible classes were thrown my way. I learned out of books. My mother wanted me to learn music, so once a week I took one-on-one piano lessons.

During this time in my life, I didn't get to go out often. The only social interaction I received with peers my own age was every Sunday in Sunday School and for the short period my family attended a homeschool co-op (once a week other home-schooling families got together at a local church and held classes like a real school). Elementary and early middle school is when kids' social skills are developed and because I missed out on a lot of that, my social skills were far behind other children my own age. This resulted in social awkwardness that I am still struggling with.

Elementary school is when I started becoming more self-aware. I knew what other girls my age looked like, and I knew what I looked like. And I knew what the girls in the magazines looked like. I knew that I was bigger than them and taller than them, and I knew that they were prettier than I was. I knew that the braces on my teeth weren't normal for elementary school and I knew everyone was staring at the ugly pimples that sprinkled across my cheeks. I didn't get to meet a lot of other children my own age so I compared myself to the few I did know. And I was nothing like them. This caused an extremely damaging self-view. It severely impacted my confidence. I wasn't forced to be around other kids all day like I would have if I would have went to school. I didn't want to meet new people because I had taught myself to believe that they wouldn't like me. Up until college, this was still my mindset.

My parents did what they thought would be best for me. They didn't know how it would turn out. I don't blame them for any of the struggles I went through. My parents taught me everything I needed to know. I did well, so well in fact, I was able to jump two grades ahead in math, and I excelled in my reading and writing courses. So transitioning to "real" school was academically easy. But in so many other aspects, it was very difficult.

I'm not telling you to not homeschool your kids. I'm not saying that it will screw up their lives and make them social burdens on society. Some children are home-schooled and love it. However, I do ask that when considering home-schooling, think about your child's personality. Think about how much interaction they'll receive with their peers. I cannot stress how important this is for young minds. Ask your child if this is something that they would like. It is, after all, their education.