Even though I was homeschooled for 10 years, I believe I was a normal kid. But, alas, others still saw me as an unapproachable child and would not touch me with an 11-foot pole. As a high schooler, I decided, "Hey, I just won't tell anyone that I am home schooled!" Flashing forward to where I am now, I have just finished up my first year of college and have realized one important fact: homeschooling was the best decision my parents ever made for me, and it is time to embrace it and give others some insight into a proud homeschoolers mind.
1. Believe it or not, most homeschoolers are normal.
My biggest pet peeve is when other kids would look at me like I was an alien. No, I am not from Mars -- I just don’t go to school every day like you. This is probably the most common mistake among private and public school kids. Most homeschoolers in my area went to hybrid schools, did online school or dual enrollment, along with or instead of a purely homeschooled routine. So, technically, that means we are attending a type of school, although it is not the kind you all know and “love.”
2. I had friends.
The phrase I hear almost every time I used to tell people I was homeschooled was, “How do you make friends?” We have social skills, I promise. Believe it or not, we also enjoy our classmates, unlike other kids who hate half of the people in their school. That may be because we may only have five classmates; heaven forbid we form good relationships. I think I have great people skills and super cool friends, thank you very much.
3. There are hundreds of homeschooling options, organizations and teams in Georgia.
I was a part of hybrid school called Classical Conversations. There are a bunch more though Veritas, Artios Academy and others. When it came to after school activities, I was an actress, a volleyball player on an award winning team, a cheerleader for one of the best homeschool/private school squads in our league and was the proud participant of an all-out, full shebang of a graduation, diploma and everything. So if you take the negativity out of public school sports, that’s what I got to be a part of.
4. My self esteem was, and is, thriving.
My teachers always praised my papers. My family has always complimented me. I actually think I may have a little too much confidence. I never let the social expectations of a homeschooler define me, and have always striven to be the best me. So, yeah, I think I’m pretty cool.
5. Constant attention and love from my family.
6. Freedom.
Freedom to work: I am a supervisor at the Moore Road Chick-fil-A. This is only because of my flexible schedule and dedication.
You are able to personalize how you learn -- and more!
7. Go to Disney anytime you want to (anything is a field trip).
That's right. I could go anywhere and at any time. How? Because school was in my house and class could be taught on the beach or inside Cinderella’s castle if we wanted.
8. Nothing but love from friends and classmates.
9. PJs whenever you want.
Need I say more? Until I got a job, I never actually put real clothes on. That is a true story.
10. Sleepovers on school nights.
11. The freedom to have Christian-based science books and family devotional time.
12. Harder curriculum. (Did you have college level logic in eighth grade? I did.)
Although college is still harder than high school, I feel I was more prepared when it came to the syllabus requirements, personal schedules, and time management that I had already learned to do in high school.
13. An odd love of Tim Hawkins.
I also saw him live -- twice (because I had that homeschool schedule -- heh heh). If you haven't heard of Tim Hawkins, look up the Chick-fil-A song; it will be the highlight of your day
A wise man once said, "Don't knock it until you try it." So keep an open mind and friend some homeschoolers. I promise you won't regret it.
