Blog: I Graduated!

Welp, I made it. After being homeschooled K-12, I have finally graduated high school.

My parents originally decided to homeschool me while my mom was still pregnant. Both of my parents felt that public school had failed them in some way, an assessment that was a lot coming from my dad. Growing up, he was sent to some of the best schools in the state, which means that by all accounts, he should have received an excellent education. Instead, he got a lot of the typical Leftist gobbledygook that’s been taught in public schools for decades and as a teenager, he began waking up to how stupid it all was. He ended up learning more in his free time than at school.

Thus, Mom agreed to stay at home to teach me and, later, my brother, and it proved to be challenging. In the early years, I obviously needed more help. That meant more time spent making sure I understood the lessons and was doing my assignments, especially reading, writing, and math. Mom was particularly hard on me making sure I understood those subjects and I remember having meltdowns because I wasn’t getting it.

As you can tell, I survived and am reaping the rewards from those long afternoons on the couch being grilled about my writing.

However, towards late-elementary school, my mom let me be more independent, figuring out my own day-to-day schedule and getting my assignments done. This gave me a good work ethic since I had to learn how to organize my day to get what I needed to do done, while leaving time open for other things, like outings.

Additionally, homeschooling provided an environment to foster critical thinking. The curriculum my family used, while being Christian, gave both sides of the argument and came with a myriad of notes and discussion questions about various topics. For example, discussion questions were provided for every book I had and didn’t just stop at reporting the facts of what I had read to make sure I had actually read the book. Many of them also asked about themes in the book, what literary devices were present, etc. The British Literature course I took in my junior year of high school was especially in depth in its discussion questions and notes.

Homeschooling also allowed me to develop at my own pace. While I’m not going to say that all public-school kids are like this, I think for a lot of kids, the pressure to fit in forces them to develop mentally at a rate that’s closer to their peers than what would be normal for them if they didn’t have that pressure. Without that, however, and from mainly being around adults my whole life, I was able to grow up in a way that’s normal for me. I wasn’t held back by a desire to fit in or to be a part of the latest trend. I was able to just be myself.

Further, being homeschooled has given me the freedom to do the things that I love. I got to write five books, which I’m trying to rewrite to fit more with my beliefs. I started this blog. I started a YouTube channel. I don’t think any of that would be possible if I were in public school, operating on their schedule.

Now that I’ve graduated, I can use the skills that I gained from homeschooling in the real world. As for the blog and YouTube channel, I intend to keep writing and posting as I move through life, though it might get to a point where it’s less frequent.

Until next time,

M.J.