Confessions of a Homeschooler {Part One}

So I'm homeschooled.

I know what you may be thinking: "You actually want to stay home and do school by yourself all day? Don't you want to have tons of friends and things to do?"

It's actually rather amusing to me how many misconceptions there are about homeschoolers. Don't worry, I'm not going to sit here and pick apart each myth, but I am going to give an inside view from my perspective of what it's really like being homeschooled. 

 I have been homeschooled my entire life. I have never been in a public school, nor do I have any reason or desire to be. However, I will say that there were times I hated being homeschooled. There were the days of sibling squabbles, missing books and pencils, failed tests, difficult lessons, and tears, but my parents always stuck it out and remained determined to see it through. It is that determination that has gotten me this far.

My parents have always been a huge part of my education. Even now that I am in high school and I do all of my schoolwork on my own, my dad has never been unwilling to sit down with me and go over a Geometry problem, or explain (sometimes several times!) a concept in my science. Because I struggle with those subjects, my mom has been able to customize the curriculum to fit each of our learning styles. I still struggle sometimes with those tough subjects, but I am able to learn at my own pace and still keep my grades up.

A benefit of being homeschooled is that I am able to spend more time on my hobbies and things that I am passionate about. I get the majority of my schoolwork done by noon, so I end up having an entire afternoon to fill with baking, writing, running, music, and many other things! I really don't sit at home all day doing nothing! There is an endless list of activities and hobbies that I have the opportunity to pursue, because I have more time freed up. 

Something that I have always really loved about being homeschooled through high school is that I have the liberty to come up with my own school schedules. That is one of the things that I get most excited about with every school year. I love organizing my desk, getting everything in order, and putting together a daily schedule. I feel much more motivated at the beginning of the day when I have a checklist in my hand with a clear idea of what I need to accomplish. So many times, people have said, "I wish I was homeschooled! I could sleep in as late as I want!" In reality, that isn't always how it works! (I do agree though, it would be really nice some days! :p)
 On the contrary, if you are REALLY motivated, homeschooling provides the amazing opportunity to wake up super early and get all of your schoolwork done before 9 o'clock. Those days used to be the highlight of my younger years! 

What I'm trying to get across is that homeschooling really is a ton of fun, and it comes with some pretty awesome advantages. I'm not going against public school at all; in fact, I know that public schooling has some great advantages and awesome aspects as well! There are some pretty amazing people who I love to death that God has placed in my life, and it really doesn't make a difference what school we go to! I just really wanted to give a different perspective on the seemingly "mysterious" world of homeschoolers, and let people know that while it isn't for everyone, it really can be an amazing thing.

So maybe I'm not as "cool" as some other people, and maybe I don't have as many high school experiences, but I have never been more grateful to my parents for homeschooling me. There are really hard days where everyone gets on each others nerves, and nothing really goes as planned, but at the end of the day, we are all still a family, and there are beautiful memories fingerprinted on all of our hearts. 
                

  ~Megan ♥

*original picture via Google and edited by me.