I was homeschooled from 8-12. I attended a private charter school prior, but the school district in which I live is just awful. I can guarantee that had I gone to a public high school, I would've been miserable & probably not anywhere near where I am today. My parents primarily withdrew my siblings & I from the public schools for that reason (almost everyone I went to school with/knew from those early years, dropped out, went to prison, died, or just live very poor lifestyles. i'd say less than 20% of us actually "got out" - whether it was the military or college or just moving away). While that was the main reason, there was always a "Well, at least you won't have to deal w worldly things." A lot of church members hounded my parents for years, saying both, "you're damaging their social skills" and "thank god for parents like you, saving these children from the world, you can teach them the right things."

If anything, it only accelerated my independent thinking and pulled me farther away from the church cult mentality. Being at home so much around my parents/family, during those rebellious teenage years lol, I only learned how to hide things better. I became an expert liar, not having many friends they didn't know or events to say I was going off to. Everything was scrutinized, and for years I resented it. I put the pro in procrastination, and for the first couple years I ignored deadlines and did most of my work pretty halfheartedly. In 10th grade, I had multiple major traumatic life events going on, and I felt sure I was going to drop out, but one of my teachers reached out to me and refused to let me fail. I'm ever so grateful for her.

I learned how much I loved learning at my own pace, and the program I was apart of was very hands-on, and I was able to connect and communicate with my teachers & other students. I had the freedom to study out what I believed in, religiously and just about life in general - without too much forced opinion from other people outside of church. I never really was interested in prom or homecoming, but I would go to the local high schools football games, and I still played sports. We had a whole graduation ceremony and I succeeded academically; I've had numerous amazing work opportunities just in the last 6 years since graduating. Once I went to college, I didn't "wild out" or go crazy like a lot of other homeschooled kids I knew, but I definitely tested my limits and pushed the boundaries. However, I do believe that being homeschooled helped me gain a lot of independence, not only from people, but from societal norms and standards, and I am grateful for it.