Homeschooling

If you didn't know already, I've been home-schooled since November last year and I've been debating whether to write this post for a while. I'm always a bit hesitant to say that I am home-schooled because of all the myths and assumptions, so for a bit of a different topic to talk about, I'm going to tell you the truth about being home-schooled.

This photo has little reference to Meenie but this photo is too cute not to share...

We're not rich. One of the most annoying and irritating things about telling people you're home-schooled is the assumption they make, referring to me & my family as 'rich'. I can tell you now that my family are most definitely not rich!

You have to be REALLY motivated. I don't have a teacher pressuring me to get my work done and you really have to be extremely self-motivated. It's unbelievably difficult to motivate yourself to sit at the table and revise when you have full access to the TV, laptop and phone! Distractions are literally everywhere.

It's difficult. It is so difficult you have no idea. At the moment, I'm studying for my GCSE's and am due to sit around 13 exams... All in something I have completely taught myself. I always find myself under a lot of pressure because if I fail, I'll only have myself to blame. Nobody in my family is a teacher/has teaching experience and I don't have a tutor. Everything that I learn, I have learnt by myself.

It's lonely. I sometimes go days without going outdoors. With everyone in my family working and being out most of the day, the only thing that keeps me company is my cat (don't worry - I'm not becoming one of those crazy cat ladies just yet... or maybe I am). 

You realize who's really there for you. In school I was surrounded by a few people that I thought were my friends. If you go to school and then become homeschooled, you'll realize who actually cares about you, even if it's the odd text saying "Hi Elise! Guess what happened in school today....". I wouldn't have enough fingers or toes to count the amount of people who I very wrongly thought would be there for me. Ah well, that's high school.

You need to be able to deal with rumors & gossip! Rumors are a part of high-school life, I understand that. However, if you're in school and you hear a rumor about you or your family, you are there to defend yourself and set them straight. Since I've been homeschooled, there's been a few rumors about me & my life from people in and out of school that I can't be there to defend. At the end of the day, you need to realise that you don't have to explain yourself to people and it's completely OK to not tell everyone what they want to know/hear. One bit of advice I always try to follow is the quote, "A lion does not lose sleep over the opinion of a sheep". If I'm happy what I'm doing, so what?

Don't get me wrong - being homeschooled isn't that bad; there are a few positives. Pyjama days, snacks and even wearing no makeup and not feeling like you're burning someone's eyes always has to be a positive!