It was four years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. The day my parents asked me, my brother, and my sister if we wanted to leave public school and become home schooled. Public school is all I had ever known, at the time I didn’t even know what homeschooling was. At school I was feeling the same way every other kid was, I want out! I agreed, and my last few days of public school were spent in pure excitement. I didn’t know what I was excited about yet, but I was eager to find out!

Little did I know home schooling was nothing like I had expected. Computer math, books, computer foreign language, I was bored all the time! The real reason I became home schooled hadn’t presented itself yet. A few months later I was complaining about wanting desperately to go back to school. It wasn’t much better, but at least I’d be amongst my friends all day. My siblings and I were arguing and fighting all the time! We lived in a fairly small house, so there weren’t a lot of places I could go to be alone. Than the day came when my misery was put to rest, we were going to Paris! My dad being an airline pilot for united made it so our family could travel. Finally homeschooling had paid off.

France was my first time travelling outside of the country, and it was unbelievable! Everything was so exotic and different, and the language was the loveliest thing I had ever heard. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, it was absolutely incredible. While we were travelling, we were able to do our schoolwork, and stay on top of all the necessary tasks. We went on to see Rome, Amsterdam, and New Zealand later that year as well. As amazing as the experiences were, I was becoming a teenager and just wanted to be like everybody else.

For my freshmen year of high school, I made the decision to return to public school. I was worried I had fallen behind while I was home schooled, but academics was the least of my worries. The drama of high school my mom warned me about hit me as soon as the summer before school started. I soon learned that a lot of things changed since I left school in 6th grade, including some of my friends I had known for years. One girl didn’t like another, so I wasn’t allowed to be friends that girl. Or I couldn’t sit with somebody at lunch without the girl I normally sat with getting mad at me. It was horrible! All of a sudden I missed home schooling. I missed my drama free life of travelling and learning at my own pace.

For the second semester of my freshmen year, I became home schooled again. I still hang out with my friends from school, but it wasn’t my entire life. I ended up going to Africa, Nicaragua, Italy, Austria, France, and Germany during the summer and the rest of my school year. I enjoy learning at my own speed, and investing more time in my interests. I believe there is a way to survive public school, by rising above all the drama. Now fifteen, I still personally find more enjoyment in homeschooling and encourage all who try’s.