When my mom told me that she would be putting us into public school I remember going to my room, throwing myself onto my bed, and sobbing for all that would surely be lost.

I was 9 or 10 years old, and I loved being homeschooled.

When would I ride my pony? When would I have time to play outside? I thought my life was over.

So, after I had finished my fifth grade year at home my mom made the decision to put me in fifth grade again the next year at public school so I would be with kids my age. Looking back I’m really happy she made this decision. The kids, especially the girls, in the grade ahead of me were m-e-a-n.

And public school wasn’t all that bad I came to realize.

I finally made friends that were just my own. I had shared my sister’s friends up until that point (I wasn’t a very social child to say the least).

I went home sick a lot that first year. Turns out I wasn’t accustomed to all the germs kids carried around. So, that was pretty good for my immune system to build up it’s defenses.

I was able to join band, choosing the saxophone as my instrument of choice. I really enjoyed learning how to play it, and it was an unexpected workout every time I had to lug it home. (Our driveway was a 1/4 mile long with a pretty big hill).

Going to public school gave me social interaction, the ability to join extracurricular activities (like band and sports), and do teenage things like get a boyfriend and go to school dances.

I don’t regret any of my journey through school. I enjoyed all elements of it. But looking back if I had to choose one part to relive it would either be homeschool or college, which were both by far my favorite parts of my education.

I’m really excited and curious to see what I decide to do for education when I have children of my own.