Don't stereotype (you know who you are)

Alright person who will go nameless, it's time you were "educated" about homeschoolers.

And yes, I am putting you on blast.

Here are some common stereotypes.

1. "homeschoolers have no social skills"

2. "homeschoolers have no sense of style"

3. "homeschoolers are sheltered"

4. "the media is from the devil"

5. "they eat paste"

6. "they only listen to soft christian music"

Those are... WRONG!!

Am I any of those things?
NO!!

Look at me, I'm no stereotypical homeschooler.

1. I happen to have exceptional social skills.

2. I have SOME sense in style.

3. I'm not THAT sheltered (ask my mom)

4. Not ALL media is from the devil.

5. And no, I do not eat paste, nor do any of my homeschooled friends.

6. I listen to all kinds of music, including some rap, lots of metal, lots of rock, some classical and some worship.

When was the last time you saw a stereotype proven RIGHT?

And btw, there are many children, not homeschooled, that eat paste.

Homeschooled children never eat paste because they're always supervised by their mother or father, the paste eaters come from child cares where there are LOTS of children and not as many caretakers. This is why Homeschoolers tend to have higher test scores, they're not taught in a classroom of 30 kids but are taught one on one by their parents.

BAM!

That's called bein put on blast, Sarah (the youth leader) taught me how to do that, thanks Sarah.

The world seems to look down on homeschoolers, people think up these weird stereotypes and ideas all based on other stereotypes. One of the most common questions I get is "do you have friends?" Of course I have friends!

Just because I don't go to outside school with other kids doesn't brand me incapable of making friends, that question is an insult to the person asking it, by asking that question you're saying that the ONLY way to make friends is in school. If that's the only way kids can make friends what does it show about them?

People think that because I'm not around kids at school I have no social skills, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I CAN carry a conversation with someone (any age), I CAN talk to people I don't know, and I CAN greet people on the street.

This doesn't mean that I always WANT to talk to people I don't know, like any teen I would rather talk to my friends.

Being set apart as "the weird kid" has taught me compassion for others, I don't ever place anyone in a social pyramid. I've been on top and I've been on bottom, I know how it feels. So when my friends say that some one's "weird" I dare to ask the question "but do you know them? have you talked to them?" Because the chances are I have, and these "weird" kids are the same as everyone else, maybe they just dress different or look different.

It's a vicious cycle, as people stop talking to the "weird" kids they seem to become more and more "weird", this is because people judge you by your crowd, "oh that kid's popular, look at how many people he has around him"

Where the "weird" kid doesn't seem to have any friends at all, this makes him all the more "weird"

-Sometimes you just gotta be that person's friend

-Ernie