00:00:05
What is good my ex-homies? It's your boy
00:00:07
Jacob Gen. We're back for another week
00:00:08
in the exhomechoolers club. And uh I've
00:00:11
got another I've got a brand new uh ex-h
00:00:13
homeschool friend in the clubhouse
00:00:15
today. Uh Jaci is joining us and she's
00:00:18
going to share her homeschool
00:00:20
experience. I don't totally know where
00:00:22
the conversation is going to go yet, but
00:00:24
that is aokay. Um, so all that being
00:00:27
said, JC, welcome to the Ex
00:00:29
Homeschoolers Club. So stoked to have
00:00:31
you.
00:00:32
>> Thank you so much, Jacob. I'm super
00:00:33
excited for our conversation.
00:00:35
>> So tell me a little bit about your
00:00:37
homeschool experience. Give me give us
00:00:39
kind of like the rundown, like how long
00:00:40
were you homeschooled, where were you
00:00:42
homeschooled, siblings, all that kind of
00:00:44
stuff. Give us just a little taste of of
00:00:46
the homeschool life for you.
00:00:48
>> Yeah, for sure. Um, okay. So, I was
00:00:50
homeschooled K through 12, so all the
00:00:54
way through. Um, I have an older sister
00:00:57
and she went to kindergarten and half of
00:01:01
first grade and then my parents pulled
00:01:03
her out to homeschool and we just kept
00:01:05
going. Um, then I have a younger
00:01:08
brother, uh, and he was homeschooled K
00:01:11
through 12 as well. So, just very
00:01:14
committed. Um,
00:01:15
>> yeah,
00:01:16
>> I grew up in the Dallas, Texas area and
00:01:20
we kind of moved around a lot in that
00:01:22
area. So, homeschooling kind of helped
00:01:25
out with that. Um, then when I was in
00:01:27
high school, we moved to Missouri and
00:01:31
spent like three years there. And then
00:01:32
my senior year of high school, we ended
00:01:34
up moving back to Texas.
00:01:36
Um, and for most of that time we did the
00:01:40
uh the ACE curriculum or ACCE.
00:01:44
Um, so that was a very like selfdirected
00:01:50
curriculum.
00:01:52
Um, I think other people have talked
00:01:54
about it before, but it's like the um
00:01:57
each grade, each subject is broken up
00:01:59
into like 12 pieces, these like little
00:02:02
workbooks, and you work on you have to
00:02:05
finish all of those to finish that grade
00:02:07
and that subject. And it's like very
00:02:10
heavily focused on like you sit down,
00:02:13
you you read the instructions, you do
00:02:15
the work, and then you even like grade
00:02:17
your own work. Um, so
00:02:21
outside of that, we weren't like super
00:02:23
involved in co-ops or clubs or anything
00:02:26
like that. We tried a co-op for a year
00:02:29
and then quit for reasons I can't
00:02:31
remember. Um, and then I did Girl Scouts
00:02:35
for like one year and then quit.
00:02:38
Um, so really like thinking back on my
00:02:41
homeschool experience, it was very like
00:02:44
kind of isolated. Like
00:02:47
we did the like sitting around the table
00:02:49
and like our mom helping us when like we
00:02:51
were really young, but I would say once
00:02:55
we got into like middle school, maybe
00:02:58
like fifth grade, it was very much like
00:03:01
I did my schoolwork alone in my room.
00:03:04
>> Yeah.
00:03:04
>> And graded everything. So, uh, a little
00:03:07
bit of a isolating experience, I would
00:03:09
say.
00:03:10
>> I feel like the ACES, the people who go
00:03:12
through like the ACE curriculum, that is
00:03:14
kind of, it almost feels like that's
00:03:16
what it's designed to do is like keep
00:03:18
you like isolated and give you, like you
00:03:20
were saying, it's very self-motivated.
00:03:22
Like, you can work ahead, you can get
00:03:24
behind, like it's kind of all on you as
00:03:27
the student to like work through uh
00:03:29
those textbooks. I'm curious from a
00:03:33
perspective now, like looking at it, do
00:03:35
you feel like that curriculum
00:03:38
was good, bad? Like I I I've heard like
00:03:41
mixed things. Some people love it, some
00:03:42
people hate it. Like do you think that
00:03:44
it, you know, where do you sit with it,
00:03:46
I guess, is the question there.
00:03:48
>> Yeah, I would say it's not my favorite.
00:03:52
>> Okay.
00:03:52
>> Looking back, I think it has a lot of
00:03:55
problems. Um, like a major one is that I
00:04:00
feel like it was it it wasn't ever super
00:04:02
indepth.
00:04:04
So, I kind of feel like a lot of it was
00:04:06
like the Spark Notes version of,
00:04:10
you know, learning like in science or
00:04:13
social studies. It would just be like,
00:04:16
you know, a couple of pages of reading
00:04:19
about a event or a subject and then you
00:04:23
basically just like memorize and
00:04:25
regurgitate facts. But we were never
00:04:28
required to like do research projects or
00:04:32
write papers or anything like that. So
00:04:34
it didn't ever go like super in-depth.
00:04:37
Um and then it was also like super super
00:04:40
religious. So every every single one of
00:04:43
those little workbooks had like a moral
00:04:46
theme to it. If it was like honesty or
00:04:50
um tactfulness or faithfulness or
00:04:53
whatever, there would be like that that
00:04:56
theme that it was also teaching you
00:04:58
throughout the book and there would be
00:05:00
like a memory verse with every book that
00:05:02
you had to memorize and you were tested
00:05:05
on it at the end. So, uh yeah, kind of
00:05:09
felt like maybe the the religious aspect
00:05:12
was kind of the primary thing and then
00:05:14
the the educational aspect was
00:05:16
secondary. Well, it's interesting
00:05:18
because like I I didn't do aces and
00:05:20
paces and stuff, but I when people
00:05:23
describe it and even like when I've
00:05:24
pulled it up and looked through kind of
00:05:26
that curriculum, I it reminds me very
00:05:29
much of Awana. I don't know if you're
00:05:31
familiar with that at all.
00:05:32
>> Yep. We were very involved in Awanas.
00:05:34
>> So, like it to me it feels like the
00:05:37
Awana like handbooks that you would like
00:05:39
flip through. Um, but obviously with
00:05:42
like like you were saying history or
00:05:44
math or whatever, but just this like
00:05:46
significant tie into some of it being
00:05:48
religious, which I think is really it's
00:05:52
kind of an interesting thing to think
00:05:54
about people's curriculum being like
00:05:56
hyper religious like that because I I
00:05:58
obviously I had some Christian
00:06:01
curriculums as well. science was very
00:06:04
young earth creationistbased
00:06:06
science and things like that. But there
00:06:08
was a lot of other subjects like my math
00:06:10
had nothing to do with religion. It was
00:06:13
just like not even word problems were
00:06:15
you know it's not it's not like asking
00:06:16
like oh if Jesus multiplied the fish by
00:06:18
x amount what is the number you know
00:06:20
it's not stuff like that. It was just
00:06:22
very like
00:06:24
traditional math in a lot of senses. Uh
00:06:26
even though the the company themselves
00:06:28
is a Christian company. And so I think I
00:06:31
never really thought about it until now
00:06:33
connecting with so many other homeschool
00:06:35
alumni that it's like, oh no, there is
00:06:37
curriculum that is just 100% Christian
00:06:40
values all the way through everything in
00:06:42
it. And so you said you guys primarily
00:06:46
use the ACES stuff. Did you ever switch
00:06:48
it up and do anything else?
00:06:50
>> Um, so I we did switch it up a little
00:06:52
bit when I was in high school. It's
00:06:54
actually kind of funny. Um, I was like
00:06:58
super into like school and education and
00:07:01
stuff and so I I think I kind of knew
00:07:04
like this isn't like super rigorous and
00:07:07
I think I wanted something more. So I
00:07:09
like I went to my brother, my younger
00:07:11
brother, and I was like, listen, we have
00:07:14
to convince mom and dad to like look
00:07:17
into a different curriculum. So I like
00:07:20
researched and found some different
00:07:22
things. And so I think we did something
00:07:24
different for um like science and
00:07:28
history in high school.
00:07:31
>> You know what's so interesting about
00:07:32
homeschoolers too? I feel like we are
00:07:35
given this
00:07:38
drive to like learn stuff and like to go
00:07:43
find and seek out stuff because a and
00:07:46
challenge ourselves in a lot of ways
00:07:47
because like you were saying it's like
00:07:49
super easy, not rigorous like and you're
00:07:52
like I I need something more like you
00:07:55
know so let me go do the research and
00:07:57
present it to mom and dad. And I feel
00:07:59
like that's such a like
00:08:02
I I feel like that's a little bit of a
00:08:03
true statement for me too of like my
00:08:06
curriculum maybe was a little bit more
00:08:07
rigorous than yours, but it definitely
00:08:08
was like there was a portion of it that
00:08:11
was me driving that like well what do
00:08:13
you want to learn? Let's learn this
00:08:14
thing or like I need something more,
00:08:16
right? And so do you feel like that has
00:08:20
also stuck with you as an adult where
00:08:22
you're like, "Hey, when I want to know
00:08:23
something like I'm just going to go like
00:08:24
seek out that information." Yes, it for
00:08:27
sure has. Um, and honestly, that's
00:08:31
something that I feel like has kind of
00:08:33
benefited me in my career. Um, like I
00:08:38
feel like I've had employers who are
00:08:40
like, it's just so great that you'll
00:08:41
just like, you know, you're willing to
00:08:44
just jump in and like learn whatever.
00:08:46
It's like, right.
00:08:47
>> Well, yeah. Doesn't everybody do that?
00:08:49
Like that's just what I grew up doing.
00:08:51
>> Yeah. Exactly. I in college, it was
00:08:55
funny. My my first semester of college,
00:08:59
we had a professor who was like, "After
00:09:00
you finish this class, you're going to
00:09:01
be an expert Googler." And I already
00:09:04
kind of felt like I was to some degree
00:09:06
because I was used to having to do that
00:09:08
research of like whatever it is you want
00:09:11
to learn because I mean, again, the
00:09:13
homeschool environment, my mom doesn't
00:09:15
know diddly squad about, you know, she
00:09:19
has her area of expertise, right? And
00:09:21
that's for her it was like English lit
00:09:23
and things like that, but when it came
00:09:24
to I was really into music and stuff
00:09:26
like that, she she knew none of that. So
00:09:28
like I had to do all my own research and
00:09:30
find my own books and all that kind of
00:09:31
stuff. And she encouraged that, but it
00:09:33
was definitely like it was me. It was me
00:09:36
driving that conversation. And so um
00:09:39
yeah, I think it just carries for a lot
00:09:41
of us on into adulthood and like you
00:09:43
said, careers and stuff like that. going
00:09:45
back really quick to kind of the younger
00:09:48
years and specifically I wanted I want
00:09:50
to ask you a little bit about like the
00:09:52
move to Missouri and then back to Texas
00:09:54
and you had already said like co-ops
00:09:56
weren't really a big part of your guys'
00:09:58
life but did you socialize at all or
00:10:01
like what did socialization look like
00:10:03
for you guys?
00:10:04
>> Um socialization looked like church.
00:10:07
>> Yeah.
00:10:08
>> Yeah, that that's pretty much it.
00:10:11
>> Okay. Um, so yeah, I like when I was
00:10:14
like in middle school and high school, I
00:10:16
lived for Sunday mornings and Wednesday
00:10:20
nights. Like nothing else in the week
00:10:22
mattered. It was Sunday school and youth
00:10:25
group on Wednesday nights. And yeah,
00:10:28
when we were younger, we were involved
00:10:30
in Alana. Um, I even did we did like uh
00:10:35
like a I was on like a Bible quiz team
00:10:39
and we won first place at the Texas
00:10:42
Bible Quiz tournament. So, I still have
00:10:45
the medal from that.
00:10:46
>> Hell yeah.
00:10:48
Um, but yeah, it was mainly just church
00:10:52
like and anything that even like the co
00:10:54
the co-op that we were involved in and
00:10:55
the Girl Scout troop I was involved in
00:10:57
like anything extracurricular like that
00:10:59
would have also been like Christian
00:11:01
based
00:11:02
>> I guess. How is the move then to
00:11:04
Missouri? Cuz that's like that's a far
00:11:07
distance to go like but I mean obviously
00:11:10
you must have had some friends to some
00:11:12
degree but was that difficult like
00:11:14
considering maybe it wasn't? I don't
00:11:16
know. I I guess I'm thinking about like
00:11:18
some of my best friends. We met at Aana
00:11:21
and I mean we were third grade maybe
00:11:25
something like that and we were buddies
00:11:27
all the way through the end of high
00:11:28
school and beyond. Um and so moving away
00:11:31
for them from them was like insanely
00:11:34
hard for me. But I'm curious from the
00:11:37
perspective of I guess a little bit more
00:11:38
isolation like was it easy to move to
00:11:41
Missouri and then come back or were was
00:11:43
that tricky in of itself especially if
00:11:45
it's only a year it's hard to make
00:11:47
friends in a year.
00:11:48
>> When I was living in Texas we also kind
00:11:51
of moved around a lot within the Dallas
00:11:53
area but different suburbs. I it was
00:11:56
like every maybe like two or three years
00:11:58
we would move and change churches. So, I
00:12:02
had like good friends throughout my
00:12:05
younger years, but it was kind of hard
00:12:08
to like have those longlasting
00:12:11
friendships.
00:12:13
So, I was kind of like a little bit
00:12:15
detached from people. So, I honestly I
00:12:19
was like excited to move to Missouri for
00:12:22
the potential of like maybe having some
00:12:25
new friends or staying longer or maybe
00:12:28
even going to school. I like really
00:12:30
wanted to go to school.
00:12:32
>> Yeah.
00:12:33
>> Um but so we moved when I was a freshman
00:12:36
in high school.
00:12:37
>> Okay.
00:12:38
>> And so we were there for like my
00:12:40
freshman year, my sophomore year, and my
00:12:41
junior year. And then the summer before
00:12:43
my senior year is when we moved back.
00:12:46
And that was way harder.
00:12:48
>> Yeah. because we had like act we had
00:12:51
stayed in Missouri for the three years
00:12:54
in the same place going to the same
00:12:56
church and I had like made some really
00:13:00
good friends and it was like high school
00:13:02
so I don't know I just feel like the
00:13:04
friendships are different like you can
00:13:05
go deeper than
00:13:07
>> when you're little kids you know
00:13:09
>> um so that was just like a lot more
00:13:12
devastating for me
00:13:14
>> so I wonder then like well I Let me ask
00:13:19
you this then. So you move back to Texas
00:13:21
to do senior year. Are is the goal then
00:13:25
at like, okay, I'm going to turn 18 and
00:13:27
then like I want to just get back to
00:13:28
Missouri because that's where my people
00:13:30
are or or were you like, okay, no, I'm
00:13:33
going to like finish up here and then
00:13:35
move on with career stuff or college or
00:13:38
whatever that next step was.
00:13:40
>> Yeah. No, for sure my main goal was to
00:13:43
like get back to Missouri. I did kind of
00:13:46
contemplate like when I was looking at
00:13:49
colleges and stuff, I did look at one
00:13:51
that was in Texas,
00:13:53
but that was never going to happen. I
00:13:56
was like, I had to get back to Missouri,
00:13:58
back to my friends. I It was also just
00:14:01
like so it was like a really hard
00:14:03
transition because I was I was also like
00:14:06
dating somebody and um he ended up
00:14:10
breaking up with me like two days before
00:14:12
I moved.
00:14:14
>> Oh. So just the whole thing was like
00:14:17
really upsetting. So
00:14:19
>> yeah,
00:14:19
>> my senior year was honestly I think one
00:14:21
of the worst years of my life just
00:14:24
because all of that happened and then it
00:14:28
was like that whole year I was just
00:14:30
alone in my room doing school and like
00:14:33
watching my friends on Instagram
00:14:36
like hang out with each other and do
00:14:39
things and I didn't have any
00:14:41
distractions from that. You know what I
00:14:43
mean? Like it wasn't like I went to a
00:14:44
new school and had to like figure out
00:14:47
new dynamics or like worry about a test
00:14:50
or
00:14:52
you know anything like that. It was like
00:14:54
no this this was the only thing I could
00:14:57
focus on and it like consumed me.
00:15:00
>> Yeah.
00:15:01
>> So I really struggled with like I went
00:15:03
through a long season of depression like
00:15:06
just trying to figure all that out. Um,
00:15:09
but I was like, I am going back to
00:15:12
Missouri and I'm going to like just go
00:15:14
back to my old life. Like I just wanted
00:15:16
everything to be the way that it was
00:15:18
before.
00:15:20
Um, which actually like if that hadn't
00:15:23
happened, I honestly don't know if I
00:15:26
would have even applied to college at
00:15:28
all because
00:15:31
like a like I don't know about you, but
00:15:33
a lot of the rhetoric that I had growing
00:15:35
up was that like
00:15:38
what public school is like evil and like
00:15:42
going to corrupt you, you know. Um,
00:15:46
but then college was also like not
00:15:50
something that was like not actively
00:15:53
discouraged but also not like really
00:15:55
encouraged in my family. Like
00:16:01
I don't know. My parents were very much
00:16:02
like college is kind of a scam. Like
00:16:06
you're just going to get in a lot of
00:16:08
debt and like you don't really need it.
00:16:10
like you could like teach yourself to do
00:16:12
things cuz I was really interested in
00:16:14
art and that's what I wanted to do as a
00:16:17
career was go into like illustration or
00:16:20
graphic design and they were like that's
00:16:21
something that you can like like you
00:16:23
have natural talent you can just teach
00:16:24
yourself just like go into business for
00:16:26
yourself
00:16:28
but so that that was kind of something
00:16:30
that I struggled with but I was like
00:16:32
well college is the thing that's going
00:16:33
to get me back to Missouri so I'm going
00:16:34
to college
00:16:36
>> I think weirdly I had almost kind of
00:16:38
like an opposite reaction My parents are
00:16:42
both college educated people and so I
00:16:44
think for them they were viewing they
00:16:45
always viewed college as like that's the
00:16:47
next logical step and they were
00:16:49
obviously supportive and we did explore
00:16:51
other options of like does Jacob want to
00:16:53
do a trade or you know he does he want
00:16:55
to go into farming I grew up in
00:16:56
California so like farming big deal
00:16:58
there you know kind of a deal or like or
00:17:01
I was into music so is he going to start
00:17:03
a band and are they going to do that you
00:17:04
know kind of a thing and so but college
00:17:06
was definitely kind of I think always
00:17:09
been on my brain as just kind of the
00:17:10
logical next step. And I'm really glad I
00:17:14
went because I feel like college is is a
00:17:16
lot more than just the classes. It also
00:17:19
for me was a lot had a lot to do with
00:17:21
socialization.
00:17:22
I moved uh to Illinois, lived right
00:17:25
outside of St. Louis, Missouri. And so
00:17:28
it gave me an independence that I had
00:17:31
not really had before. And in my
00:17:34
homeschool world, a lot of a lot of the
00:17:38
homeschool people I grew up with just
00:17:40
kind of I think struggled to launch a
00:17:42
little bit. And so a lot of them would
00:17:44
go to community college and maybe get
00:17:46
stuck there for a number of years or
00:17:47
even if they just did two years. But
00:17:49
they
00:17:51
I knew that for me if I had done that
00:17:53
path, I was going to get stuck and I was
00:17:55
just going to be in Ventura County for
00:17:57
the rest of my life and work whatever
00:17:59
jobs I could do. And you know, I just
00:18:01
needed that out. And so that was that
00:18:04
was a big push for college for me. Um,
00:18:07
but when you talked about moving back to
00:18:09
Texas and like watching your friends on
00:18:11
Instagram and that kind of being your
00:18:12
own thing, I do remember that struggle
00:18:16
my freshman year of college of like
00:18:17
seeing all my friends who were at home
00:18:19
and they're hanging out with each other
00:18:20
and their parties were happening and
00:18:21
whatever. And I remember just being
00:18:23
like, "Oh, I miss this." But thankfully,
00:18:26
I had new friends. I had the college
00:18:28
friends who could kind of distract me.
00:18:30
There were definitely seasons where it
00:18:32
was a little bit slim, but um yeah, so I
00:18:35
just think that's kind of interesting
00:18:36
because I I definitely relate to you on
00:18:38
that aspect of like you and I come from
00:18:40
the era of like Instagram somewhat being
00:18:42
new. So it was like all of a sudden you
00:18:43
you could see your friends that were a
00:18:45
million miles away. Um but let's talk
00:18:48
about college like and and getting into
00:18:51
college and your like you obviously
00:18:53
wanted to do art. Um, and so how was
00:18:56
that transition into college and kind of
00:18:59
for a lot of people it's that first step
00:19:00
of that adulthood, right? And that
00:19:02
independence from from under mom and
00:19:04
dad's roof.
00:19:05
>> Yeah, it's interesting that you
00:19:06
mentioned independence, too, because I
00:19:08
feel like that is
00:19:10
something that I I just don't think that
00:19:12
people realize that like homeschool
00:19:15
students just don't really get like a
00:19:19
lot of independence.
00:19:20
Like I mean when I was growing up like
00:19:24
outside of church camp every year like I
00:19:27
was constantly with my family or my
00:19:30
parents, you know, like even when we
00:19:34
were like involved in the co-op or
00:19:36
whatever, like my mom came to that and
00:19:38
like was required to volunteer and
00:19:41
stuff, you know, there just weren't any
00:19:43
spaces where I got to be without my
00:19:46
family or without my parents watching
00:19:49
over me. Right.
00:19:51
>> So, that transition was really hard. And
00:19:55
I didn't even like go live in dorms.
00:19:58
Like my sister, my older sister actually
00:20:01
stayed behind. She didn't come back to
00:20:03
Texas with us. She stayed in Missouri
00:20:06
cuz she had already graduated. Um, so I
00:20:09
was able to live with her cuz I was
00:20:11
like, there's just no way I can live on
00:20:13
campus in the dorms. That's totally
00:20:14
terrifying. Um, so we like lied to the
00:20:18
college and said that I was living with
00:20:19
my grandparents, but I was actually
00:20:21
living with my sister.
00:20:23
Um, so yeah, it was really interesting.
00:20:27
I
00:20:29
at the really struggled with this
00:20:31
tension
00:20:33
all of my freshman year because I had
00:20:36
wanted to go to school so bad when I was
00:20:39
a kid. like I would role play um being
00:20:44
in public school. Um like there was this
00:20:47
private school that I really wanted to
00:20:48
go to when I was a kid, but it was too
00:20:50
expensive. And so one year I made my mom
00:20:54
buy me like a green polo shirt like they
00:20:56
wore and a khaki skirt. And I would get
00:20:59
dressed up in the morning in my uniform
00:21:01
with shoes and I had like my desk on one
00:21:06
wall and then my dresser on the opposite
00:21:09
wall. My desk was the classroom and the
00:21:11
dresser was my locker. So I would like
00:21:14
do a subject and then get up and like
00:21:17
take three turns around the room to get
00:21:19
to my locker and get my next book and
00:21:21
then circle back to my classroom. and I
00:21:24
like made a student ID and I would like
00:21:27
record morning announcements on my
00:21:29
phone. Like it was really sad.
00:21:31
>> I I just want to chime in to say like I
00:21:34
think I I'm not laughing at you. Like I
00:21:36
definitely I think it's it's so
00:21:38
interesting to hear because I think
00:21:40
there is this u misconception maybe that
00:21:45
homeschoolers are like in their PJs all
00:21:47
day and like and there is
00:21:49
>> I'm never in my PJs.
00:21:50
>> Yeah. there. But I think there is
00:21:53
there's like both s sides to the coin.
00:21:54
When when I started homeschooling, my
00:21:56
mom was like, "You got to be dressed and
00:21:57
ready and at the kitchen table by X
00:21:59
time." And then by the time I was in
00:22:00
high school,
00:22:01
>> she was just like, "Just get it done
00:22:02
kind of a deal." Um, and so I didn't
00:22:06
necessarily have the drive, I think,
00:22:07
that that you're talking about of like
00:22:09
wear a full uniform or anything like
00:22:11
that. Um, but it is interesting because
00:22:13
you're not the only person I've I've
00:22:15
heard talk about kind of fantasizing
00:22:17
about being in the classroom and
00:22:19
creating that structure for themselves
00:22:20
of like, okay, the bell rings and I got
00:22:22
to go do this and then, you know, they
00:22:24
create that series of events that gets
00:22:26
them to the next class. Um, and so I
00:22:28
think that's an interesting thing to
00:22:30
notice uh for yourself honestly of like
00:22:34
it took you you needed this kind of like
00:22:37
uh habit building thing to like I don't
00:22:40
I don't know what what it is but it's
00:22:41
it's you know what I'm saying like it's
00:22:43
it's kind of getting you prepared for
00:22:45
like that next that transition into next
00:22:47
class or whatever it is. And so um so
00:22:50
that's that's definitely interesting.
00:22:51
And I'm curious like
00:22:54
did once you got to college like it
00:22:56
obviously is a little bit closer to
00:22:57
that. You have time in between. So was
00:22:59
it did it live up to the hype or were
00:23:02
you kind of like okay no never mind.
00:23:04
Like I I actually kind of like having my
00:23:07
own space and ability to kind of decide
00:23:10
when I'm going to do things.
00:23:12
>> No, I really loved it. Like I loved the
00:23:16
whole like picking out your schedule,
00:23:20
um which classes you were going to do
00:23:21
and then having all of that structure.
00:23:24
Something about that was just like
00:23:26
really attractive to me and like I got a
00:23:29
lot of satisfaction out of. Um so in
00:23:33
terms of like the academics,
00:23:37
I really enjoyed it and I did really
00:23:40
well academically like my whole freshman
00:23:42
year. I think I got A's in every class.
00:23:44
Like, that wasn't a problem, which I was
00:23:46
kind of nervous about because you don't
00:23:48
really know when you're homeschooled all
00:23:50
the way through how you're actually
00:23:52
stacking up to your peers. Like, I could
00:23:54
be totally stupid and have no idea.
00:23:58
>> But, but then I kind of got to college
00:24:00
and realized like, oh, there's a lot of
00:24:02
people who like don't actually care. And
00:24:05
like it's that like putting forth of
00:24:08
effort and like showing that you really
00:24:10
care that like the professors really
00:24:13
>> appreciate and will work with you if
00:24:16
you're like not getting something. You
00:24:18
know what I mean?
00:24:19
>> Yeah. I mean, I had a professor who gave
00:24:20
me an A solely for the fact that one, I
00:24:24
I I gave a in class. And two, when
00:24:27
I was struggling, I went to him and I
00:24:29
said I was having some some personal
00:24:31
life stuff happened. And I was just
00:24:32
like, "Hey, like I'm really I'm
00:24:33
struggling mentally, but I I want to do
00:24:35
well in your class. Like, is there
00:24:37
something we can work out?" And he
00:24:38
literally told me, "If you come to class
00:24:40
once a week, so three-day class once a
00:24:42
week, and then come and meet me for
00:24:44
coffee on a different day and we talk
00:24:46
about the Wall Street Journal for 5 10
00:24:48
minutes, you'll get an A."
00:24:51
>> I was like, "What?" Like, and so to your
00:24:53
point, like it really just takes the
00:24:55
showing of effort. It's not always, this
00:24:58
isn't true for every professor, but it's
00:24:59
it's not always
00:25:02
>> just going to class like is going to get
00:25:04
you the A. Sometimes it is that showing
00:25:06
of effort. Your teachers will respect
00:25:07
that. And so anyway, continue on with
00:25:09
your story though.
00:25:10
>> Yes. So I I did really enjoy it
00:25:13
academically. Um
00:25:16
>> but there was just this tension of like
00:25:20
just everything that I had been taught.
00:25:24
I w I was going to a secular university
00:25:26
first of all. I because I really wanted
00:25:29
to pursue art and design and the art and
00:25:32
design programs at Christian colleges
00:25:33
were just not good, not worth it.
00:25:37
So, I went to a public university and it
00:25:39
had a really great art program.
00:25:41
Um, but I was just not prepared. Like,
00:25:44
it was a culture shock, I will just say.
00:25:46
>> Okay. like
00:25:47
>> I mean you kind of know what you're
00:25:49
getting into from like
00:25:52
movies and TV and books and stuff but
00:25:55
then when you're like actually in that
00:25:56
environment
00:25:58
um I just had no experience with like
00:26:03
being around people who were different
00:26:05
than me and like I had just grown up
00:26:09
believing all these things that I
00:26:11
struggled to like have empathy for
00:26:13
people and like make connections and it
00:26:16
was hard for me to trust people. Like I
00:26:18
just felt like I couldn't trust any of
00:26:20
my professors because they like weren't
00:26:22
Christians or like
00:26:25
I I don't know. I was just like, well,
00:26:27
it's not really worth it for me to like
00:26:29
make deep friendships with people who
00:26:31
are like going to drag me down or like
00:26:34
>> not encourage me in my faith, things
00:26:36
like that.
00:26:37
>> Um, so that was really challenging. I
00:26:40
wonder if to like because you and I when
00:26:43
we had talked previously, we had figured
00:26:44
out like you and I graduated the same
00:26:46
year, graduated 2014. Date ourselves a
00:26:48
little bit, sorry. Um,
00:26:51
>> but I know that that was kind of in an
00:26:53
era where like the God's Not Dead movie
00:26:55
had come out and was like this big. I
00:26:57
remember watching that and I remember
00:26:59
thinking the same thing of like college
00:27:00
is this thing where professors are
00:27:03
they're going to be atheists or agnostic
00:27:05
or some other religion and they're going
00:27:07
to be against me and they're not going
00:27:08
to stand with me. And so that that kind
00:27:10
of to some degree pushed me into going
00:27:14
to a Christian college. But even there,
00:27:16
I mean there's just because you go to a
00:27:18
Christian college doesn't mean
00:27:18
everybody's a Christian. Um, and so but
00:27:22
I'm interested like is that when you
00:27:23
talk about like the media that's
00:27:25
influencing you to say okay like this is
00:27:27
what college is like is that kind of was
00:27:29
that at all shaping what you were
00:27:31
thinking going into these classrooms?
00:27:33
>> Yes. And I definitely like felt that
00:27:35
God's not dead pressure to like take a
00:27:38
stand in every class.
00:27:41
Um,
00:27:42
which looking back on some of it like
00:27:45
makes me cringe so hard. Like, you know,
00:27:48
in English classes we had to like pick
00:27:50
political topics and like I would write
00:27:53
papers defending like homeschool and
00:27:56
religion and like in art classes we also
00:28:00
had to do a political project and I did
00:28:02
this big thing about abortion which like
00:28:04
looking back feels like it was just like
00:28:07
kind of insensitive and
00:28:10
I don't know there was just like
00:28:13
it was just like I had to like be this
00:28:15
there was so much pressure to like be a
00:28:17
representative
00:28:19
that I felt like it kind of got in the
00:28:21
way of learning,
00:28:23
>> you know, cuz it was like I like it was
00:28:25
like I was going into all these
00:28:27
environments not open to anything. Like
00:28:30
I was like I was like, "Okay, I already
00:28:32
have like
00:28:33
>> like I already know what I believe and
00:28:36
like my job is to make sure that nobody
00:28:39
can change my mind
00:28:41
>> and like drag me down." Did that also
00:28:44
hinder you from making friends because
00:28:47
of that kind of closed offness to like
00:28:51
I I like I'm thinking for myself I'm
00:28:53
like I remember people you know kind of
00:28:55
saying things about whether they they
00:28:57
were even like people who were Catholic
00:28:59
I remember just get it was kind of a
00:29:00
non-starter for me of like I don't
00:29:02
really want to be friends with you but
00:29:03
did that also hinder you from from
00:29:05
building friendships by just saying like
00:29:07
this is who I am and I have to protect
00:29:10
my my religion. Yeah, for sure. Like I
00:29:15
like was friendly with classmates but
00:29:18
never made any friends on campus. All of
00:29:22
my friends were that I made were through
00:29:25
my church's college program
00:29:27
>> I guess. Well, when slash if did that
00:29:31
like break for you where you were like,
00:29:34
okay, I not everything has to be a
00:29:37
battle, so to speak, of like, you know,
00:29:41
um I I know for me, I was like 21ish by
00:29:45
the time it really I think clicked for
00:29:47
me that I was like, you know what, I can
00:29:49
just be friends with people and I can
00:29:50
also just like go into something even
00:29:54
like like I went to my first like yoga
00:29:56
session
00:29:57
uh that was like a legit yoga session
00:29:59
when I was 21 and kind of hearing that
00:30:02
and having this little voice in my head
00:30:04
that's like, you know, maybe this is
00:30:07
satanic or something like that, but kind
00:30:09
of fighting against that to some degree.
00:30:11
Um but just kind of being open to more
00:30:14
experiences like when or did that like
00:30:17
click for you where you were like,
00:30:18
"Okay, I can I can let off the brakes
00:30:20
here a little bit and just be more
00:30:22
inviting?"
00:30:23
>> Yeah, I mean it definitely did feel like
00:30:25
everything was a battle.
00:30:27
like you said.
00:30:28
>> So my So I did my freshman year and then
00:30:32
I ended up dropping out. I think because
00:30:37
in part like I just felt tired
00:30:40
>> Yeah.
00:30:40
>> of feeling like everything was a battle
00:30:42
and like I was like why am I going to
00:30:44
school and like paying this money if
00:30:46
like I
00:30:48
like kind of don't believe anything
00:30:50
they're saying you know and I feel like
00:30:53
I can't trust anybody. And I also was
00:30:55
just like still really struggling with
00:30:57
depression. Um, you know, I had moved
00:31:00
back and like not, you know, not all the
00:31:02
relationships were the same. Like it was
00:31:04
a lot harder to like pick those things
00:31:06
up. Um, so I was really depressed and
00:31:14
um, I met my now husband then too.
00:31:20
Um, and he
00:31:22
like he went to public school but grew
00:31:24
up like very religious also. And he
00:31:28
wanted to like get married really fast.
00:31:30
And in my mind I was like, okay, keep
00:31:34
going to secular college or get married
00:31:37
and start a family. And I was like,
00:31:39
obviously God wants me to get married
00:31:42
and start a family. So let's go with
00:31:44
that option. So I ended up dropping out
00:31:45
of school and getting married. And even
00:31:48
though it was like very rushed and like
00:31:50
looking back I wouldn't recommend that
00:31:52
to anybody. We were both 19. Um it did
00:31:56
end up working out. We're still together
00:31:58
and like he's amazing. Um and we have a
00:32:01
great relationship and two little girls.
00:32:04
Um I feel like that could have like
00:32:05
turned out way worse if it had been
00:32:08
anybody else, you know?
00:32:10
Um,
00:32:12
but yeah, it wasn't honestly until way
00:32:15
later that I feel like I kind of was
00:32:19
able to look back and realize like, oof,
00:32:24
I feel like I made a lot of mistakes
00:32:25
there. Like I feel like I should have
00:32:29
you know kept going with school and like
00:32:33
um
00:32:34
you know just learned to be a little bit
00:32:36
more open and like
00:32:39
um be open to more experiences.
00:32:42
Like I feel like I really like shut a
00:32:45
lot of things down and limited myself a
00:32:47
lot. Um, it honestly wasn't until like
00:32:53
maybe co that
00:32:56
like just to be totally honest co
00:32:58
happened and we had to like stop going
00:33:01
to church.
00:33:02
Um, and that was like the first time
00:33:05
that I I was like I just felt like
00:33:08
relieved because I was like, "Okay, I
00:33:10
don't have to like
00:33:13
like fight this battle anymore of like
00:33:16
trying to like
00:33:18
live up to all these expectations."
00:33:21
Um, so that was like an interesting
00:33:24
journey. I now currently am still like a
00:33:27
person of faith and I still like believe
00:33:30
in Jesus and like we are going to a
00:33:33
different church now and we're really
00:33:35
involved in our church and our
00:33:36
community. Um
00:33:39
so
00:33:41
but yeah, it's interesting. It was like
00:33:45
I don't know now I just feel like
00:33:48
I I am able to like
00:33:51
in like enter into spaces where like
00:33:53
maybe I don't necessarily agree with
00:33:55
everybody but I don't feel like I'm in
00:33:58
danger of like being attacked. I think
00:34:01
that's one of the most interesting
00:34:05
like changes about a person when they
00:34:07
kind of like get to that point of like
00:34:10
it's not always acceptance but it is
00:34:12
just like you were saying that
00:34:13
willingness to like enter into a space
00:34:15
that is like unfamiliar or a little bit
00:34:17
scary or a little bit out of touch and I
00:34:20
think co did that for a lot of people. I
00:34:22
know I transitioned a lot during co I
00:34:24
was already deconstructing religion at
00:34:27
that point for me um and had stopped
00:34:29
going to church and like that in and of
00:34:31
itself was like this very freeing thing
00:34:33
because I think we tie ourselves to it
00:34:35
of just kind of this
00:34:37
um weekly thing to check off the list.
00:34:40
Um and I had taken a stop from that. So
00:34:44
I was like okay well like you know I I
00:34:46
was trying to let my faith be my own at
00:34:48
that point. Um but it it it's
00:34:51
interesting that like for me around
00:34:55
21 was when I started to open up to like
00:34:59
okay I need to I need to ask questions
00:35:01
of like what are these other spaces
00:35:04
like? And the the reason I did it was
00:35:06
because I worked a job that required me
00:35:07
to work on Sundays which I hated and I
00:35:10
would beg for like can I just get one
00:35:12
Sunday a month to like go to church kind
00:35:14
of a thing. Um, and I never got it. But
00:35:18
my co-workers, we were such a diverse
00:35:20
group and we kind of decided that we
00:35:23
were going to like go out to lunch when
00:35:25
we get off work, go out to early dinner
00:35:27
or whatever, and we would just have
00:35:29
conversations and we were just vastly
00:35:31
different people. You had me, the good
00:35:33
little Christian boy, and then you had a
00:35:35
one of us was Catholic and one of us was
00:35:36
a Buddhist and somebody was agnostic and
00:35:38
like it was just really interesting. And
00:35:41
so once we broken through, you know, the
00:35:44
very casual get to know each other
00:35:45
questions, right, of where did you grow
00:35:47
up and all the boring stuff and we got
00:35:49
into, you know, the deeper, more
00:35:52
philosophical thing, I realized that all
00:35:55
of us wanted very similar things, right?
00:35:58
We wanted we wanted love, we wanted
00:36:00
acceptance, we wanted other people to
00:36:02
feel loved and respected and and those
00:36:04
types of things. And so it became easier
00:36:06
to kind of see the world in less of a
00:36:09
battle zone. so to speak because I was
00:36:11
like I think everyone just kind of wants
00:36:14
the same thing but we're just getting
00:36:16
there different ways. I'm curious like
00:36:20
where you're at today. Obviously you
00:36:21
said you know you guys have transitioned
00:36:23
churches and things like that but as you
00:36:25
have continued to kind of explore this
00:36:27
like okay I'm more I'm willing to put
00:36:29
the battle gloves down a little bit and
00:36:31
and be more open to it. um
00:36:35
you know, how has that shaped like your
00:36:38
view of like homeschooling and and and
00:36:42
where homeschooling should maybe kind of
00:36:44
reposition itself going forward? Um I
00:36:48
don't know. Any thoughts there?
00:36:49
>> Yeah, it's it's been like a weird
00:36:53
journey because I feel like when I was
00:36:55
in college, I was very like pro-
00:37:00
homeschool.
00:37:02
Um,
00:37:03
but then like
00:37:07
further into my adult life as I kind of
00:37:09
like struggled a little bit in career
00:37:13
and like transitioning to adulthood and
00:37:14
feeling like ooh like maybe I've been a
00:37:18
little disenfranchised like the things
00:37:20
that they told me were going to like
00:37:23
work out or not working out and like I
00:37:25
kind of needed all these things that I
00:37:28
was pushed away from. Um,
00:37:32
after
00:37:34
after kind of realizing that, then I
00:37:36
think I went through a period where I
00:37:37
was like very anti-homeschool
00:37:40
and like really passionately against it.
00:37:44
And now I think I'm like somewhere in
00:37:45
the middle where like
00:37:50
I think it can be done in like a
00:37:53
positive way,
00:37:55
but I also just think that there's like
00:37:59
so many valuable things that you miss
00:38:01
out on if you're like
00:38:03
honestly committed to it like all the
00:38:06
way.
00:38:07
I don't know. Like I I
00:38:10
really like I understand like when kids
00:38:13
are little and stuff like homeschooling
00:38:16
is attractive, but I think once you
00:38:19
start getting closer to adulthood, like
00:38:21
you really need those you need to start
00:38:24
training those muscles of like dealing
00:38:27
with people, dealing with hard
00:38:29
situations,
00:38:31
um and like just being at like more in
00:38:34
the real world before you get to
00:38:37
adulthood. I'm with you. I I think one
00:38:40
of the things I hear when I talk to
00:38:41
homesooled parents or like even my own
00:38:43
parents and the decisions that they make
00:38:45
and the decision that they made to
00:38:46
homeschool is a lot of times it's the
00:38:48
protection of like I want to protect my
00:38:49
kids from the world or I want to give
00:38:51
them the best or I want to cater it to
00:38:52
their learning style or you know which
00:38:55
are a lot of time they're sometimes
00:38:57
valid reasons to do that. Um, but yeah,
00:39:01
they there's this I think struggle once
00:39:03
those kids, like you were saying, they
00:39:04
get older, we get in the high school
00:39:06
era, and it's like to let go, to let
00:39:08
them go out and like experience because
00:39:10
at some point you're going to experience
00:39:11
the real world. And so the hard the
00:39:14
closer you hold on to that, you know,
00:39:16
that that closed fist or you keep that
00:39:18
bubble not popped, it's like the long
00:39:21
the the the less control you have when
00:39:23
they get outside of that bubble or they
00:39:25
get outside of that closed fist, right?
00:39:26
because um I think we just have the
00:39:29
opportunity like you were saying early
00:39:32
those early adulthood years that for
00:39:34
those high school years particularly to
00:39:36
kind of introduce things and have those
00:39:38
tough conversations um because I don't
00:39:40
know about you there was plenty of
00:39:41
conversations I'm like man I wish my
00:39:43
parents would have just had this talk
00:39:44
with me um and we could have just you
00:39:47
know rather than it being something that
00:39:49
was hidden away um or something that was
00:39:52
just like denied to me can we actually
00:39:54
like discuss it you
00:39:56
And um
00:39:58
you know that's so now as an adult I get
00:40:01
to do those conversations.
00:40:03
But uh but um so I'm interested. You
00:40:07
said you have two little kids and where
00:40:10
where are you sitting with like their
00:40:12
education as as they're getting older?
00:40:14
What are you thinking? Are you thinking
00:40:15
homeschooling? Are you thinking public
00:40:17
school? It sounds like you want to be
00:40:18
involved. Um but where where's your head
00:40:21
at with that?
00:40:22
>> Yeah. So, my oldest is starting
00:40:25
kindergarten next fall and I'm super
00:40:29
excited for her. We have decided to do
00:40:32
public school. Um, and yeah, I mean,
00:40:36
picking schools, it's like it is like a
00:40:38
really difficult decision. I mean, I'm
00:40:42
I'm going to be honest, there's like no
00:40:43
part of me that desires to homeschool.
00:40:46
Part of that is because of like my
00:40:49
experience. And I think that like as
00:40:52
adults and as parents, you kind of like
00:40:54
always want to give your kids the thing
00:40:56
that you didn't have. Um like I think
00:41:00
about often like I think my parents
00:41:02
didn't have super great experience in
00:41:04
public schools and then they wanted to
00:41:06
give us something different and now I'm
00:41:07
going the other way and maybe my kids
00:41:10
will feel differently and homeschool
00:41:12
their kids because of their experience.
00:41:14
So I don't know. Um but yeah, we decided
00:41:18
to public school. Um,
00:41:21
and I feel good about that decision. Um,
00:41:25
but I of course want to remain open.
00:41:27
Like I don't want to be too rigid with
00:41:30
anything. So the plan is to like just
00:41:34
have a quick check-in every year, kind
00:41:36
of re-evaluate.
00:41:38
Um, but I'm pretty sure we're just going
00:41:43
to public school. Well, I think the
00:41:45
other thing that a lot of people who
00:41:47
come from the homeschool world and even
00:41:49
and then put their kids into public
00:41:51
school or private school or maybe a more
00:41:53
traditional school environment, one of
00:41:55
the things I hear them talk a lot about
00:41:57
is the wanting to be involved in their
00:41:59
kids' life a lot. And so I think
00:42:03
I think the messaging I got as a kid was
00:42:05
like if you go to public school like
00:42:07
your parents kind of don't care. like
00:42:08
they sit they ship you off in the
00:42:10
morning, you come back in the afternoon
00:42:12
>> and they're they're like not involved
00:42:14
which was cuz I did go to public school
00:42:16
for 2 years and that was not my
00:42:17
experience in public school. My mom
00:42:19
would walk me to the school bus, she
00:42:21
would send me off, have packed my lunch,
00:42:22
all those kinds of things. I went to
00:42:24
school, I came home, she'd check up,
00:42:26
how's your how's your homework going?
00:42:27
You know, do you need any help? Do I
00:42:29
need to meet with the teacher? Anything
00:42:30
like that. And so it really came down to
00:42:34
that. And I I recently had a teacher on
00:42:37
the show and that was something she
00:42:38
talked about too was the fact that like
00:42:41
the parents who get involved in their
00:42:43
kids education and just come in and ask
00:42:44
questions, right? Or just are there when
00:42:46
they get home or help them with homework
00:42:49
or whatever encourage the education,
00:42:52
right? And so and so it's a lot easier
00:42:55
for that kid to enjoy public school and
00:42:58
stuff can still happen of course but
00:43:00
it's it's
00:43:02
I think everybody I've talked to it just
00:43:04
kind of comes down to this like parents
00:43:06
being involved to some degree in their
00:43:08
kids education.
00:43:09
>> Yes. Yeah. We were planning to be
00:43:10
involved and I honestly I think like a
00:43:13
temptation for me is going to be like to
00:43:15
be too involved because I'm like really
00:43:17
excited about all of these things that I
00:43:20
didn't get to participate in. And so I
00:43:23
know I'm like okay don't become the
00:43:25
parent who like lives by game through
00:43:27
their children.
00:43:29
So but I'm really excited for like book
00:43:32
fairs and just for her to have access to
00:43:35
like clubs and sports and and things
00:43:38
like that.
00:43:39
Yeah. I'm curious too, JC, from the
00:43:42
perspective of your education as you've
00:43:44
looked back on it and maybe you've
00:43:47
recognized gaps or things that you
00:43:50
missed, like how have you or have you
00:43:55
sought to like fill any of those voids?
00:43:57
We talked a little bit about like the
00:43:58
desire to learn, right, that us
00:44:00
homeschoolers have. But like I'm
00:44:02
curious, like the example for me is like
00:44:07
I know that science is like I suck at
00:44:09
science. I don't understand it kind of a
00:44:11
thing. And so so I have definitely
00:44:14
invested a little bit more time and
00:44:16
energy into like kind of not taking a
00:44:19
science class, but at least trying to
00:44:20
explore some of that. uh whether it's
00:44:22
YouTube videos or podcasts or something
00:44:24
or reading a book, but has there been
00:44:27
anything that you were like, "Okay, I
00:44:28
missed out on this, but like as an adult
00:44:30
now, I'm going to go back and relearn
00:44:32
that thing."
00:44:33
>> I don't know if there's any specific
00:44:35
like subject. Um
00:44:39
I do. So,
00:44:42
I was always interested in art and
00:44:44
design. Um and that's what I wanted to
00:44:47
do. And so, I didn't finish my degree. I
00:44:50
did end up going back to school like two
00:44:54
years after I dropped out my freshman
00:44:56
year and did a few more semesters and
00:44:59
then ended up dropping out again. Um,
00:45:02
but I started working at a company um, a
00:45:06
local jewelry company that was like a
00:45:09
small business that were just starting
00:45:11
up and I was just like working in the
00:45:14
warehouse. But I think it was that
00:45:17
homeschool energy in me. I was like,
00:45:19
"Okay, like how can I somehow insert
00:45:23
like the thing that I like to do into my
00:45:25
job?"
00:45:26
>> Yeah.
00:45:27
>> And so I was slowly able to kind of work
00:45:30
my way into a design role
00:45:34
um and kind of climbed the ladder there
00:45:36
as the company grew. Um and then I ended
00:45:39
up leaving that company, but now I work
00:45:41
and do um product design and
00:45:44
illustration for another jewelry company
00:45:46
that's like all kids jewelry. So, it's
00:45:48
pretty heavily illustration focused. So,
00:45:51
I actually ended up like landing on my
00:45:53
feet and like doing a job that I really
00:45:55
love and think is really cool.
00:45:58
>> Well, let me ask you this. When does
00:46:00
when did the the love for art start? Did
00:46:04
that start as a kid or was that a later
00:46:06
thing for you?
00:46:07
>> Yeah, it's definitely something that I
00:46:09
loved like from
00:46:12
like like childhood. And I do think that
00:46:15
that was one like really positive thing
00:46:16
about homeschooling is that I did have
00:46:19
so much time to focus on like the thing
00:46:22
that I loved. Like I don't know how much
00:46:24
time you spent on school, but I was done
00:46:26
by noon every day and had like
00:46:30
>> it was like you have to finish by noon
00:46:32
so we can watch Seventh Heaven reruns
00:46:34
during lunch and then the whole
00:46:36
afternoon was like just doing art and
00:46:40
reading books. And so I do think that
00:46:42
that was something that was really
00:46:43
positive about my homeschooling
00:46:44
experience is that like I was able to
00:46:47
like focus like on developing my
00:46:50
creative energy a lot without having
00:46:51
like maybe teachers like fit me into a
00:46:55
box or like tell me how to do things a
00:46:58
certain way. I was just kind of like
00:46:59
able to let that grow naturally. Um and
00:47:02
then I do like still to this day love
00:47:05
reading. I feel like something that I've
00:47:06
heard from a lot of um people who are
00:47:10
public school, mainly like men, is that
00:47:12
it just made them hate reading. Um and
00:47:16
I've I've always loved it. Like that was
00:47:18
something that my parents like really
00:47:19
encouraged. And I feel like that was
00:47:22
like a big part of my education. Like
00:47:24
most of what I learned was just from
00:47:26
reading.
00:47:27
>> Yeah. I think you're on to something of
00:47:30
like guys not having a desire to read.
00:47:33
And I think what it is to be very
00:47:35
honest, I don't think any of them have
00:47:37
read a good story or they've been forced
00:47:39
to read a story, right? And and so they
00:47:41
fight we just naturally guys tend to
00:47:43
fight against that. And so I'm always
00:47:46
like just go to the library and just
00:47:47
like start reading the backs of books
00:47:49
and one that sticks to you just just
00:47:51
read that and then and then come back
00:47:52
and tell me if you enjoy the story or
00:47:54
not. Um because yeah, like you I
00:47:57
freaking love reading. Uh, I was talking
00:47:59
to somebody yesterday and was telling
00:48:01
them how when I was, I don't know, in
00:48:04
grade school or something, we read
00:48:05
Little House on the Prairie and I read
00:48:06
all seven books in a week and my mom was
00:48:09
like, "Okay, like what are we supposed
00:48:11
to do now?" Like that was a part of the
00:48:13
curriculum. Um, and I just ripped
00:48:16
through books uh, left, right, and
00:48:18
center. So, I think, yeah, highly
00:48:21
encourage people to to read books. I'm
00:48:23
curious from an art perspective, do you
00:48:25
have a particular type of art that you
00:48:27
enjoy the most? Like is it drawing,
00:48:30
painting, sculpting? Like is there
00:48:31
something that sticks to you? Obviously
00:48:33
sounds like you do a lot more graphic
00:48:34
and illustration work now, but is there
00:48:37
is there a particular medium that is
00:48:39
just like the thing for you?
00:48:41
>> Yeah, I love drawing. I mean, mostly now
00:48:44
I work with like Adobe Illustrator
00:48:47
um and creating like vector graphics,
00:48:50
but when I was in college, like I loved
00:48:53
my drawing classes, just like pencil,
00:48:56
graphite, charcoal, that sort of thing.
00:48:59
And like if I could like go back and
00:49:03
redo it, like I would love to have like
00:49:07
explored that and and just grown that
00:49:10
skill, but I was terrified of taking the
00:49:14
life drawing class. So
00:49:16
>> I'm assuming that's the one with the
00:49:17
nude models potentially.
00:49:19
>> Yeah.
00:49:20
>> I was like, I can't do that.
00:49:22
>> Yeah. Yeah. You know what's funny? I
00:49:24
just had someone on who who talked about
00:49:25
taking the life um uh what do you call
00:49:29
it? Life
00:49:30
>> life drawing.
00:49:31
>> Life life drawing and talked about being
00:49:33
very worried about the nude models and
00:49:36
getting some advice. So yeah. Um but I
00:49:40
think I would be freaked out a little
00:49:41
bit too. I'm not going to lie.
00:49:43
Especially in the co in the college
00:49:44
years. Um yeah. Yeah. Nudity terrified
00:49:46
me. Um
00:49:49
but um hey well it's also it's never too
00:49:51
late to to pick up a old skill. I've
00:49:53
been thinking a lot about for me it was
00:49:56
music played guitar for many years kind
00:49:59
of life gets busy right and you just
00:50:02
kind of set it aside and I I've been
00:50:04
thinking more and more about
00:50:05
>> I think it's time to break that back out
00:50:07
and maybe maybe that be the new skill
00:50:09
for for the year or well I guess it's an
00:50:11
old skill but just to kind of brush back
00:50:13
up on it because it is never too late to
00:50:16
learn and that's the thing that I keep
00:50:18
trying to remind myself is it's like we
00:50:21
might have missed out on stuff. You
00:50:23
know, we might, you know, have not
00:50:26
explored certain things, but it's never
00:50:28
too late. We got so much time left.
00:50:30
Like, we can do whatever we want.
00:50:32
>> Yeah. We're still young. 30.
00:50:34
>> Yeah. You know,
00:50:35
>> exactly. Exactly. 30 is just the
00:50:38
beginning.
00:50:39
>> Yes.
00:50:40
>> Yeah. Well, cool. Jay-Z, is there
00:50:42
anywhere we haven't gone in the
00:50:44
homeschool arena or any of the topics
00:50:46
we've talked about today that we need to
00:50:48
hit on? Um, you know, I always ask
00:50:51
people like, "You got a cringey home
00:50:53
school moment or something that just
00:50:54
stands out as maybe like one of the
00:50:57
best." I I I tend to tell people like
00:51:00
swing dancing was like a big highlight
00:51:02
for me of just like I enjoyed. It's It's
00:51:05
one of the weird things that I did as a
00:51:06
homeschool kid. That and English country
00:51:08
dance. And I just love it and I still
00:51:11
look back on it so fondly. But is there
00:51:13
anything like that that sticks out where
00:51:14
you're just like, "Man, I don't know
00:51:15
that I would have had that experience if
00:51:17
I had gone to public school." I I did I
00:51:19
did take a cringey class. The one year
00:51:21
that we did a co-op, um I was in a
00:51:25
puppetry class.
00:51:26
>> Hell yes.
00:51:27
>> So yeah, we spent the whole semester
00:51:32
building our own puppets and then at the
00:51:35
end of the semester we put on a showcase
00:51:37
for the co-op. Um and our puppets lip
00:51:41
sync to um Christian covers of Walk Like
00:51:47
an Egyptian. So, it was Walk Like a
00:51:49
Christian. And then there was another
00:51:52
one, but I can't remember what it was,
00:51:53
but it was so cringey.
00:51:55
>> I I love that. I love that kind of
00:51:57
stuff. Like,
00:51:58
>> it's like, why why do we keep choosing
00:52:00
to do these things?
00:52:03
>> No, I love stuff like that. I think I
00:52:06
think I I know that it's not exclusively
00:52:08
homeschool kids that that do those types
00:52:11
of things. Like, I was heavily involved
00:52:13
in theater. I filmed the whole movie
00:52:15
with my friends. like we did a bunch of
00:52:19
those types of things, right? That
00:52:20
looking back on it, I'm like, that was
00:52:21
so cringey. But then I start thinking
00:52:23
about it and I'm like, but I had so much
00:52:25
fun doing it. And it also is such a good
00:52:28
conversation starter with someone when
00:52:30
you can kind of break out that like,
00:52:32
>> oh yeah, I've done this thing like I was
00:52:34
a mime.
00:52:36
>> Who in the freaking world,
00:52:39
>> right? It's so random. And so for you,
00:52:41
you get this cool story of like, hey,
00:52:43
like Yeah, I know what goes into making
00:52:45
a puppet. Yeah. And one one day at work
00:52:49
uh like a year ago, we had like a
00:52:52
everybody bring a random object into
00:52:54
work day and I brought my puppet because
00:52:56
I still have it and it was a hit. Like
00:52:59
they won the day.
00:53:00
>> People love that kind of stuff, man.
00:53:02
It's, you know, so anyway, anything else
00:53:06
before I let you go? This has been a
00:53:07
wonderful conversation. I've really
00:53:08
enjoyed getting to know you some more.
00:53:10
>> Yeah. Yeah, this was awesome. I feel
00:53:12
like I could talk forever about like
00:53:14
homeschooling culture and weird
00:53:17
experiences. So, this was super fun. I
00:53:20
feel like we covered a lot of good
00:53:21
stuff.
00:53:22
>> Yeah. Well, thank you once again. And uh
00:53:25
maybe we'll have you come back and we
00:53:26
can tell we can do some more homeschool
00:53:28
stories at some point.
00:53:30
>> But JC, this has been amazing. To the
00:53:32
audience, I hope you guys enjoyed. Uh
00:53:34
it's just like fun just look at
00:53:36
homeschool life and JC's story. And uh
00:53:39
if you enjoyed it, leave a like, leave a
00:53:41
subscription, um leave a comment. All
00:53:44
the internet things, you know how to do
00:53:45
them. And uh until next time, we'll see
00:53:47
you. Peace.
