Can Homeschool Friendships Survive Into Adulthood?

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What happens to the friendships you make as a homeschooled kid once you grow up? In this episode of Ex-Homeschoolers Club, I sit down with three longtime friends, Cari, Noah, and Jenève, to talk about the friendships that started through homeschool groups, co-ops, extracurriculars, and family connections — and how those relationships changed as we became adults. We talk about childhood memories, long-distance friendships, reconnecting after college, and what it means to have someone who understands where you came from. We also get into the complicated rules many of us grew up with around opposite-sex friendships, dating, physical affection, and the pressure to avoid anything that might look romantic.

*In this episode, we talk about:* • How homeschool communities can create friendships that feel more like family. • Why some childhood friendships naturally deepen while others don't become close until adulthood. • Maintaining friendships across distance, college, relationships, and major life changes. • The strange pressure many homeschoolers experienced around boys and girls being friends and the assumption that friendship must mean dating. • How purity culture and fear of romantic relationships affected the way we understood attraction, dating, and physical affection. • Why protecting kids from every painful experience can leave them unprepared for adulthood — and how supportive friendships can give young people a safe place to learn from difficult experiences. • The healing that can happen when adult children and their parents finally have honest conversations about the past.

*Wanna Join Book Club?*

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*Check Out My Previous Episodes With Cari, Jenève, and Noah!* • Cari: https://youtu.be/8cizKkNyLSo?si=5Y6IScdbDOnio0DJ • Jenève: https://youtu.be/bxf9T5GFk4A?si=_eoI2xsjBCgi1ewV • Noah: https://youtu.be/trh9iD3SvvA?si=8PTTowtUtKWG78se

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*Chapters* 00:00 A Few Things Before We Get Into The Episode 02:10 Welcome Back To The Ex-Homeschoolers Club 03:09 Cari's Homeschool Elevator Pitch 05:20 Jenève' Homeschool Elevator Pitch 07:19 Noah's Homeschool Elevator Pitch 09:37 How We First Met 15:00 Favorite Memories Together 25:35 Post College Friendship Shift 33:55 Opposite Sex Friend Stigma 38:36 Prom Night Pressure 41:27 Homeschool Dating Rules 44:16 Rumor Mill Trauma 45:30 Taboo And Modesty 50:46 Side Hugs And Shame 54:39 Friend Zone In College 01:01:33 Protection Vs Preparation 01:12:36 Healing With Parents 01:14:45 Hugging Younger Self