True Tales of a Home Schooler

Yes, I'm an honest to goodness, bona fide home schooler. I won't deny it. I'm actually quite proud of being a home schooler. Probably most of the people reading this won't have any weird misconceptions of home schoolers, which is a good thing, because many people still think all home schoolers are nerdy, unsocialized, don't have any friends, and wear jean jumpers every day. And although I suppose there is a very, very small percentage of home schoolers like that, that doesn't mean it's the majority of them.
I most definitely have my nerdy side, but I can even more assuredly say I am one of the most socialized human beings on this green earth. I suppose I should give examples of both of my sides - my somewhat nerdy, I'm-so-intelligent home schooler side, and my socialized, well-rounded side, that can easily be compared with someone who goes to any regular private school.

My nerdy side - So. I do have a nerdy side. A very, very nerdy side. I don't know how "nerdy" most people would consider this, but I actually love doing school and I love learning. I read Dickens and Bronte for fun. I know how to knit, and even have a hand-knit sweater in my closet {yes, I knit it myself}. The other day I wrote a paper on meristematic tissue and studied the life of William Pitt and his reconstruction of British finances in the 1700s. Oh. And I enjoyed that too. I'm trying to convince my mom to let me do 3 AP classes next year: AP US Government, AP English Literature and Composition, and AP Psychology. And of course, lots of people think moms just dish out As to their kids. Well, first, that's definitely not true of my mom, nor most moms. And just for proof, I take an online class where my parents have no affect on my grade, and I get good grades in that.
For more proof of my nerdy-ness, I suppose it would be wise to examine my conversations with people. The other day I asked a couple of my friends if they could be any woman from the Shakespeare plays, which one would they be? (of course, they both said not Lady Macbeth. I chose Beatrice) I'm also the grammar queen around here. If anyone on Facebook uses bad grammar or spells something wrong, I cringe. I also have somewhat of a reputation for correcting people in their pronunciation, spelling, grammar, etc. You can regularly find me giving lectures to people on whether or not to use the word "affect" or "effect". And of course, I like using big words that most people don't know in normal conversation. Call me nerdy. I prefer verbose.

My not so nerdy side - To be honest, my not so nerdy side will probably be more full of facts than my nerdy side. But there are so many things that are not nerdy about me, it's not funny. For one thing, I actually wear fashionable clothes. And I don't wear culottes, nor do I wear straight denim skirts that go to the floor. In fact, I actually wear Aeropostale and American Eagle clothes all the time. I wear high heels (not sneakers, as is the stereotype with home schoolers). Oh, and for even more proof of my non-nerdy side - I went to prom a few weeks ago. With my boyfriend. Oh my gosh. Who would have ever guessed the secret lives home schoolers lead? I have competed in piano competitions (as most of you know if you've been reading my blog for very long), I go out to see movies with my friends, I go to a church with a big youth group and know lots of people there (yes, even private schoolers and public schoolers). I go up to the state capital a good bit, and yeah, sometimes just to chill out with friends. I'm friends with people from three years old up to people in their 80s. And if you don't consider that socialized, I don't know what the heck "socialized" means. I listen to all kinds of music that "regular" people (as you would refer to them) listen to. So, in general, you could refer to me as a relatively normal person. I do things that other people do. I travel places, I have hobbies, I have friends of all ages (and yes, plenty of friends my age, just for the record), I wear normal clothes, I go to the movies, I go to the mall - though I must admit the bookstore is my most frequented place, and guess what! I've even been in the newspaper several times! I do normal things. Because home schoolers are not aliens from another galaxy.

So all in all, you really can't accuse me or about 99% of home schoolers as being unsocialized nerds.
And THAT. Is all I have to say on the subject of home schooling. For now.