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Now, I know some of my friends must be concerned. After all, Erin left the age of minority behind a few months ago, she will be attending college (again) this fall (after having attended under the early-entry clause at the age of 17) and working for a while… yes, this is a lot of stuff going on.

But the answer is no, I don’t have any intention of “growing up” any time soon. After all, didn’t Our Lord say that we should aspire to be childlike (in a good way)? And then there are all the Disney movies which praise immaturity, she says sarcastically.

On the other hand, though, I feel that in many cases, and in some ways, I was actually more mature than the people I met at college, even though I was far more naive than any of them. Perhaps it was because I was actually better prepared for college than they were? I don’t know.

That leads into my next point. I think that homeschooling has taught me more effective ways of thinking. My high IQ is not the result of native intelligence, perhaps, but the result of knowing how to exercise that intelligence. Also, I’ve been in a more mature role, one that has pushed me into more responsibility and forced me to be more proactive. In a sense, I never had the childhood that other children do. Rather than just “being a kid”, I’ve been preparing to be a successful adult all my life.

And yet, I had the childhood that “other children” never had. I was sheltered, but nurtured. I suppose that if I had a point of comparison, I would call the homeschool experience superlative. And best of all, it has given me a grip on both the best of childhood and the better part of adulthood, so that I will never forget what it’s like to be young. It has given me a means to be immature in a very mature way, so to speak. This is the essence, I think, of Peter Pan. Except that he isn’t under the same pressure as the otherwise-normal children around the world who are pressured by the Zeitgeist into wearing a sophisticated, dirty mask. Here and now, in the ultimate anonymity of this blog, I’m taking off my mask. You may not see my face, but you know who I am.

After all, worldview and attitude give more to identity than does all the sass in the world.

So, here’s to Peter Pan and his Masquerade, the Masquerade of which I am a proud member. Here’s to the beautiful counter-cultural experience of homeschooling. Here’s to being a rebel for a reactionary cause.

Hooray for Peter Pan! And hooray for shocking people in admissions.

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