Staying in School

I knew that school was detrimental to my education, but I put up with it. I probably shouldn’t have. The decision to stay in school could very well be the biggest mistake that I have ever made.

After Running Start proved to be identical to our anti-educational K-12 system, dropping out seemed like more of an option than ever before. There was also talk about me not graduating on time. I wasn’t going to stay in school an extra year as a punishment for how they mistreated me. If I wasn’t graduating on time, I wasn’t graduating.

I didn’t want to face the discrimination that we apply to dropouts, so I agreed to an alternative. I entered a monitored homeschooling program that gave me more control over my education.

I don’t want to seem too ungrateful. This alternative partially restored my educational rights and allowed me to graduate. That said, I still feel that it would have been better if I had taken full control and responsibility for my education.

I earned my diploma and graduated on time. This means that I’m not facing the unfair discrimination that I feared. Or at least not to the level that I would have to deal with if I had dropped out. It also means that I have a piece of paper that completely misrepresents who I am. I am an individual, not a product of the schools.

I should have dropped out in middle school. That is when I started realizing that schooling is the biggest obstacle to a healthy education. I would be a better person today. Instead, I am a certified mindless drone. I am ashamed to admit that. I should have chosen education instead of schooling. I was wrong.