How Informal Education Saved Me by Faith

How Informal Education Saved Me by Faith - June 2024 Scholarship Essay

There have been numerous obstacles in my life, the most challenging would have to be my mental health and the disabilities that come with it..

I have OCD- otherwise known as 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder'- depression, and PTSD. All of which have impacted my life tremendously. Less than 5 years ago I was unable to leave my house without having a panic attack and was unable to get out of bed due to my depression. Because of my OCD I even had a hard time touching things within my own house I live in. My obsessive compulsions making it impossible to enjoy anything in life, making it impossible to remain stable with the harsh structure that the education system required.

My parents tried to keep me in school but I was having nervous breakdowns daily- I functionally couldn't learn and was disrupting the education of my peers. Eventually I was forced out of classrooms, unallowed to reenter and would spend my days at school crying rather than learning. It was only when I started informal education via homeschooling where I was able to manage. Due to the loose structure homeschooling gave me I was able to be put into mental health rehabilitation for my mental illnesses throughout the week. While I did online course work at night, I was able to spend the day working with therapists to help my condition.

It took years of work, currently I have been in therapy for over a third of my life as of now, but I have been able to fully transition back into school. Genuinely, if informal schooling wasn't an option I likely would not be here as I am today. It was thanks to informal education that I was able to build back my trust in society to gain the ability to go to school, to be able to attend college. Informal education is the reason why I am able to thrive today where I otherwise would have wasted away.

To all the informal educators out there; the ones that help those like me, those who are otherwise unable to attend school. Due to the rigorous restrictive cookie-cutter curriculum that everyone is expected to fit into the mold of; I sincerely wish to say thank you. Thank you for working with us. Thank you for being accommodating and understanding yet remaining firm to help us continue our education. Without informal educational there would be so many who society would leave behind in the dust, so I am grateful and thankful to both it and the people who are behind it.

Regular education lacks inflexibility, but informal education leaves room for those who need a little more aid to flourish. It is thanks to homeschooling, informal education, that I am as determined as ever to make the most out of what I was guided with. From my time following informal education I have been given a multitude of coping mechanisms, a strong support system, and a fire to reach for my future. One I don't plan to waste it.