Ex-Homeschoolers Club

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Today, I'm sitting down with Rachael to unpack her experience growing up homeschooled in a deeply evangelical Christian environment. Rachael shares how undiagnosed ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia made school difficult while the pressure to be a “perfect” homeschool kid led her to blame herself rather than question the system. She also talks about purity culture, rigid gender roles, the pressure to discover God’s perfect plan for her life, and why she felt completely unprepared to launch into adulthood after graduation. Her journey eventually took her to YWAM and overseas to Thailand, where new experiences helped her begin recognizing emotions she had spent years denying (including anger). Today, Rachael is working through years of religious deconstruction and therapy while reconnecting with the creativity and artistic identity she once felt ashamed to embrace.

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Chapters

00:00 Welcome Back To The Ex-Homeschoolers Club

00:41 Meet Rachel

02:02 How Cancer Traumatized A Family

05:19 What The Early Years Of Homeschooling Looked Like

08:28 The Struggle Of Undiagnosed Learning Struggles

11:23 How Faith Fostered An Environment Of Perfectionism

15:00 What Did Homeschool Community Look Like For You?

19:11 What Role Did Gender Roles And Purity Culture Play In Your Life?

22:11 Moving To Colorado

26:50 Finding Homeschool Friends Via Seminary

29:25 Taking Public School Classes As A Homeschooler

33:36 Homeschool Hierarchy Pressure

36:19 Preparing Your Kids To Launch Into Adulthood

37:50 Rachael Was Unprepared To Launch

41:47 Crashing After High School Graduation

43:42 What Is Gods Will In My Life

47:35 Finding YWAM And Launching Into Adulthood

54:32 Red Flags Of YWAM

58:11 Discovering Anger

01:02:41 Find Myself And Reclaiming Creativity

01:08:35 Where Do You Stand With Homeschooling?

01:14:00 Find Your Self-Autonomy

01:16:19 Thanks For Tuning In