A lot of people ask me, “Where do you go to school?” I have the challenging decision to answer homeschooled or privately tutored. It’s a complicated decision in the moment and I often get tongue tied. Because in reality, I am a little bit of both. Here is an example of what my day to day life looks like as a student athlete.
My education starts at 9:00 AM Monday through Wednesday, with the dogs barking at the door, and me running to go open it for my tutor, Mary.
Together we descend the steps into the education throne room (aka the basement) where there are sticky notes on the wall, a whiteboard in the corner, and books on the bookshelf.
Usually, we start with math, pending my coffee intake that morning. Once we have completed our basic subjects (math, history, and reading), we fill in the gaps with real world conversation and debate.
Mary comes three days per week for three hours a day of private tutoring. YES!!! It is possible to get it all done. I plan to graduate at 16 years old.
Around 1:00 PM, after a bite to eat, I head over on foot to the barn and work my two/three horses for about three and a half hours. After that I’m pretty well wrapped up - all that’s left is clean up.
About 4:00 PM I walk home and pretend I get my exercise in for a whopping two minutes. Just kidding! I run 4-6 days per week, do TRX, and weight training for exercise.
Then I decide between showering or doing homework. After I finish procrastinating, I do about two hours of homework. Once my homework is done, I go upstairs, shower, and change. I descend the steps from my bedroom, looking like a drowned rat with my exceptionally messy bun thrown on top of my wet head.
Cooking dinner is my favorite part. While I cook, I play the loudest music possible, and wow the dogs with my incredible dance moves. Then, my dad comes in and says, “THAT is the biggest mess I have ever seen in the kitchen,” but he calms down after taking a few bites, humming with satisfaction. I love cooking dinner and baking! My plan after my riding career is to go to France and become a pastry chef.
There are so many benefits of being privately tutored and living a freedom-based lifestyle. It allows me to train, travel, rest, and excel in what I love. I have big goals and this helps me to accomplish them, for that, I’m very thankful. However, one thing you miss out on when you are privately tutored is social interaction. So I have to pursue this in other avenues.
My mom actually wrote an E-Book that describes our journey from the beginning.