I saw a segment on the news today about ‘Un-schooling’. It falls under the category of Homeschooling, but from what I could tell it is completely different. I have respect for homeschoolers (weird though they sometimes are), because they tend to learn discipline and self-control better than other children. From what I have experienced, they either learn it by becoming one of those smart kids that can tell you what happened in history if you give them a time and a date (here’s a shout out to you Justin, you weird cool homeschooler you) or they end up graduating ‘late’. And by late I mean two years behind schedule (sorry guys, but you know its true).

P.S. I know there’s some grey area in there. That’s cool.

Anywho! Back to Unschooling. This mother on the news has been unschooling her children since they were born. They don’t have tests, quizzes, math or history. That is unless they’re interested in it, in which case she uses “all the resources available”. But from what I can tell, her children messed around in the kitchen, watched tv and played with Barbies all day. 

“But at least they’re happy”
No. no no no no no. This is the mindset today that really just freaks me out. When I was little I hated bathing. But lets face it, little kids stink more than normal so thank the Lord my parents threw some toys in the tub and told me to get in! I love swimming, but I dread going to the pool. I hate the tiredness it causes in my body and having to take off my glasses and walk to my lane. At the RECenter I go to there are wooden bleachers facing the pool and before I pick a lane I sit on those bleachers with my glasses on and coach myself on which lane I’m about to walk to, because I know once my glasses come off I’m not going to see the people in the other lanes. Not fun. I still do it.

But that’s just simple stuff. One of my friends is just really not happy with her everyday life. She hates being home for the summer (college kids. Guh!) and knowing that she has three more months of living with her family just really gets to her. Often times I wonder if she were to take her focus off of her own unhappiness, she might be somewhat happier.

We seem to think that our goal in life is to be happy. Which I completely understand, don’t get me wrong! However we seem to strive for this so called “happiness” in a mediocre* and stupid ways, at least when we try to attain said goal in superficial “I want it right now” ways.

Here’s some examples:
  • People have random sex. [yeah yeah, you wanted to be “closer” to him. Invest in some big boxes of tissues so you don’t have to wipe your tears with paper towels.]
  • They quit school because it makes them feel stupid or is just generally annoying.
  • They drive very fast. They get stupid tattoos [think before ink people]. They buy big houses, faster cars, great shoes…
The list can go on and on. And please don’t misunderstand me and think I’m on a high horse or something (I’ve literally been on a tall horse before. It was a stupid mistake for being a short person). I get the idea behind random sex but I also see the hurt that it brings and the sense of loss that the person will one day feel. I do think that tests are stupid but there is a need for them. And I love fast cars, tattoos and great shoes. Not big houses though, can you even imagine the vacuuming?!

What am I saying?

Don’t strive for random happiness. Strive for your dream, and accept that true dreams take work and dedication. Sometimes you won’t be happy.

Look away from yourself and your need for instant gratification (I know it’s hard, lets face it, I’m writing about it because it’s a struggle in my own life.)

May I suggest looking to God? Happiness doesn’t last. Things will always change and sometimes they will change for the worse. The only thing that has brought me through everything has been the knowledge that someone cares. And not just ‘someone’ as in parents, loved ones, significant others, really tight friends. Nope. God puts them all to shame with His love. Just sayin. He brings Joy. And joy is Beast. [yup. With a capital ‘B’]

 à Recently I’ve been exceptionally sad because I feel like I’ve lost one of my best friends. Then I was reminded about North Korea. And when I say reminded, I mean my heart was like “Woah! I’m tired of you randomly crying. Trust your friendship and him and oh hey, remember North Korea?” So! Fun fact about me: I want to go to North Korea. I want to learn Korean. Mainly, I want to tell people about this Joy that is Beast. And thinking about all that…well, it’s like looking at the stars. You realize that you are a small person in a very big world.

Sidenote: I think exclamation marks look exceptionally peppy. And I am not a peppy person. Hence why I don’t use a lot of them.

 

*And I say that we strive for happiness in mediocre ways because I truly believe that if someone REALLY wanted happiness the way people say they want it, they would blow all their money on going to amusement parks.