America – Millenial Influx

Millenial Influx

News, commentary, opinion, and analysis from the Millennial generation

Fans, Athletes, Sports against COVID-19

On December 11, 2020December 11, 2020 By treviray

Sports

News Analysis By Trevi Ray and Hunter Doyle Omaha, Nebraska and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are 18 hours and twenty-seven minutes apart […]

Key Asian Ally Watches Nov. Election and Worries

On December 10, 2020December 14, 2020 By miekoyamamoto

Key Asian Ally Watches Nov. Election and Worries By Mieko Yamamoto Millennial Influx correspondent TOKYO — A key Asian ally […]

Education Loan Reform Under Biden Presidency

On December 10, 2020December 11, 2020 By miekoyamamoto

Education Loan Reform Under Biden Presidency By Mieko Yamamoto Forty-two million Americans currently owe money on student loans. As we […]

Activism Through Art in the November Election

On December 10, 2020December 15, 2020 By lilymejiagautreau

By: Lillian Mejia-Gautreau Artivism (a combination of art and activism) Is a powerful tool against Injustice. Artists from all over […]

What Now for the 2020 Olympic Games?

On December 10, 2020December 11, 2020 By courtneyrockness

What Now for the 2020 Olympic Games? By Courtney Rockness and Gloria Coleman Following the COVID-19 outbreak and its rapid […]

Migration in a Quickly Changing World

On December 10, 2020December 10, 2020 By alisejarvis

Migration in a Quickly Changing World Tensions continue to rise in the face of mass migration By Alise Jarvis and […]

Michael Gehl: ‘You Got A Friend in Me’

On December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 By miapittshope

Michael Gehl: ‘You Got A Friend in Me’ By Mia Pitts-Hope Meeting people seems to be never ending. You meet […]

A Decline in Business Travel Leads to a Slow Comeback

On November 30, 2020December 5, 2020 By alisejarvis

A Decline in Business Travel Leads to a Slow Comeback By Alise Jarvis When COVID-19 emerged at the start of […]

Why the US Ought to Denuclearize

On November 26, 2020December 18, 2020 By matthewnakamura

Why the US Ought to Denuclearize Opinion Essay By Matthew Nakamura The 1983 American film “War Games” told the fictional […]

Why everyone loves Fantasy Sports

On November 25, 2020November 25, 2020 By hunterdoyle

Fantasy Sports

By Hunter Doyle Imagine you are the general manager of your favorite sports team. You get to decide which players […]

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.