asian american – Millenial Influx

Millenial Influx

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

Pui Tak: Chinatown, Immigration, and Wendy Yong

On November 28, 2016November 28, 2016 By estherkao

Pui Tak is nestled in the old part of Chicago’s Chinatown. Inside the distinctively Chinese architecture children and adult voices […]

East Asian Rap: Appropriation, Color Blindness, or Representation?

On November 7, 2016 By estherkao

http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.39669/title.dumbfoundead-appears-on-season-3-premiere-of-power

Asian American hip hop does not stick in America. They are fads that pop up each year, and fades. The […]

Why Millennial Christians Lean Left

On October 26, 2016October 27, 2016 By estherkao

“The denunciation of injustice implies the rejection of the use of Christianity to legitimize the established order”–Gustavo Gutierrez I am […]

The Minority Experience: Do I “Look Like My Name?”

On April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 By makaylacole

April 17, 2016– Claire Edwards is an Asian American student attending Trinity Christian College, and dealt with a stereotype as […]

Minority among Minorities: Seeking identity in heritage and home

On September 17, 2015September 22, 2015 By katiepark

“Guess what guys, I’m a minority!” My reaction to one of the first Wheaton emails I received shows how naive […]

Mind the “Gap”: Social Media vs. Eating Disorders

On December 17, 2013 By alexandriakuo

Fifteen-year-old Becky gazes at her laptop screen with admiration as models like Cara Delevingne and Miranda Kerr strutted down the […]

5 Q&As: How To Talk about Race & Culture in Church

On December 14, 2013December 15, 2013 By joannekim

As a Third Culture Kid (TCK) and an ethnic minority in the States, I highly advocate for the multicultural/multiracial churches […]

What Lorde and a Cheerios Commercial Taught Me About Racism and White Superiority

On December 11, 2013December 11, 2013 By joannekim

By Joanne Kim and Alexandria Kuo In May 2013, Cheerios presented a commercial featuring an interracial family for the first […]

Asian American Millenials Raise Their Voice

On November 1, 2013 By joannekim

“We, the undersigned, are distressed about the continuing divide that persists in the North American evangelical church in the area […]

Lost in O’Hare

On October 25, 2013July 7, 2014 By joannekim

It was the toilet. After the 15 hour-long plane ride all across the North Pacific Ocean, my sweatshirt was stained […]

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.