Wake up whenever you want -- check. Stay in your pajamas all day -- check. Eat whenever you want -- check. Never have homework after you've been learning all day -- check.

Doesn't this sound like every kid's dream? You'd think so. Unfortunately, when I'd tell people I was homeschooled I felt like the outcast. I grew up priding myself on it yet the response I often received from people made me feel like I shouldn't.

For me, homeschooling was a way to cultivate my creativity and learn life skills that they don't teach you in school. I was able to move at my own speed and not feel like I was ahead of everyone or I was the reason everyone couldn't move forward. Most importantly, I was able to be my own person without fearing judgment or disapproval. Homeschooling gave me a different perspective that I often reflect on with gratitude for the things it taught me.

1. You learn that there is life beyond textbooks.

Don't stress so much over memorizing every single word in a textbook but rather find a way to engage in the material in a way that is personal and important to you. My daddy is Abraham Lincoln's biggest fan so instead of reading about him in a textbook we would watch any documentary he could find on Lincoln. I always looked forward to snuggling up by the fire and watching them with him. To this day I still have an affinity for all things Lincoln.

2. Homeschooling taught me life skills that I still use to this day, every day.

I remember rolling my eyes when my momma told my brother and me that we needed to learn how to balance a checkbook. It seemed irrelevant at ten years old but we did it anyways. Now at 21, I never overdraw in my account and when the opportunity presents itself, I can write checks without calling my momma. She also taught me how to bake which is still one of my favorite things to do today.

Another useful thing to learn but you never think about is how to change a tire and jump your car. My daddy always let me help him when he worked on cars and later taught me how to change the breaks and rotors. Knowing how to jump my car has come in handy a dozen of times and I wasn't the little girl who would electrocute herself.

Mommy and daddy, I sincerely apologize for every eye roll and muffled sigh when you had me learn these things because I use them in life far more than I use the quadratic equation.

3. Homeschooling takes away the arbitrary feeling of control you may experience in public school.

School may seem like such a long and drawn out process, but as you get older you begin to realize it is such a small part of your entire life. I found myself irritated by the feeling that my every hour was controlled by a bell and I couldn't do a thing about it. I disliked the fact that I could spend hours in a desk doing nothing but listening and then I would go home with hours of work. It felt counteractive to my own education. To being able to work ahead of subjects I loved so I could spend more time on math and physics helped me figure out how I best learn, study and retain information.

4. Homeschooling gave me opportunities that I couldn't have had if I was in public school.

My daddy is self-employed bookbinder and I got the opportunity to travel with him often and watch him put books back to their original state. I found his intricate hand-sewing of pages and re-casing of a broken book to be intriguing and timeless. It's a lost art that taught me to do what you love because I see his passion for craftsmanship that many are unaware of.

I also had the opportunity to take some time off of my school work and travel to Chicago to model for a dancewear line through my dance company. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I remember to this day. At the end of each photo shoot my momma took me to the gift shop I got to pick out a treat with the money I earned from my day 'on the job'. I was so proud of the fact that I earned that money. I even mowed our yard of five acres once a week to earn money and it became something I still enjoy doing. To this day I pride myself on my work ethic because from a young age I understood the value of money and I appreciate what it means to work for it.

5. There is always another way to do everything.

Ryan Gosling put homeschooling well and I resonated with this because homeschooling is often seen as the lesser form of education, yet I finished my first year of high school on the dean's list and have remained successful in my academics during my college tenure. Homeschooling taught me valuable life skills and it also taught me that people's first choice didn't always have to be mine. I value the creativity I was able to explore and the freedom I had to immerse myself in topics that intrigued me.

Homeschooling developed my life skills, challenged me academically and truly allowed me to appreciate it even more because I had experienced both sides. I acknowledge that not everyone has the ability to homeschool and that doesn't make you a lesser individual. It worked for me and helped me become the person I am today and for that I am grateful.

"The fact that I could stay home and watch Planet of the Apes in the morning and then go downstairs and draw while I learned about some historical battle--draw these maps and scenarios and connect to it in a way that was personal to me--I just felt like: Oh well, then there must be another way to do everything."

-Ryan Gosling