2022 CHAP Memorial Scholarship Given for Second Place

The essays for 2022 focussed on the students’ homeschool journeys and hopes for their futures. Here is the essay of the first place winner, Daniel Parry. 

My Homeschool Experience

By Jacob S. Peters, Second Place Winner, Leigh A. Genasevich Scholarship

While some would argue that my education has only been learned over the past twelve years, Monday through Friday, from September to the beginning of June, I would say that my education has encompassed all eighteen years of my life. It may be true for some people that their education only consisted of their schooling, but for me, schooling only makes up a part of it. Thanks to my homeschooling, I have received a wide array of opportunities allowing me to learn things that I wouldn’t have learned if I was in a classroom all day. I am extremely grateful to my parents for deciding to homeschool me for this reason.

My mom has traditionally homeschooled myself and two of my sisters for the entirety of our schooling years. For my whole life, school was my home. I learned how to read in our rocking chair, dissected a worm on our picnic table, learned construction basics while building our pool deck with my dad, and used different chemicals to create different colored flames in our bathroom. I was also able to take advantage of learning opportunities out of the house. I’ve been on Pennsylvania history tours to museums, factories, homesteads, forts, graveyards, and many other sights. I was also able to work as a part of a volunteer crew at a local Christian retreat center where I helped pour concrete, redo brickwork, fix a gutter system, and do lawn maintenance. A huge learning experience for me was playing football for the local high school. Even though I’m homeschooled I was allowed to come in and play. Playing football for that team helped to teach me discipline, hard work, sportsmanship, and perseverance. On that field, I learned lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Even though I learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and a wide array of practical skills, I believe the most valuable thing I learned was to love learning. My homeschooling education instilled in me an unquenchable desire to learn how and why things work the way they do. That desire to learn means my education extends into everything I do. Whether I’m taking a walk in the woods, fishing in a pond, playing football, or simply driving a car, I’m always looking for ways to learn more about whatever I’m doing.

The same concept applies to my spiritual walk. I grew up in a Christian home where both of my parents have been saved since before I was born. We went to church every Sunday, Bible study every Thursday, and my parents taught youth group every Wednesday. I thought that since my family members were saved and I went through all the motions of going to church, memorizing Scripture, reading the Bible, and praying that I would be going to heaven. The only issue was that I didn’t have the surety of knowing where I would be for eternity. I had a fear of coming before God and hearing, “Depart from me for I never knew you.” This led me to think more about what it means to be saved and that it must be a personal relationship with God. There is no piggybacking off of someone else. I then asked Jesus to come into my life, and it immediately gave me comfort of knowing where I am going. This occurred when I was eleven years old, and ever since then I have been trying to grow more like Jesus. This does not mean I always succeed in being like him. However, it does mean that when I do fail, I can fall back on him and ask for forgiveness of my sins.

Becoming a Christian is the most impactful thing that has happened to my life. In a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to Christians and Christian beliefs, I am able to easily refute false “science” as presented by the media. A Christian outlook has also brought hope to my life that I do not see in nonbelievers. As a Christian, I know that whatever happens to me, God will be with me through it all. This also means I do not have to worry about all of the issues in the world. Even though I can certainly get involved, I have peace that God is working it all out in his timing.

Knowing God will work everything out in his timing has provided much comfort as I transition from high school and into the next chapter of my life. Some people are heavily drawn to a specific calling in life, but I have never experienced that. I’ve always had a degree of interest in all of my school subjects, so I’ve never felt a calling to one thing in particular. I still do not have complete certainty in what I plan to study while at college, but God has already given me a lot of direction that myself and others have been praying for. My mom has often told me that I have a lot of potential, and I do not want to waste that potential. I would be disappointed in myself if I took this incredible foundation that has been built out of my faith and education and then squandered it. I would like to have a job where I feel fulfilled in the work I’m doing, while also being able to provide for a family, should that be a part of my future. My parents have said to me many times, it doesn’t matter what I do as long as I live for the Lord. This sentiment is very true. I have seen it play out in the lives of my parents. We didn’t always have the most money, but they always trusted God, and he always provided.

As I continue into the next phase of life, I want to keep the same perspective I’ve always had about learning. My education has not been solely found in books or any individual thing. I am being educated twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, as long as I hold on to my love of learning and stay grounded in my faith.