Becki {guest post}

Hi everyone! I'm Emily's friend, Becki Badger, from Being Becki. Before I begin, there are a couple things you should know about me that pertain to my post. 1) I'm sixteen. 2) I was homeschooled all the way through school. 3) I graduated high school in September 2010, two days before I turned 15. 4) I have four brothers, four sisters, and my mom is pregnant again. *squeal of excitement*



Today I want to talk about what it's like to always be different. Yes, I'm aware others have graduated early (my older brothers were sixteen when they graduated, and I graduated with one of them), and yes, I'm aware others have large families. But few people, I've found, have both. So if I'm with people who graduated early, they either went to public or private school or don't have a large family. If I'm around other homeschoolers, they often don't accelerate their kids (the way my parents decided to).  

You catch my drift? Okay, good. :)
The first thing to know about being different is: it's good!

I know parents say it all the time, but I promise it is. Believe it or not, if you're in a conversation and your differences come up, people aren't going to think you're completely weird. They might think you're a little strange, but everybody secretly wants to be special. So my large family, my homeschooling, and my graduating early . . . they all make me different. Special. I do, in all honesty, get strange looks from people when I'm taking care of my younger siblings in public, because they assume I'm the mother, but I don't really mind, because often when others look down on someone, it's because they wish they had something that person has.


And that brings me to my second thing. It takes some getting used to.

I've been part of a large family ever since I can remember. I have two older brothers, and (right now) four younger sisters and two younger brothers. So it's not that big of a deal for me anymore. But I have friends who come over and go places with us, and I know that they have to learn to get used to stares. Luckily, I have awesome friends who don't mind it, and even help me corral the younger ones. Also, having a large family prepared me for the looks I get when people find out when I graduated. I would be willing to bet your eyebrows went up and your eyes widened when you read that I graduated two years ago.



Three: it's fun!

 Wait, wait, wait. "Fun"? To get stared at and given strange looks? Becki, you must be completely off your rocker.
Okay, okay. Maybe it's just me who finds it fun. I've been different from everyone else for so long that I've learned the best way to deal with the stares and nasty looks is to enjoy it. Otherwise I'd be so stressed about what everyone is thinking that I'd come home and cry all day. Instead, if I strike up a conversation with someone I've just met, I play this little game. I tell them I have eight siblings and my mom is pregnant again, and I tell them I graduated two years ago, slipping these in periodically, and then just keep talking until they decide to ask me how old I am, and then I just enjoy the wide eyes and the questions.


Bottom line, different is good. Enjoy being different. If you have any questions or comments, I'll check back here periodically to answer. Bye, guys!