Tell us your story

[Brenda]

Greg (dh) & I have been unconventional for a long time. When we were first married we KNEW we did not want to do the 9-5 forever. So we set out on our journey to have our own business, but there was no one to help us, there was no one to guide us in money. We did not learn about money in school and we did not have parents who helped us learn about money. So we did not have a good plan for our business, we used credit cards (and not the right way either). But we tried! And we tried and we tried. We are young and have learned many lessons the hard way. And we are still trying to clean up from those lessons, but we are not giving up. We want so bad for Greg to be able to enjoy this lifestyle. We have a lot to tell about this story of our life, but I will leave it at this for now :)

[Shannon Rose]

I'll tell you what...I finally followed a life long dream and a little over a year ago I bought a bus! Yep. I bought a 1983 MCI 9 which was a New Jersey Transit with all the seats and luggage racks still in place. My kids and I converted it ourselves and we've been running all over the country for over a year now. We're having the time of our lives, learning tons, getting to see everyone we want and mostly getting to help others which is the goal. You can see what we do on my website if you like. www.shannonroselive.com

The funny part about our lives is that I had no idea I was already an unschooler. I thought I was a freak and was just bringing my kids down with me hahaha. Turns out, I have the best kids imaginable, everyone wants to steal them, and we all get to live and be happy every single day. I can't say that about very many of our friends and none of our family. Of course, my family doesn't approve of how I do things but then again, they never have and I'm 40 so I ignore it. In my whole life I've never felt "at home" anywhere I've lived, which is a lot of places. I've always just wanted to GO! So now, that's what I do. I go! We go when we can and stop when we need to and pick up work in nearly every place we've been. Oh, and I have no mortgage, rent, credit cards, nothing. I have a cell phone bill and diesel fuel when we can't get enough veggie oil to run on. THIS is the life. FREEDOM at it's finest.

[Radical Mama]

I was 20 but not quite and adult when I had my daughter, so when I had to start working and such, it was quite a wake-up call. I, actually, did the j.o.b. thing as a single parent, and it was so hard to reconcile that I was working to pay someone to raise my child, which was what I wanted to do. I put so much into that j.o.b., and then had an unfortunate wake-up call that it was not something that Icould trust for security, so I started going to school. Now, I was a single mama who was going to school full time and working full time. Talk about never seeing my child! Thank goodness, we co-slept, so we had at least 8 hours to cuddle together and make up for lost time. But still! I quit working for the company after about 6 years, when I was pregnant with my son--his dad and I had decided we were just going to do what we had to so I wouldn't have to work. I had learned some important things about myself and working, though--that I needed something that could wrap around my schedule, something where I had a lot of independence and autonomy, and I needed to do something that felt good to my heart (I had worked with people with developmental disabilities). I had my son the semester I finished my BA degree, and he changed everything. I ended up putting off my masters program to stay home for at least the first year (I had planned on having a nanny follow me to school and care for him while I was in class). His dad was a student, too, so times were hard, but worth the investment. We ended up splitting up last summer, and I had to do something, so I went back to school. My son went to the same daycare my daughter had gone to, and I realized it was NOT somewhere I wanted my kids (I regret having sent my daughter--talk about the OPPOSITE of unschooling!). After a year of school, I dropped out LOL My 3rd and final child is due the end of this month, and I am going to do everything in my power to stay home with my kids until my youngest is at least 3 (then I may start a masters program that I can start with online courses). I look forward to being creative about it. I love living life creatively :D My kids and I are a team, and I just love how much my daughter learns about life through my learning, too. It is the opitome of unschooling :) Now, I just focus on my relationships with my kids, keeping my house and finances simple, and doing what needs to be done to make ends meet :)