Aria Montalvo

19

United States

2001-2014

California

I was unschooled without any structure at all for my entire childhood. I was free to do whatever I wished with my time and nothing was ever forced upon me. I didn’t even have a bedtime. I constantly exercised my wild imagination — my days consisted of roaming around outside, playing with stuffed animals, and making all kinds of art. I also loved Minecraft, Legos, theatre, karate, piano, trampoline, and board games.

I chose to take some classes through my homeschool group like cooking, ballroom dance, drawing, and sexual education. However, I didn’t take a single “academic” class until I was 12 years old, when I voluntarily signed up for English and Math through the homeschool group. There were no tests or grades, and the homework was optional, but I always completed it because I found it interesting. I thrived in those classes because I WANTED to be there. 

My mom had several mom-friends that sent their kids to public school, but we were also part of various homeschooling groups, so I had a variety of friends growing up. In general, homeschoolers are inclusive of everyone and their siblings, so I was comfortable interacting with children and teens of all ages. I always loved hanging out with the moms at park day and interacting with random adults when my mom and I ran errands around town.

My parents knew that they wanted to homeschool before they even had kids, but they decided to unschool after attending a homeschooling convention for the first time when I was two years old. 

I attended a public charter school for eighth grade out of sheer curiosity. The amount of senseless rules and busy work was astonishing, but I just laughed at the absurdity and managed to get straight A’s. That whole year, I woke up excited to go to school everyday knowing that I’d come home with a hilarious story to share with my family at dinner.

After two months of public high school, I dropped out because it felt like a waste of my time. The thought of losing the next eight years (four in high school and four in college) of my life to school and busy work was really depressing because I actually wanted to ENJOY my teen years. I started taking community college classes when I was 14 because I wanted to “get ahead” in school while still enjoying a large amount of free time. I started out with just one class and then took one to three classes each semester until I had enough credits to transfer to a four year university — that’s the story of how I got into UC Berkeley as a junior when I was 17.

I still had a few friends my age from public school, homeschooling, and theatre, and I met more through mutual friends.

In my teen years, most of my friends were older than me because I have a habit of stealing/sharing my older brother’s friends. I took lots of community college classes with my older friends and that was a great experience. I built connections with some of my professors and interacted with my college classmates everyday. Working in a cafe allowed me to interact with people of all ages, and I also worked with kids every summer as a camp counselor.  

Yes, I received the equivalent to a high school diploma by taking the California High School Proficiency Examination when I was 15.

Honestly, I just focused on having fun and enjoying my life as a teen! You could find me chatting with random strangers or driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with my friends, listening to bad music and wishing we could be young forever. I also pondered the meaning of life and spent a lot of time with myself. Those years helped me realize that I enjoy a slower-paced life and value human connection above all else, even though I classify myself as an introvert. 

Well, it just sort of happened! When I dropped out of high school, I decided to take College Algebra at the local community college with my older brother because I love math. Then I continued to take one to three cool classes at a time and before I knew it, I was applying to transfer in as a junior to a four-year university when I was 17. When I got accepted to UC Berkeley, it was a no-brainer to attend. 

I majored in Art Practice and minored in Education, and I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree from UC Berkeley just two weeks after my 19th birthday.

For me, the hardest part about transitioning to a four-year university was dealing with the never-ending workload. I felt like I was drowning at first, but I got really good at stress-management and time-management by the end. I also managed to pull straight A’s to look good for graduate school.

The easiest part for me was making connections with people. Since everyone was going through a similarly stressful time, I found it quite easy to bond with other people and build supportive relationships. It was my friends, classmates, professors, and counselors that helped me get through each semester.

Being unschooled made getting into college way easier for me because colleges want a variety of students with different backgrounds, which means they love homeschoolers. Writing about my alternative educational upbringing in my college application essays definitely boosted my chances of getting into a good school. My stellar GPA from community college didn’t hurt either (I wasn’t some super genius teenager — it’s just pretty easy to get A’s if you only take one to three classes at a time).

Yes, my dad is very pro-college, so not going to college wasn’t really an option in my household. I’m super grateful for the opportunity and I’m really glad I did it, but I think that not going to college can be a great choice as well. 

I’ve been a cook for private catering events, a cashier at a vegan cafe, a theatre camp counselor, an after school art teacher, a city planning mentor for high school students, and most recently a virtual art teacher.

I’m moving to Spain this school year to be an English Language Assistant at a bilingual elementary school.

I chose this job because it’s the perfect way to spend my gap year before I begin graduate school to become an educator. Besides art, three of my biggest passions are language, education, and working with children, so I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity.

Being unschooled has allowed me to stay in tune with my interests and find the right jobs for me — the jobs that excite me every day. When you’re excited about the work, employers will be excited to hire you!

It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. Do what works best for you, and trust that the rest will fall into place. Check out classes, groups, and events to see if you like them, and do what excites you!

Befriend like-minded parents and learn from them! Keep in mind that each family is different, so experiment with more/less structure to see what works best for yours.

I definitely hope to unschool my future children because unschooling was such a positive experience for me growing up. I love the homeschooling/unschooling community and I’d love to raise my children in such a welcoming and positive environment where they are free to be themselves. However, if my children wish to experience a more traditional educational upbringing as they get older, I will most definitely respect their wishes because it’s really up to them!

Unschooling has given me the freedom to follow my interests and live a life that excites me every day! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at ariasofia29@gmail.com.

Published: September 2020