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While I was growing up in California I wasn't a great student, but I went to one of the best public schools the state had to offer. And, in between trips to the principals office I learned a lot. Then my mother and I moved to Virginia, which I refer to as the beginning of the end. From fifth to ninth grade I struggled through four of Virginia's public schools. All were overly concerned with attendance, dress code, and SOL testing. At the time my beliefs hadn't fully formed, but now I know I could sense them taking away my individuality and motivation to strike out on my own. All these schools were concerned with was making us into the future employees of America and saving their accreditations from the state.

In my ninth grade year I decided to suck it up and get the perfect grades they had been nagging me for. I had a 3.925 GPA my first six weeks of school. But then a turn for the worst. A girl in my class started a fight with me and the schools equal punishment rule dictated a week long suspension for both of us. I never recovered from that incident. Teachers began sending me to the office for minor violations I saw other students getting away with. When I was in class I began having panic attacks that went undiagnosed for several years. I never would be able to keep up at that pace.

So, halfway through the year I stopped showing up for the classes I didn't enjoy. My mother would drop me off at school around 11 o'clock when I decided I felt like going. By that time I had already failed for attendance reasons despite decent grades so my mother had intentions of homeschooling me. That summer I enrolled in Brigham Young University's distance learning program. I passed many of the classes I had failed and was able to take interesting electives like a Sci-Fi reading course.

Now that I had a flexible schedule my mom let me go to work. I had several jobs at fast food joints and restaurants. I was already very mature for my age and gained a lot of responsibility working so young, often with ladies much older than myself. I made a lot of money, some of which went into my courses and additional tutors I picked for favorite topics like English. At this point my mom stopped paying for classes, food, clothes, and transportation, only providing a house to live in.

In Fall of 2003 I had stopped taking courses and fell short of the required credits. I had realized a diploma didn't matter to me and I didn't care if it mattered to anyone else anymore. I submitted to screening for a GED, which honestly I could have obtained in the seventh grade. I did exceptional and in February 2004, four months before my class walked, I passed the GED.

I did promise my mother I would get a college education someday since it was important to her at the time, but I haven't started yet. My classmates are still in college, but with my already six year head start on them I made more last year than they will when they graduate next spring. My husband makes even more. We are two business minded people who try to work for ourselves whenever possible. In the end I'm happy with my decision to quit traditional school. A truly motivated person doesn't need a piece of paper telling them they're good enough. Education comes from more places than schools. Books I chose and life lessons have taught me far more than teachers. And, last year my mother told me she was proud of the choice I made and has completely forgotten about college.

Learn more about this author, Erica Fields.
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