Kiery Actually Does College

I almost believed everything my parents told me about how my uterus meant that higher education wasn’t an option for me

Finding Myself in the Ashes: Aisling’s Story

Editorial note: The author’s name has been changed to ensure anonymity. “Aisling” is a pseudonym.  The heavy wooden door to my dorm room closed with a definitive click behind my parents. I exhaled the weight of eighteen years spent wrestling for control, for individuality, for personhood. I was free. I imagined this moment often, with ever-increasing fervor as the end

Dealing with Culture Shock: Latebloomer’s Story

HA note: The author’s name has been changed to ensure anonymity. “Latebloomer” is a pseudonym. Latebloomer’s story was originally published on her blog Past Tense, Present Progressive. It is reprinted with her permission. There was always an expectation in my family that I would go to college. Both of my parents had a college education and saw its value, and they didn’t

Living with a Schedule: Karen Poole’s Story

Stepping onto a college campus for the first time was not a big deal for me. I was ready to leave home. Tired of the monotony, drudgery of my daily life at home, I was excited to move on to bigger and better things. Thankfully, my parents had never encouraged me to believe the typical mantras that many of our

“My Daughters Are Not Going Off to College”: When Homeschooled Girls Are Trapped

“Some homeschooled adult daughters fare no better than Pakistani young ladies when it comes to education. Nick is right. We expect this kind of thing in Pakistan, but not in the US. Some of these young ladies who have officially graduated from their homeschool high school are not allowed to even choose whether they go to college or not. College is simply not allowed. They are destined to be a ‘stay-at-home-daughter.'”