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Homeschooling has many faces and there are so many different types of homeschoolers: full-time, part-time, accelerated, high school, online. The list goes on and on! Aside from being able to take back control of your child’s education, we’ve found that parents love the flexibility and individuality that homeschooling allows. Because, as you know, life doesn’t always go according to plan, but being able to focus on your individual child is key to encouraging their unique talents.
That’s the story of the Karimi family and their artistically gifted daughter, Tabrizi. Originally from Arizona, Tabrizi’s family traveled a lot when she was younger and found that homeschooling helped them continue their education on the road. But whenever they settled down, Tabrizi’s parents enrolled her in the local public school. Wherever she went, Tabrizi carried her love of art with her and pursued it tenaciously.
This routine changed when the family moved to Canada. Suddenly, Tabrizi found herself in a school with French-speaking students, which made adjusting to the school and making friends very difficult. After two years of stress and struggle, Tabrizi and her parents decided to revisit homeschooling, hoping for a more positive learning experience and the flexibility their family needs.
Originally, Tabrizi’s mother was using homeschooling books and developing Tabrizi’s curriculum herself. But after the birth of her third child, she found it too difficult to raise a newborn and educate two teenagers. It was clear they needed a homeschool partner so they started investigating their options online.
Their main concern was that the curriculum was broad enough so their children could explore their interests, yet challenging enough so they wouldn’t breeze through it. As soon as they found Bridgeway Homeschool Academy, they knew it was the right choice for them. And they never looked back.
Though she enjoyed school, Tabrizi always shone the brightest in art. She saw it at the best way to express herself. Tabrizi cites her homeschool education as one of the reasons she grew as an artist. The flexibility of homeschooling gave her the time to complete her assignments at her own pace and devote any extra time to her art.
She started with portraits and still life’s, eventually working her way up to abstract art and even completing contracts for friends and relatives. She credits Picasso and famous UK street artist Banksy as her main inspiration for her art. She hopes to one day turn her dreams into a career in set design for Hollywood movies.
Tabrizi completed all four years of high school with Bridgeway and now has her eyes turned towards college. Right now Tabrizi is planning to go to the Arizona State University, with ambitions to attend University of California, Los Angeles. However, she’s still not ready to let go of the flexibility she was used to through homeschooling. She says it was particularly hard during her last year of homeschooling where she wanted to drop everything and study art. But in the end she knew that completing her high school career was the best option for success.
When we asked her how she would encourage other young artists, Tabrizi said she would challenge them to not wait to pursue their dreams. “If you starting waiting for it to happen, then you’ll always wait. If you have a dream, go for it!”
Thank you for sharing your story with us Tabrizi! We love your tenacious spirit and are so proud of your hard work and efforts. If you want to see more of Tabrizi’s art, you can find it on her artist Facebook page.
How has the flexibility of homeschooling allowed you to unleash your creativity? Share you story in a comment!
