Let’s get real—parenting today is political. Homeschooling? Even more so. In this episode, we’re diving headfirst into what it means to raise the next generation with intention, integrity, and impact. 💥
In a world that often feels divided, raising kids who think for themselves, stand up for others, and challenge the status quo is the real revolution. We’re not just teaching math and reading—we’re raising future changemakers. 💪
💬 Why homeschooling is absolutely political
💬 How to raise kids who challenge injustice and value inclusion
💬 What intentional parenting looks like in 2025
💬 Simple, powerful ways your family can support change—starting now
Because here's the truth:
📚 Education is activism
🤝 Inclusion is non-negotiable
🙊 Silence is a privilege—and a choice
Whether you're homeschooling or not, this episode is a call to action for all families ready to raise capable, compassionate, justice-minded humans.
✨ Let’s raise the resistance—one bold, kind kid at a time.
🎧 Tap play, then drop your thoughts below: How are YOU parenting with purpose in a complicated world?
🔁 Like, share, and subscribe for more conversations that matter.
💖 - Shanna
Just a mama making magic—and not backing down.
#WeAreRaisingTheResistance #MakingEverydayMagic #HomeschoolIsPolitical #InclusiveEducation #ParentingWithPurpose #HomeschoolActivism #RaisingGoodHumans #EducationIsActivism #ProgressiveParenting #HomeschoolMama #JusticeStartsAtHome #IntentionalParenting
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I have a list.
I printed it off
because
I've organize my thoughts,and I know what I want to say.
And it is very important to meto get this right for a couple of reasons.
This is a very big topic,
and people on the internetand in the world right now
(00:21):
are really big assholes.
So I want to make sure thatwhat I am saying is what I mean.
And the easiest way for me to do that isto go a little bit slower in this video,
because now I don't feel likeI have the grace of Misspeaking
because I guarantee you it'sgoing to get really ugly in the comments
(00:42):
really fast, much the same waythat it has over on my socials.
So I have papersand to be pausing a lot, just you.
I just want to share with yousomething that makes me feel better
in these current crazy times.
Okay,
welcome back to Making Everyday Magic.
(01:03):
My name is Shanna.
I'm a homeschooling family of four.
We have a seventh graderand a third grader.
Girls.
We are in Texas.
We just moved to Houstonfrom an outlying suburb.
That is my demographic.
We have homeschooled for eight years.
The reason that we chose to homeschool
was not for any of the normal reasonsthat people choose to homeschool.
(01:26):
We choose secular homeschooling,so we do not have
religious affiliationor reliance on religion in our homeschool.
And I do believe,because of the current political climate,
that more peoplewill be coming to this way of life.
So welcome. Hi.
I want you to know, regardlessof how you choose to homeschool,
this is a safe spaceand you have found friends.
(01:48):
So please everyone, be sure to keep thatin mind down in the comments.
Please.
It is a safe spaceand you have found friends.
These are a few thingsthat give me peace in these insane times.
We are raising the resistance.
(02:09):
Before we go any further.
Please scroll down.
Hit the big red subscribe button,
turn on the bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always, you can find me right on downbelow or over on Instagram.
I'm making everyday magic.
If you already follow me on Instagram,you know
that a very large majority
of what I post on Instagram is.
(02:33):
I don't feel like it's political,but the right
the right word, the accepted word forthis is political.
I share a lot of things
that ruffle a lot of feathers,
especially if you're right leaningor traditional homeschool demographic.
Over on Instagram,which may not be for you.
So full morning if that is not for you,
(02:55):
just go over there.
If you want
strictly
homeschool content,
this is not the place for you.
If you do not want to hear my opinionon things again,
you come to the wrong place.
(03:15):
I am very vocal
about a great many things and.
Politics, the world, current climate
is one of them, or few of them.
This is my platform.
This is what I have.
(03:37):
This is my broader burn.
So welcome.
If this isn't for you, I understand.
But I do want you to knowthat it is a safe space,
and I, 100% of the time,I genuinely try to be kind.
Even if we have a difference
of views, outlooks, backgrounds,
(03:58):
however, that doesn't mean
that I
tolerate those views. I'm not going to be.
I don't want to look you in the faceand say, oh,
well, you know, same differencebecause it's not.
I feel like these are really big things,and I feel like it is not the time
(04:21):
where we can continue being quiet
in the many aspectsthat are happening in the world.
So let's start, I guess four minutesinto this video, we're going to start.
Let's start with clearing the air.
I firmly believe that parenting
is a radical act.
(04:43):
Parenting is political.
Parenting is
a radical act of defiance in the sense
that you are saying the genetic materialthat you can bring into the world,
the human that you can raise,
is not only going
(05:05):
to be a part of this world,but that, as every parent believes,
and I am certain that we do,that they will change it,
that they will impact it,and that they will make it a better place.
Parenting is a wildly radical eventstance.
Take.
Parenting is politicaland so is homeschool.
(05:26):
Homeschool is a very wild, radicaltake to take what we've been taught
for the last hundred yearsthat this is the norm.
And this is why we paidand trained professionals and to say, no,
no, you cannot take my children,despite it being for free,
and educate them for eight hours a daywhen I don't have to have them.
(05:48):
In many cases, I don't have to feed them.
I don't have to do anything.
I can trust that you've got itto take all of that and say, I'm so sorry,
but that's not good enough to take that.
Especially, like for myself,I'm not an educator.
I don't know what I'm doingto take all of that and just burn it.
Say no, no, thank you. That's not for me.
(06:10):
We are
teaching as parents and as homeschoolers.
We are teaching our childrenhow to society the whole bit of it.
We are teaching them how to be citizens.
We are teaching themhow to be mothers and fathers
and friends and adultsand teenagers and preschoolers.
(06:31):
We are teaching them how to human,how to be pet owners, how to be chefs,
how to be seamstresses,how to be performing artists,
how to be scientists,how to be zoologists.
We are teaching them how to do it all.
All of the things that we are doing,we are teaching them how to do politics.
(06:51):
We are teaching them how to decidewhat they will and will not tolerate
for themselves, for others in the world,in society, and from politicians.
I know that I amthe odd man out in our home.
We tend to practice what Ilike to call wild acceptance.
So anything
that my children have entertainedthe thought about, we go
(07:13):
probably five feet deeperthan they would care to know.
Every time that my kidshave a question again, I probably go five
feet deeper than they would want to knowanytime
something happens, you know thatthey see something they don't understand.
We have the conversation.
We don't just have the conversation,we go deeper.
(07:34):
So every time my kids ask a questionabout being a parent, we often will
stress, you know,you might choose to become a parent.
You might not you might chooseto get married and you might not like.
These are things that are up to you.
You might choose to marry a manand you might not.
You might choose to marry a womanand you might not.
These are things that,as our parenting style,
(07:56):
somehowwe have fallen into wild acceptance.
And I personally am not sad.
There is not an ounce of me
that will
ever have to questionif my children know that they are loved,
and if my children knowthat we are a safe space.
There has never been a thingthat I'm like, oh my gosh,
(08:16):
you will never do that.
I genuinely can't think of a single thingwhere I would.
Now, don't get me wrong,I will hold them to that.
You know, if you're a murderer,you need to go to jail for that.
But mom, I don't love you.
I'm not saying it's okay, but I am.
There's not a tattoo,there's not a piercing.
There is not a career choice.
(08:38):
There's just not a lot of things where I'm
not going to accept their choicesfor that.
Because that's a life they have to live.
It just.
It just doesn't involve meto be absolutely honest with you.
We just we are the parentsthat are always saying the extra bit.
We are the parentsthat are always saying the asterisk.
We are always saying the fine print.
(08:59):
Like, yes, you don't have to get marriedto have a baby.
You know, marriage is a social constructand having a baby is
a biological sanction.
We say these things to our young girls,but I do always stress to them
that parenting is hard,and I don't recommend doing it alone.
And Mommy and Daddy are notyour co-parent, so we do stress that bit.
We just don't everwant them to not feel loved and accepted.
(09:21):
And there is never who they lovewill never, ever
be any amount of blockageto to my love for them.
That is not a thing that will ever happen.
I am a huge believer you guys.
Now if you follow for any period of time.
I do actually have a very personal faith.
I just don't feel like thathas a role in my homeschool.
So we do have personal faith,and I am a very,
(09:43):
very big believer in
some sort where I call it God,
call it the universe,call it cosmic intervention.
I am a very big believer that.
There is something else,
whatever it or whatever it is,
that will impact you and your life.
(10:04):
So for me,
when I realizedthat I keep encountering the same thing
over and over and over again,I recognize that that is a lesson
meant for me to learnthat I just haven't learned fully yet.
Because of this belief, I know that
the world needs
(10:26):
what each and every one of us uniquely
can bring to the table,and this is a comforting thought for me.
Now don't worry, my kids know this.
But when we decided that we wantedto have actually let me go back
further and my husband has this toI never wanted to get married.
I never wanted to have kids.
I never wanted to change my my name.
I did not want to have girlsbecause I'm not particularly girly,
(10:48):
and I wouldn't know what to do with them.
And I certainly absolutely, underno circumstances wanted to have two girls.
We chose to not find outthe gender of our children.
And guess what? Boom! Two girls.
And there was a very, very
tiny piece of me who was a who was sadbecause that's just not what I wanted.
I didn't think I could do it justice.I didn't think I could do a very good job.
(11:08):
Now I would not change itfor the absolute world,
the universe, God,
whatever knewexactly what they were doing for me
because I would not change itfor the world.
But I had a thought, and this is
the thought that we're goingto build this video around
the world will need.
The women that I raised.
(11:28):
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow,
but my unique perspective to womanhood, to
parenthood, to life.
Bringing that to my daughters.
The world will need the womenthat will come from that.
When I think aboutthis, it helps me to know
that I am exactly where I am meant to be,
(11:51):
right here in the right now,with the tools I have, doing
the things I am doing.
And that brings me end of this next bit.
I recently had coffee with a friend
and it's really easyif if you are doom scrolling,
it's very easyto get very down in the dumps and negative
about all of the insanitythat is currently going on
(12:12):
in the United States political system.
In the presidential office in the world,it is very easy to get negative
and to feel likewhen you just aren't in a place
that is good.
The friend and I had the conversation.
She said that she feels badbecause our parents left us a better world
than they had, and that we are not leavingthe world better for our kids.
(12:37):
I don't think that's the case,
and this is what I hopeyou take out of this video.
I genuinely don't think that's the case.
I think we are the generation
that is uniquely poised, prepared
and made for this day, for this
time, in this insanityto change the world.
(13:04):
I have always said
that you cannot tell peopleto do things differently.
You could not tell our grandparentsand their parents before them
that they just needed to integrate,that they just needed to look at,
African Americans, black people,people of color, just like anybody else.
You can't tell people to do that.
It just doesn't work that way.
(13:24):
You just have to raise the next generationto not believe in a different now.
I like to think our parentsdid a pretty good job with that, right?
Most of our parents went to school
in post segregation times.
I don't know about you,
but my grandparentswell meaning by no means
(13:46):
a negatively racist bone in their body,but they still often
would feel the need to tell mewhat color people were in their stories.
My parents don't do that.
They're doing a better.
You and I.
Very unlikely.
At least I don't. At least not peopleI know.
Do we look at a homosexual person
(14:06):
and just think that, yeah,they definitely have Aids.
We don't look at people of colorand think of them
as less than as other.
I don't, I genuinely don't, and I knowfor a fact my children do even less.
They absolutely do. And I have a few
(14:29):
a few
little anecdotes to share with youin just a moment.
But in continuing on a vein,this is our job.
This is our time to change the world.
And the way that we are going to do it
is we are going to changethis little people.
We're going to raise them up in the waythat makes the world a better place.
(14:50):
I firmly believe it is our job to be hereright now doing these things.
And I think, I think it is our jobto remove the policies.
It is our job to end Dei.
It is our job to end marriage equality.
And do you know why?
(15:11):
Because I think it is our job
to show to the world,to the next generation, to everyone,
that those bits of policies,those bits of rules,
those bits of legislation that force thaton to people are not needed,
(15:31):
that we are in a time
where we don't look at people differentlythan we are, in a time
where we don't even secondguess that people should be able to marry
who they want to,where we are in a time that we recognize
that anyone who isn't a fully functionalwhite man.
(15:52):
Is just as goodas a fully functional white man.
We look at everybody the same.
We do not automatically thinkthat the white man is better.
We don't automatically thinkthat the women are more emotional.
We don't automatically thinkand I am not even kidding.
(16:13):
This was a real thing
that the brain sizes of African Americansis literally smaller,
and thereforethey are less capable than whites.
Did you know that was a thing?
I believe it is us.
We are the resistance.We are raising the resistance.
We are the people who are going topoint out that it was not states rights,
it was slavery.
(16:35):
It was not.
Texans fight for independence.
It was slavery.
And yes, I recently learned that.
I am saying yes,
we are perfectly poised for this righttime.
We have been throughall kinds of shenanigans.
We have been throughall kinds of insanity.
And while our parents generationand our grandparents generation
(16:58):
got those things on the books,
it said you could not discriminateagainst people based on these things.
We will be the generationthat doesn't discriminate
based on these things.
We are creating the worldwhere humans will not need
to be told to do the right thing,because doing the wrong thing
won't have crossed their minds.
(17:19):
Now, I do have a few anecdotesto share with you, okay?
Because I am sure like your kids.Like my kid.
My kid doesn't care who they playsports with.
Is it a boy?Is it a girl? They do not care.
My kids have never once looked
at somebody in the bathroom and been like,why am I here?
That's not a thing that happens, okay?
My kids don't care who marries who.
(17:41):
My kids don't carethat their niece has two dads.
And I know this for a fact.
And I'm gonna explainwhy in just a minute.
My kids don't care what colorother people are.
I'm not on those questions. Minusone time.
One time.
Recently, my child
did ask meabout the color of someone's skin.
And then we came home.
(18:01):
We had a discussion
in the moment we came home,and we learned a lot more about video like
that was her question.
Okay, I feel like that's honestly fair.
And we did a lot of researchand studying on it.
And then it becamedo you know what it became?
When you're provided with more knowledge,more information and more,
do you know what happenswhen you have more,
(18:22):
when you do the asterisk,when you say the fine print,
when you go five feet furtherthan your kids want you to non issue,
it becomes a non issue.
Now, like I said, my sweet, adorable child
was hanging out with her uncle one day
and they were with his surrogate
(18:42):
and she looked at him and she said,
let me get this straight.
She was very young,very unlike pre preschool.
And she said, you
and him are having a baby
and the baby
there were there in her mouth.
(19:05):
And he said yes.
And his face got hotand he started stressing out
and he was running through all the optionsin his mind because he was like,
I'm going to have to tell Shawna
that I am having this whole conversationwith our child,
and I don't know how to do this,and I don't know what to do.
And this was our first child,
so he didn't know how easy it isto just not give too much information.
And so he's like panickingand panicking and panicking.
And he was just like, yes. And he waited
(19:26):
and she said, so you're married to him.
And he waited sweating.
And he said, yes.
And she said, so he's like your prince.
And he said, that's exactly right.
And she said, oh,
and that was it.
So I can proudly say to you, that child,
(19:47):
that's all it is.
Who's your prince? Who's your princess?Move it along.
It really is that simple.
We had another, another thing I do want to share with you
about differencesand addressing them in the moment
and not making it somethingit doesn't need to be.
We were at a waterpark.
I was with my oldest alone.
She was very young, and we saw a gentlemanwith a prosthetic leg at the waterpark.
(20:11):
Now, she started asking questions
and I said in my mom brain,
I said, we can give informationor we can get information from the source.
And I have to be honestwith you in the moment.
I said he'sprobably some level of comfortable
if he has his prosthetic leg,I want a park.
And so I walked up and I was like, hi,I am so sorry to bother you,
(20:32):
but my daughter has a couple of questionsabout your leg.
And he took off his leg
and he showed it to her and he said,what would you like to know?
And she was just like,that's cool, and walked off.
That's it.
It's that easy.
Don't make it harder than it has to be.Don't make it a thing.
It's a knot.
Don't put your weirdness on itwhere it doesn't belong.
(20:55):
I do not want you to get down.
In these times. We are the resistance.
We are raising the resistanceand we are changing the world.
One tiny little magnificentlearner at a time.
Do not give up.
They want you to give up.
Imagine what this world could be like
if we were just living with peoplewho were raised to think
(21:17):
that everybody is everybody,and everybody's got a right to be them.
Amazing.
Absolutely amazing.
So guys, please, please don't give up now.
I did recently take my girls to a protest.
And I just want toif you are planning involvement in ways
like that, I did just want to have,just a little bit of some pointers
that made me feel saferwhen we were able to walk.
(21:41):
But even if
we didn't, I probably would have parkeda little further away.
So just a heads up there,
I made sure that my kids knowcontact information.
I made sure that they had watersin a snack because I'm a mom.
I made sure that my kids had contactinformation for multiple adults
(22:02):
that we know on a post-it physicallyand on their person.
I made sure that we designatedfrom where we were,
two different meeting locationsabout a half a block away.
If we got separated,
I made sure because, well, one,I don't expect anything to go wrong.
But I'm also not naive.
I know that things can go wrong
(22:23):
and things can go wrong really quickly,and I would rather be prepared.
So we had a plan.
We had multiple meeting locations.
I stressed to my children,if we get separated,
the most important thing for you two to dois stay together.
If not, we will meet at this locationor we'll meet at this location.
I also made them fully awarethat this was a really big deal.
(22:43):
If there was anything that made themfeel uncomfortable, we could leave
at any point.
I sent pictures
to both their dad and my dad,and what we were all wearing
told them where we were goingand gave them play by plays on
where and when we were just in case.
I made sure that we had our healthinsurance card and I had identification
on my person.
(23:05):
We had a wonderful time.
We did not get up in the throngs of peoplebecause that just makes me feel unsafe.
Anyways, I just to meet people.
We stayed on the edge.
Once we got there, we identifiedwhere the police officers were,
who was helpful,where our meeting locations were,
and I constantly checked in to make surethey felt comfortable with where we were,
(23:25):
with what we were doingand their surroundings.
So I am just going to saywe had a great day.
Nothing went sideways at all.
They had a wonderful experienceand I was really glad that we went.
We also did not carry signs when I didn't
make them and two,I just feel like it's another added level.
We could just walk awayto make me feel better.
But I did notice,Houston was very prepared.
(23:47):
They had blocked off the steps of the cityhall with like, barricades
so you couldn't get up there. But alsoit was a holiday, so no one was there.
There were
bike, police, car, police, walkingpolice and also unmarked police
because I realized next to me
the person had like an earbud,but was like plainclothes.
Everybody was kind,everybody was friendly.
There were times the kids out there,which was kind of unexpected.
There's a woman dressed as a suffragette.
(24:08):
The pictures were awesome as because thesigns, oh my gosh, the signs are so funny.
It was a really, really good experience.
And it was really important to meto do that, to show my kids
that there's not a lot that you can do,but what you can do is get loud
and that I honestly,I tell them that all the time
the anybody ever threatens youif you ever feel unsafe
(24:29):
in any situations, the absolutebest thing you can do is get really loud,
scream, become annoying.
It is the best thing that you can do.
Never, never, never lose your voice.
And I am proud of the way we handled that.
I was so proud of the way they took it,
and we had a really wonderful dayand experience. Now
(24:50):
circle back.
This may not be for you and that's okay.
Peace out.
Best of luck.
It might be for you. Awesome.
You might be here for homeschool content.
Gloss over these thingsyou don't want to see.
It's available to you.
I can't believe what you're doing.
But it really is at the point
where we all decide which side we're on.
(25:14):
We all decide what we'll tolerate.
Okay?
And yes,there are some extreme things going on
and there are things that sound really,really crazy.
Couldn'tpossibly be true that I really do.
Fear are, will be and will come to be.
So again,
(25:35):
you have to decide where you areand let me just plead with you.
If you have signs,
please teach them to be good men.
If you have daughters, please teach them.
They don't need a man.
It's a weird world.
(25:55):
I hope that we can survive it.
But at the end of the day, when I am oldand when I am on my deathbed,
I will be very proud
of the things I did, the things I said.
And the fact
that I have stayed true to my beliefs.
(26:15):
I didn't intend and I walked.
So yeah, this is off topic.
It was a little different for those of youwho stayed to the end.
Good job.
Hope that you found any of this helpful,entertaining, or informative.
If you didn't,if it wasn't for you, scroll down.
Hit the big red subscribe button.
Turn on the bell for notifications.Give this video a thumbs up.
Go follow some protest movements.
(26:36):
50501 movement over on Instagram.
And I think all platforms,
there's a lot of economic blackoutscoming up.
Do what you can with what
you have, where you are.
Together, we're going to change the world.
I guess.
I have a list.
I printed it off
because
I've organize my thoughts,and I know what I want to say.
And it is very important to meto get this right for a couple of reasons.
This is a very big topic,
and people on the internetand in the world right now
(00:21):
are really big assholes.
So I want to make sure thatwhat I am saying is what I mean.
And the easiest way for me to do that isto go a little bit slower in this video,
because now I don't feel likeI have the grace of Misspeaking
because I guarantee you it'sgoing to get really ugly in the comments
(00:42):
really fast, much the same waythat it has over on my socials.
So I have papersand to be pausing a lot, just you.
I just want to share with yousomething that makes me feel better
in these current crazy times.
Okay,
welcome back to Making Everyday Magic.
(01:03):
My name is Shanna.
I'm a homeschooling family of four.
We have a seventh graderand a third grader.
Girls.
We are in Texas.
We just moved to Houstonfrom an outlying suburb.
That is my demographic.
We have homeschooled for eight years.
The reason that we chose to homeschool
was not for any of the normal reasonsthat people choose to homeschool.
(01:26):
We choose secular homeschooling,so we do not have
religious affiliationor reliance on religion in our homeschool.
And I do believe,because of the current political climate,
that more peoplewill be coming to this way of life.
So welcome. Hi.
I want you to know, regardlessof how you choose to homeschool,
this is a safe spaceand you have found friends.
(01:48):
So please everyone, be sure to keep thatin mind down in the comments.
Please.
It is a safe spaceand you have found friends.
These are a few thingsthat give me peace in these insane times.
We are raising the resistance.
(02:09):
Before we go any further.
Please scroll down.
Hit the big red subscribe button,
turn on the bell for notificationsand give this video a thumbs up.
As always, you can find me right on downbelow or over on Instagram.
I'm making everyday magic.
If you already follow me on Instagram,you know
that a very large majority
of what I post on Instagram is.
(02:33):
I don't feel like it's political,but the right
the right word, the accepted word forthis is political.
I share a lot of things
that ruffle a lot of feathers,
especially if you're right leaningor traditional homeschool demographic.
Over on Instagram,which may not be for you.
So full morning if that is not for you,
(02:55):
just go over there.
If you want
strictly
homeschool content,
this is not the place for you.
If you do not want to hear my opinionon things again,
you come to the wrong place.
(03:15):
I am very vocal
about a great many things and.
Politics, the world, current climate
is one of them, or few of them.
This is my platform.
This is what I have.
(03:37):
This is my broader burn.
So welcome.
If this isn't for you, I understand.
But I do want you to knowthat it is a safe space,
and I, 100% of the time,I genuinely try to be kind.
Even if we have a difference
of views, outlooks, backgrounds,
(03:58):
however, that doesn't mean
that I
tolerate those views. I'm not going to be.
I don't want to look you in the faceand say, oh,
well, you know, same differencebecause it's not.
I feel like these are really big things,and I feel like it is not the time
(04:21):
where we can continue being quiet
in the many aspectsthat are happening in the world.
So let's start, I guess four minutesinto this video, we're going to start.
Let's start with clearing the air.
I firmly believe that parenting
is a radical act.
(04:43):
Parenting is political.
Parenting is
a radical act of defiance in the sense
that you are saying the genetic materialthat you can bring into the world,
the human that you can raise,
is not only going
(05:05):
to be a part of this world,but that, as every parent believes,
and I am certain that we do,that they will change it,
that they will impact it,and that they will make it a better place.
Parenting is a wildly radical eventstance.
Take.
Parenting is politicaland so is homeschool.
(05:26):
Homeschool is a very wild, radicaltake to take what we've been taught
for the last hundred yearsthat this is the norm.
And this is why we paidand trained professionals and to say, no,
no, you cannot take my children,despite it being for free,
and educate them for eight hours a daywhen I don't have to have them.
(05:48):
In many cases, I don't have to feed them.
I don't have to do anything.
I can trust that you've got itto take all of that and say, I'm so sorry,
but that's not good enough to take that.
Especially, like for myself,I'm not an educator.
I don't know what I'm doingto take all of that and just burn it.
Say no, no, thank you. That's not for me.
(06:10):
We are
teaching as parents and as homeschoolers.
We are teaching our childrenhow to society the whole bit of it.
We are teaching them how to be citizens.
We are teaching themhow to be mothers and fathers
and friends and adultsand teenagers and preschoolers.
(06:31):
We are teaching them how to human,how to be pet owners, how to be chefs,
how to be seamstresses,how to be performing artists,
how to be scientists,how to be zoologists.
We are teaching them how to do it all.
All of the things that we are doing,we are teaching them how to do politics.
(06:51):
We are teaching them how to decidewhat they will and will not tolerate
for themselves, for others in the world,in society, and from politicians.
I know that I amthe odd man out in our home.
We tend to practice what Ilike to call wild acceptance.
So anything
that my children have entertainedthe thought about, we go
(07:13):
probably five feet deeperthan they would care to know.
Every time that my kidshave a question again, I probably go five
feet deeper than they would want to knowanytime
something happens, you know thatthey see something they don't understand.
We have the conversation.
We don't just have the conversation,we go deeper.
(07:34):
So every time my kids ask a questionabout being a parent, we often will
stress, you know,you might choose to become a parent.
You might not you might chooseto get married and you might not like.
These are things that are up to you.
You might choose to marry a manand you might not.
You might choose to marry a womanand you might not.
These are things that,as our parenting style,
(07:56):
somehowwe have fallen into wild acceptance.
And I personally am not sad.
There is not an ounce of me
that will
ever have to questionif my children know that they are loved,
and if my children knowthat we are a safe space.
There has never been a thingthat I'm like, oh my gosh,
(08:16):
you will never do that.
I genuinely can't think of a single thingwhere I would.
Now, don't get me wrong,I will hold them to that.
You know, if you're a murderer,you need to go to jail for that.
But mom, I don't love you.
I'm not saying it's okay, but I am.
There's not a tattoo,there's not a piercing.
There is not a career choice.
(08:38):
There's just not a lot of things where I'm
not going to accept their choicesfor that.
Because that's a life they have to live.
It just.
It just doesn't involve meto be absolutely honest with you.
We just we are the parentsthat are always saying the extra bit.
We are the parentsthat are always saying the asterisk.
We are always saying the fine print.
(08:59):
Like, yes, you don't have to get marriedto have a baby.
You know, marriage is a social constructand having a baby is
a biological sanction.
We say these things to our young girls,but I do always stress to them
that parenting is hard,and I don't recommend doing it alone.
And Mommy and Daddy are notyour co-parent, so we do stress that bit.
We just don't everwant them to not feel loved and accepted.
(09:21):
And there is never who they lovewill never, ever
be any amount of blockageto to my love for them.
That is not a thing that will ever happen.
I am a huge believer you guys.
Now if you follow for any period of time.
I do actually have a very personal faith.
I just don't feel like thathas a role in my homeschool.
So we do have personal faith,and I am a very,
(09:43):
very big believer in
some sort where I call it God,
call it the universe,call it cosmic intervention.
I am a very big believer that.
There is something else,
whatever it or whatever it is,
that will impact you and your life.
(10:04):
So for me,
when I realizedthat I keep encountering the same thing
over and over and over again,I recognize that that is a lesson
meant for me to learnthat I just haven't learned fully yet.
Because of this belief, I know that
the world needs
(10:26):
what each and every one of us uniquely
can bring to the table,and this is a comforting thought for me.
Now don't worry, my kids know this.
But when we decided that we wantedto have actually let me go back
further and my husband has this toI never wanted to get married.
I never wanted to have kids.
I never wanted to change my my name.
I did not want to have girlsbecause I'm not particularly girly,
(10:48):
and I wouldn't know what to do with them.
And I certainly absolutely, underno circumstances wanted to have two girls.
We chose to not find outthe gender of our children.
And guess what? Boom! Two girls.
And there was a very, very
tiny piece of me who was a who was sadbecause that's just not what I wanted.
I didn't think I could do it justice.I didn't think I could do a very good job.
(11:08):
Now I would not change itfor the absolute world,
the universe, God,
whatever knewexactly what they were doing for me
because I would not change itfor the world.
But I had a thought, and this is
the thought that we're goingto build this video around
the world will need.
The women that I raised.
(11:28):
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow,
but my unique perspective to womanhood, to
parenthood, to life.
Bringing that to my daughters.
The world will need the womenthat will come from that.
When I think aboutthis, it helps me to know
that I am exactly where I am meant to be,
(11:51):
right here in the right now,with the tools I have, doing
the things I am doing.
And that brings me end of this next bit.
I recently had coffee with a friend
and it's really easyif if you are doom scrolling,
it's very easyto get very down in the dumps and negative
about all of the insanitythat is currently going on
(12:12):
in the United States political system.
In the presidential office in the world,it is very easy to get negative
and to feel likewhen you just aren't in a place
that is good.
The friend and I had the conversation.
She said that she feels badbecause our parents left us a better world
than they had, and that we are not leavingthe world better for our kids.
(12:37):
I don't think that's the case,
and this is what I hopeyou take out of this video.
I genuinely don't think that's the case.
I think we are the generation
that is uniquely poised, prepared
and made for this day, for this
time, in this insanityto change the world.
(13:04):
I have always said
that you cannot tell peopleto do things differently.
You could not tell our grandparentsand their parents before them
that they just needed to integrate,that they just needed to look at,
African Americans, black people,people of color, just like anybody else.
You can't tell people to do that.
It just doesn't work that way.
(13:24):
You just have to raise the next generationto not believe in a different now.
I like to think our parentsdid a pretty good job with that, right?
Most of our parents went to school
in post segregation times.
I don't know about you,
but my grandparentswell meaning by no means
(13:46):
a negatively racist bone in their body,but they still often
would feel the need to tell mewhat color people were in their stories.
My parents don't do that.
They're doing a better.
You and I.
Very unlikely.
At least I don't. At least not peopleI know.
Do we look at a homosexual person
(14:06):
and just think that, yeah,they definitely have Aids.
We don't look at people of colorand think of them
as less than as other.
I don't, I genuinely don't, and I knowfor a fact my children do even less.
They absolutely do. And I have a few
(14:29):
a few
little anecdotes to share with youin just a moment.
But in continuing on a vein,this is our job.
This is our time to change the world.
And the way that we are going to do it
is we are going to changethis little people.
We're going to raise them up in the waythat makes the world a better place.
(14:50):
I firmly believe it is our job to be hereright now doing these things.
And I think, I think it is our jobto remove the policies.
It is our job to end Dei.
It is our job to end marriage equality.
And do you know why?
(15:11):
Because I think it is our job
to show to the world,to the next generation, to everyone,
that those bits of policies,those bits of rules,
those bits of legislation that force thaton to people are not needed,
(15:31):
that we are in a time
where we don't look at people differentlythan we are, in a time
where we don't even secondguess that people should be able to marry
who they want to,where we are in a time that we recognize
that anyone who isn't a fully functionalwhite man.
(15:52):
Is just as goodas a fully functional white man.
We look at everybody the same.
We do not automatically thinkthat the white man is better.
We don't automatically thinkthat the women are more emotional.
We don't automatically thinkand I am not even kidding.
(16:13):
This was a real thing
that the brain sizes of African Americansis literally smaller,
and thereforethey are less capable than whites.
Did you know that was a thing?
I believe it is us.
We are the resistance.We are raising the resistance.
We are the people who are going topoint out that it was not states rights,
it was slavery.
(16:35):
It was not.
Texans fight for independence.
It was slavery.
And yes, I recently learned that.
I am saying yes,
we are perfectly poised for this righttime.
We have been throughall kinds of shenanigans.
We have been throughall kinds of insanity.
And while our parents generationand our grandparents generation
(16:58):
got those things on the books,
it said you could not discriminateagainst people based on these things.
We will be the generationthat doesn't discriminate
based on these things.
We are creating the worldwhere humans will not need
to be told to do the right thing,because doing the wrong thing
won't have crossed their minds.
(17:19):
Now, I do have a few anecdotesto share with you, okay?
Because I am sure like your kids.Like my kid.
My kid doesn't care who they playsports with.
Is it a boy?Is it a girl? They do not care.
My kids have never once looked
at somebody in the bathroom and been like,why am I here?
That's not a thing that happens, okay?
My kids don't care who marries who.
(17:41):
My kids don't carethat their niece has two dads.
And I know this for a fact.
And I'm gonna explainwhy in just a minute.
My kids don't care what colorother people are.
I'm not on those questions. Minusone time.
One time.
Recently, my child
did ask meabout the color of someone's skin.
And then we came home.
(18:01):
We had a discussion
in the moment we came home,and we learned a lot more about video like
that was her question.
Okay, I feel like that's honestly fair.
And we did a lot of researchand studying on it.
And then it becamedo you know what it became?
When you're provided with more knowledge,more information and more,
do you know what happenswhen you have more,
(18:22):
when you do the asterisk,when you say the fine print,
when you go five feet furtherthan your kids want you to non issue,
it becomes a non issue.
Now, like I said, my sweet, adorable child
was hanging out with her uncle one day
and they were with his surrogate
(18:42):
and she looked at him and she said,
let me get this straight.
She was very young,very unlike pre preschool.
And she said, you
and him are having a baby
and the baby
there were there in her mouth.
(19:05):
And he said yes.
And his face got hotand he started stressing out
and he was running through all the optionsin his mind because he was like,
I'm going to have to tell Shawna
that I am having this whole conversationwith our child,
and I don't know how to do this,and I don't know what to do.
And this was our first child,
so he didn't know how easy it isto just not give too much information.
And so he's like panickingand panicking and panicking.
And he was just like, yes. And he waited
(19:26):
and she said, so you're married to him.
And he waited sweating.
And he said, yes.
And she said, so he's like your prince.
And he said, that's exactly right.
And she said, oh,
and that was it.
So I can proudly say to you, that child,
(19:47):
that's all it is.
Who's your prince? Who's your princess?Move it along.
It really is that simple.
We had another, another thing I do want to share with you
about differencesand addressing them in the moment
and not making it somethingit doesn't need to be.
We were at a waterpark.
I was with my oldest alone.
She was very young, and we saw a gentlemanwith a prosthetic leg at the waterpark.
(20:11):
Now, she started asking questions
and I said in my mom brain,
I said, we can give informationor we can get information from the source.
And I have to be honestwith you in the moment.
I said he'sprobably some level of comfortable
if he has his prosthetic leg,I want a park.
And so I walked up and I was like, hi,I am so sorry to bother you,
(20:32):
but my daughter has a couple of questionsabout your leg.
And he took off his leg
and he showed it to her and he said,what would you like to know?
And she was just like,that's cool, and walked off.
That's it.
It's that easy.
Don't make it harder than it has to be.Don't make it a thing.
It's a knot.
Don't put your weirdness on itwhere it doesn't belong.
(20:55):
I do not want you to get down.
In these times. We are the resistance.
We are raising the resistanceand we are changing the world.
One tiny little magnificentlearner at a time.
Do not give up.
They want you to give up.
Imagine what this world could be like
if we were just living with peoplewho were raised to think
(21:17):
that everybody is everybody,and everybody's got a right to be them.
Amazing.
Absolutely amazing.
So guys, please, please don't give up now.
I did recently take my girls to a protest.
And I just want toif you are planning involvement in ways
like that, I did just want to have,just a little bit of some pointers
that made me feel saferwhen we were able to walk.
(21:41):
But even if
we didn't, I probably would have parkeda little further away.
So just a heads up there,
I made sure that my kids knowcontact information.
I made sure that they had watersin a snack because I'm a mom.
I made sure that my kids had contactinformation for multiple adults
(22:02):
that we know on a post-it physicallyand on their person.
I made sure that we designatedfrom where we were,
two different meeting locationsabout a half a block away.
If we got separated,
I made sure because, well, one,I don't expect anything to go wrong.
But I'm also not naive.
I know that things can go wrong
(22:23):
and things can go wrong really quickly,and I would rather be prepared.
So we had a plan.
We had multiple meeting locations.
I stressed to my children,if we get separated,
the most important thing for you two to dois stay together.
If not, we will meet at this locationor we'll meet at this location.
I also made them fully awarethat this was a really big deal.
(22:43):
If there was anything that made themfeel uncomfortable, we could leave
at any point.
I sent pictures
to both their dad and my dad,and what we were all wearing
told them where we were goingand gave them play by plays on
where and when we were just in case.
I made sure that we had our healthinsurance card and I had identification
on my person.
(23:05):
We had a wonderful time.
We did not get up in the throngs of peoplebecause that just makes me feel unsafe.
Anyways, I just to meet people.
We stayed on the edge.
Once we got there, we identifiedwhere the police officers were,
who was helpful,where our meeting locations were,
and I constantly checked in to make surethey felt comfortable with where we were,
(23:25):
with what we were doingand their surroundings.
So I am just going to saywe had a great day.
Nothing went sideways at all.
They had a wonderful experienceand I was really glad that we went.
We also did not carry signs when I didn't
make them and two,I just feel like it's another added level.
We could just walk awayto make me feel better.
But I did notice,Houston was very prepared.
(23:47):
They had blocked off the steps of the cityhall with like, barricades
so you couldn't get up there. But alsoit was a holiday, so no one was there.
There were
bike, police, car, police, walkingpolice and also unmarked police
because I realized next to me
the person had like an earbud,but was like plainclothes.
Everybody was kind,everybody was friendly.
There were times the kids out there,which was kind of unexpected.
There's a woman dressed as a suffragette.
(24:08):
The pictures were awesome as because thesigns, oh my gosh, the signs are so funny.
It was a really, really good experience.
And it was really important to meto do that, to show my kids
that there's not a lot that you can do,but what you can do is get loud
and that I honestly,I tell them that all the time
the anybody ever threatens youif you ever feel unsafe
(24:29):
in any situations, the absolutebest thing you can do is get really loud,
scream, become annoying.
It is the best thing that you can do.
Never, never, never lose your voice.
And I am proud of the way we handled that.
I was so proud of the way they took it,
and we had a really wonderful dayand experience. Now
(24:50):
circle back.
This may not be for you and that's okay.
Peace out.
Best of luck.
It might be for you. Awesome.
You might be here for homeschool content.
Gloss over these thingsyou don't want to see.
It's available to you.
I can't believe what you're doing.
But it really is at the point
where we all decide which side we're on.
(25:14):
We all decide what we'll tolerate.
Okay?
And yes,there are some extreme things going on
and there are things that sound really,really crazy.
Couldn'tpossibly be true that I really do.
Fear are, will be and will come to be.
So again,
(25:35):
you have to decide where you areand let me just plead with you.
If you have signs,
please teach them to be good men.
If you have daughters, please teach them.
They don't need a man.
It's a weird world.
(25:55):
I hope that we can survive it.
But at the end of the day, when I am oldand when I am on my deathbed,
I will be very proud
of the things I did, the things I said.
And the fact
that I have stayed true to my beliefs.
(26:15):
I didn't intend and I walked.
So yeah, this is off topic.
It was a little different for those of youwho stayed to the end.
Good job.
Hope that you found any of this helpful,entertaining, or informative.
If you didn't,if it wasn't for you, scroll down.
Hit the big red subscribe button.
Turn on the bell for notifications.Give this video a thumbs up.
Go follow some protest movements.
(26:36):
50501 movement over on Instagram.
And I think all platforms,
there's a lot of economic blackoutscoming up.
Do what you can with what
you have, where you are.
Together, we're going to change the world.
I guess.
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