I was homeschooled from K-12, and I hated it. I despise the fact that I was homeschooled because it has permanently scarred my life.

I didn’t get to go to preschool. Study after study shows why children should attend preschool — because there they develop essential social and learning skills. I never had that privilege. I grew up essentially alone and without peers.

My early education years involved me sitting by myself in a cramped room behind the kitchen. I never learned anything; I was just given books and videos of pre-recorded lessons with the expectation that I would teach myself. I remember wetting torn pieces of my textbooks with cool water to rub on my eyes for relief while my mother cut onions just a few feet away, oblivious to my discomfort as she talked loudly on the phone. I do not remember a single thing from my education during that time.

I know I was taught by my mother how to read and write. Past that point, my parents became less interested in following my education. Looking back, I can’t recall how I learned anything; I only know that I had to teach myself and use any available resources that I had. As I got older and aimed to pursue higher education, I started studying intensely with the materials that I had. Entrance and placement exams were not a matter of testing my aptitude, but were instead ways for me to “catch up” on all of the education I had missed out on. Until I went to college, I was completely self-taught.

My parents were very religious, and my siblings were much older than I. We moved often. I had little contact with the outside world and few ways to expand my knowledge. I only had the religious indoctrination that I was fed. I had no guidance, and I felt like I had no purpose.

After 18 years of isolation, neglect and lack of any care or compassion, I attempted suicide. I did not deserve to die, but I believed that I did.

What I experienced as a homeschooler was pain, isolation and trauma. There is no apology that can correct this. There is no way to undo any of the torment I had to endure. There is no way to replace my memories with good ones. There is no way to give me my life back. I will never know what it is like to experience a childhood. I went through hell.

I am an adult now. I will not blame my past for my present. But that does not change what I experienced. I wish I had gone to school, but I never did. I wish that I had grown up in a loving home, but I never have. I wish I wasn’t homeschooled, but I was.

No child should ever go through what I did, and that change can start right here in Connecticut. Did you know that, “unlike many states, Connecticut does not require parents to inform their local school district if they plan to home-school their child”?

Of course, a traditional education does not guarantee that a child will learn essential skills such as reading and writing, as the CT Mirror recently reported.  But every child deserves an environment that nurtures, educates, provides social connection and growth — whether in public school, private school or at home. Homeschooling should not isolate children or leave them without opportunities to learn and interact with peers.

The state has a responsibility to ensure that children get the support they need to thrive. Childhood is a time for exploration and development, not confinement. Every child deserves to feel valued, supported and connected to the world around them.

Eco Webb, who grew up in South Korea, is a sophomore at Central Connecticut State University.