Every semester started with exactly the same feeling: Panic.

Had I had my own copy of The Hitchhikers Guide the Galaxy, perhaps I would have remembered not to panic. Sadly, I didn't. So I did.

'How am I going to get through all this?' I'd bemoan to myself. 'It's so much work. I should just give up now. I'll never make it. All is lost.' ...thankfully, Coldplay was big then so I could at least sing along in a falsetto (starting at 3:20) when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed.

Falsetto always makes me feel better.

Somehow, after a few months, I'd find myself in the swing of things again. College wasn't that hard. In fact, aside from the few boring classes and the homework, it was fantastic!

All that to say: That feeling of panic you get right when you're starting your year? That overwhelming sense of dread that creeps up your spine looking at the tome of your Instructor's Guide? That pounding in the chest? ...yep, that's all totally normal.

I didn't know that. I thought, since as a Sonlight kid life was mostly just great books and good times, somehow this feeling of doom at the start of a non-homeschool school year had something to do with my inability to make it "in the real world."

I was wrong.

It's normal, when contemplating a year's worth of material, to feel discouraged. If you felt like you could do it all today, then it probably wouldn't be worth much. So whenever the overwhelming feeling hits you, take a breath.

Don't panic.

And if all else fails: Sing something at the top of your lungs in falsetto.

If that doesn't help, perhaps you just need to talk it out with someone in the Sonlight community or with an Advisor.

How has the start of the year been for you thus far?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

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I paddle frantically against pull of the wave as it builds behind me. A moment later I'm hurtling toward the waterline, carried by the breaking wave. The rush is fantastic.

We finally made it to the waterpark this weekend. And aside from Voyage to the Center of the Earth, the highlight was the wave pool... which is thankfully not this crowded:

Crowded Wave Pool

There's something amazing about the power of water as it knocks you around or carries you away. ...which is similar to the power of a community. Sure, it can uncaringly knock you smack on your bum, but the same group of people can propel you forward as well.

Barb, a co-worker who helps me keep track of my blog stats, recommended I write this post. I recently contacted a bloggy friend of mine who offered me some incredible insights, wisdom and encouragement. I was telling Barb about it this morning, and she reminded me of it as I wandered the building looking for some blogging inspiration. "You should write about your experience. Well, not exactly. You don't have to share what you were talking about, but you should blog about how much this community has encouraged you."

A swell idea that built as I considered likening it to the building swells of the wave pool.

So: Thank you, my friends. This community--and most notably a few key members of it--has been instrumental in buoying me up these past couple years. And while my domain is more the blogosphere, I know that the Forums have proven to be at least as important to many of you as well.

And as we prayed this morning for some of the needs mentioned on blogs and the Forums, I was reminded of the privilege I have to be a minor part of your life.

These social media are incredible tools that, like the pumps behind the wave pool, allow us to build up together as a community and carry one another along in the choppy waters of life.

How's that for mixing metaphors? <smile>

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

P.S. Speaking of social media, we are two people away from hitting 7,500 people who "like" Sonlight on Facebook. Talk about a growing community! I'm so excited to see the ways you and I will be able to help other homeschoolers in the years to come as the tools continue to improve our ability to connect and share with one another.

We needed a cool new graphic for Sonlight.com this morning. Unfortunately, Dave--our incredibly talented graphic designer--is at home watching his daughter at the moment. And since this is a Friday and I'm heading out soon, I won't be around to make a site update when Dave is able to make the graphic.

So, the task fell to me.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that my artistic abilities begin and end with stick figures. I do not have the skill required to make something look awesome.

Thankfully, Dave saves his work in editable Photoshop files. So I grabbed one of his earlier works, edited the text, added a couple images from the site, and...

I think it turned out pretty well.

I could create something that turned out far better than had I done it on my own because I was able to build on the work Dave had already done.

That's what Sonlight hopes to do for you: Let you build your home educational experience on the work we've done for you.

I'm not saying that you couldn't do this yourself. I'm not at all inferring that your homeschooling skills are at all like my artistic competence--or lack thereof. Our goal is not to make you feel like you need us to educate your children. You don't. Our goal is to offer you the best tools and resources packaged in a way so that you can quickly, easily and enjoyably build from there.

In fact, if you like creating your own plans and would rather not build on the work of others in this area, Sonlight may not be right for you.

But if this is an area where having the prep work done for you will be helpful, by all means: Let us help get you started on your homeschool adventure!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

• Save 10% on your Sonlight order
• Free Shipping!
• 50% discount on your Instructor's Guide

If you've been around Sonlight for a while, you probably recognized these offers as standard package benefits.

But we internet shoppers are a savvy bunch. If there's a deal to be had, we'd like to know about it. So we google "Sonlight coupons" and discover... "About 162,000 results" in less than a quarter of a second.

Sonlight Coupon Search Results

Wow! I didn't know we had any homeschool coupons to begin with--aside from a few personal coupons we hand out at conventions and such. We have our 10% Core discount... but that's not a coupon. You don't need a coupon to get these amazing benefits from Sonlight. You automatically get them when you purchase a Core or Newcomer program.

One of the things we've been working on this week is adjusting our Affiliate program to better reflect our goals. Far too many people have been searching the web for Sonlight coupons, finding these "homeschool deal" sites, clicking through and discovering that they weren't getting any kind of special deal. ...at least, not a special deal that they wouldn't have received anyway.

So... coupons sites are out. We'd rather you get the straight deal straight from us and not pay commissions to people who aren't adding any value to your Sonlight experience.

Speaking of adding value and rewards for talking about Sonlight: I heard a rumor that a blogging friend of mine recently cashed in $300 worth of Sonlight^® Rewards Points. If that's even partially true, that's super cool!

It sounds like the Sonlight Rewards Program can be a very nice addition to the discounts you already receive when you buy one of Sonlight's homeschool packages.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester

Lighting rippled across the horizon as I headed up the hill. The rain splashed against my glasses and bounced off my cell phone. But I was happy.

Less than four hours later and the sun is shining outside. The collar of my shirt is still damp from my routine lunchtime walk. Brittany said she was glad I was happy walking in the rain, but told me I could have held off calling her if I had wanted to.

My Monday has been pleasant enough. Granted, there was a ton to do and even more that I didn't get to today. Emails I need to catch up on, webpages I need to update, videos that require my attention, a book I need to read, a meeting I need to prepare for, a Guest Blog Post I need to review...

...you know it's bad when a blogger doesn't even have time to get someone's guest blog post ready to publish on his blog. <smile>

As you start your school year, remember that it can be like a Monday: Overwhelming, too much, all while feeling not quite ready. It can also be like walking in the rain: Fun enough, but not ideal.

Be sure to give yourself time to get back into the swing of things. Keep moving forward, but don't let yourself get bogged down by the sheer volume of work that needs to be done. It's okay to let some of it slide until tomorrow.

And as the blue sky outside reminds me: These storms do pass.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester