Yellowwood Learning Community

It may be hard to imagine, but this whole concept of Yellowwood Learning Community started with a blog post in June of 2012. An unfiltered release of years of trauma and a way of taking my life back. It was through this journey that I found peace, as well as this community we call Yellowwood.

Many of you have been on this journey with me and some of you are just meeting me. I tell this story over and over, in different parts and pieces. But this year, 2025, feels different. It is as though the mismatched puzzle pieces are finally coming together into the vision I’ve played out over and over in my head for more than a decade. And, with that, I’d like to share where we have come from and where we are headed.

Just shy of my 16th birthday, I started dating the boy “of my dreams.” At the age of 21, after ignoring years of red flags, I walked down the aisle. And, at the age of 31, I finally walked out the door for the last time and set out to begin anew. That was in 2008.

It wasn’t until over three years later that I sought help, in the hopes of digging out from the ramification of a 16-year abusive relationship that started way too young. That is where that blog comes in. At the advice of my therapist, I started to journal. But I was bullheaded and refused to make it “about me,” so I started doing what I knew best; Teaching. My journal to healing became the Forget Me Not Blog.

That Blog lead to conversations, which lead to speaking engagements, which lead to workshops, which lead to a 501(c)3 being formed. The vision started to take shape.

A community center that supported teens and those healing from domestic abuse. An educational space where classes and workshops could be held. A cozy homestead where individuals could find peace and grow. A place where young people could learn how to avoid the same fate. A loving space where self-advocacy, independence, self-love, respect, and education would be forefront. A place where community support and individuality would be cherished.

My teacher self jumped in as others shared what our community needed. Visions of peer groups, counseling options, resources, workshops, and a student space where individual differences would be celebrated, began to take shape. It moved from a one-woman crusade to educate the world on domestic violence to an idea where multiple individuals could bring their skills to an environment that would change how we impact our youth.

You see, more important than academics and grades, or advocating for legal and moral change, is actually impacting the individuals that WILL BE THE CHANGE. Helping to give our youth the tools they need to be happy and healthy adults and, simply, good humans became the theme that played out over and over again.

Then came the family outings, peer groups, and homeschooling activities. First, we held classes at parks, then at my house, and later in local churches. Our small group of 5 students, became 40, and the mission of Forget Me Not Advocacy Group was interwoven into lessons, afterschool clubs, yoga, and theater. Academic classes were infused with conflict- resolution, self-regulation, mindfulness, and goal setting.

And so it went. Establish a program, listen to the communities needs, create impact, and grow. Then, do it again.

Fast forward to now, insert a move to North Carolina, and here you will find us. Yellowwood Learning Community. We are truly a community, made up of helpers, lovers of life, healers, supporters, and believers in our youth. We are working to be the change we want to see in the world.

Through this blog, my hope is to better acquaint all of you to the mission and vision of Yellowwood and our sister agency, Forget Me Not Advocacy Group. It is also, however, a space where questions can be answered and information shared regarding awareness, education, homeschooling, advocacy, parenting, or any concept in between.

We hope you will join us as we continue this journey.

Yellowwood Learning Community offers homeschool enrichment programs, classes, workshops, and event in Western North Carolina.

Forget Me Not Advocacy Group is a 501c3, established in Florida and recently incorporated in North Carolina. We are currently reorganizing at the local level to bring our mission to the families and students of the area.