I grew up in an overly religious, Christian home. My mother and my aunt were members of a non-denominational church in the city of New Orleans, and unfortunately, this was my first taste of Christianity. I soon learned that they were a bunch of hypocritical and judgmental people, and I did not like this.
At the age of fourteen, I was allowed to leave this church, and join a Pentecostal church. Many of their rules were exactly the same, and I found them to be just as hypocritical and judgmental as my mother’s church, so I left.
At the age of fifteen, I decided to give Christianity one last try. I joined a Southern Baptist Church. They did not have all the same rules as the other churches, but I found several common denominators in their teachings that I did not agree with.
I have always had a strange connection with the holiday Halloween, witches, ghosts, the paranormal, divination, and anything associated with the occult. All of these things were forbidden in the denominations of Christianity that I grew up with, yet I continued to be drawn to it.
I never felt comfortable in churches, was always depressed, and always knew that Christianity was not for me.
In college, I discovered Paganism. After doing weeks and weeks of research, I realized that this was the religion for me. I decided to convert because I found peace within Paganism and for once, I was happy and excited about my spiritual journey on my path to the Divine.
The only personal sacrifice I had to make when I converted was letting go of everything that I had learned. There were some teachings that I kept with me, but the majority of it, I left behind. As years past, I came to realize that Paganism came first, and that many of the customs associated with Christianity was stolen away from Paganism. Since that discovery, I have shunned away from many of the Christian beliefs that I still held dear.
Since I have become Pagan, I am happier, I am not depressed all the time, and I have met the man of my dreams. In addition, the Goddess reveals herself to me on a daily basis, and helps me grow spiritually.