When I came to college, I mean America first of all, is very liberal and Austin is very liberal. I felt like I didn’t have to stick to such strict guidelines with religion. And also, because of my sexuality, it was also easy to just be here and not have to worry about restrictions. Because when I was home and because everyone else was a Christian, more or less. I felt like I was trying to change who I was and I was trying to suppress that part of me.

It was not a healthy situation at all. And it caused a lot of mental issues, self worth issues. So once I came here, I stopped going to church. The first week, I was here during orientation last year, was also the same week as Pride. I got to experience that as one of the first things I did in Austin and that was an amazing experience. I was like, this is like the first rebellious act that I can do towards my parents, towards Christianity and stuff.

So it was fun in that way, but I definitely had regrets. I had second thoughts about it. During breaks and in between semesters, once I go back home, I take part in everything again, but it’s not the same. I feel like college opened me up to a lot of experiences religion wise … I have a bigger mindset about stuff. I just don’t think that type of Christianity is the best for me because I’ve been able to compare it to so many other things.