Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness never felt right to me.

I grew up never really understanding why my mom’s religion prevented me from having fun in traditional life activities such as dressing up for Halloween, watching Christmas themed movies, Thanksgiving family meals, and even celebrating my own birthday.

Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) are typically known in society as people who go door to door and preach their beliefs and take aways from the bible.

According to their website, “Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to adhere to the form of Christianity that Jesus taught and that his apostles practiced.” Some of their “basic beliefs” include God, the bible, Jesus, the kingdom of God, salvation, heaven, evil and suffering, death, and family.

Basically, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a form of Christianity, however they don’t believe in many things such as blood transfusions, participating in elections, college, divorce, Christmas, Easter, and even birthdays.

My seclusion and reservation from these activities and lifestyle has really deprived me from being socially interactive up until today.

While there are 8,340,982 JW worldwide, I decided that my beliefs and the Jehovah’s Witness beliefs didn’t really match and I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.

I couldn’t agree with their stance on blood transfusions, voting, college, divorce, LGBT rights, and conservative views, especially in a time when so many civil rights movements are going on.

I would like for young adults to respectfully speak their minds, not to rebel against their parents, but to express their opinions in an understanding matter. We shouldn’t be afraid to want to learn about a different faith because we have the right to explore our options.

All students should feel free to express and learn more about the bible and various religious paths.

A way they can do this is by joining one of the religious based clubs on campus. This includes the Christian Athletics Club, Christians on Campus, ENGAGE Christian Club, Soka-Gakki International Club, and the Shepherds Club.

More information about these clubs could be found in the Student Development Office in the Student Activities Center.

While I have not dedicated much time on finding out what my true belief is I am glad that I have an option and that I can express myself and not feel left out.