Religion?

Now I don't mean to offend anyone with this, and I'm certainly not trying to attack anyone's beliefs or views. These are simply my thoughts. If you take offense easily, I would suggest you stop reading. I won't take offense, really. I don't care if you stop. And if you continue, I warned you. So don't complain about it.
Moving on...

A lot of people went to Breakaway this weekend. Scratch that, almost everybody who's anybody went. I didn't, for multiple reasons. One being that I was out of town, but another being I'm not entirely sure I would have wanted to go. I'm not too familiar with what Breakaway is exactly, but I know it is some sort of religious camp put together by Young Life where other high school students gather at the beach for a weekend? Don't quote me on that, but that's my general understanding. Personally, I think it's great that so many people want to get together and discuss their common interests and beliefs in God and religion. It just doesn't seem like its for me. I don't know, I'm not really a religious person, so to speak.

I don't consider myself to be a specific religion, I don't go to church every Sunday, and in fact, the only time I've ever been to church is on Christmas Day in New Zealand a year ago. And I felt uncomfortable. I'm not sure if it was because I'd never been before, or if it was because it was Christmas Day, a very religious day to some, or if it was because I felt as if I was being forced to believe something I was completely unsure about. I'm not sure I'll ever fully understand. All I know is that I felt vulnerable and uncomfortable sitting in that church on Christmas Day.

I don't know what I believe, and to be completely honest, I've never really thought about it. I guess it just didn't seem all that important to me. I'm not an atheist, I'm just not sure what to believe in. I think there is definitely some form of something out there, but I'm not sure I'd put myself under the umbrella of a religion. I'd prefer to be my own sort of religion and believe exactly what I want to believe, rather than put myself into a group of people telling me what I should believe.

I guess the reason I've thought about this lately is I feel as if I've been forced to believe certain things. There has been so much going on around me that seems so religion-based and it is really making me think about things. There are clubs, Young Life, and even people who are always talking about God and religion and I feel as if I'm being brainwashed. Not that it is necessarily a bad thing, I mean some people love their religion and their faith in God, which is great. I just feel like it's not really for me, and I would much rather discover it on my own rather than feel as if it's being forced upon me.

I believe what I choose to believe, but I respect everyone else's beliefs. We are individuals, and our personalities represent who we are. Don't let anyone take that from you, and don't let others persuade you into something you're unsure of.