Fearless Females: March 10 - Religion
Religion is a sore subject for me. Don't get me wrong. I still believe in God and that there is something great then all of us. I still believe in living my life in a way that is wholesome. However because of the church I grew up in as a child you will likely never see me step foot back in a church again. These photos are of me while me family was in the church. The religion was Old Fashion Pentecostal. I was a church in Modesto, CA. Today, as far as I'm concerned, I believe it was a cult.
I remember how strong my mother was. When I was young I can remember I want to go to college and be a school teacher. Now I wonder what I was thinking. It's a challenge just to help my own children with their homework without loosing my patients. But back then that was my dream. My mother believed that every girl had as much right to dream and fulfil that dreams as any man did. Unfortunately the church did not feel that way. The place in the world for a women was as a wife and mother at home. My mother did stand up to them and told them that her daughter would go to college if she wanted to in so many words. She basically let them know she disagreed with the idea. She also knew that I was at a disadvantage for marriage. Most of the boys were much older and already had their eyes on someone, or were much younger than I was. No matter what she wanted me to be able to make my life my own and not under the control of another. It wasn't longer after she stood up to them about me being able to go to college that she quit the church. We followed a year later. To this day my life is my own. No one controls me or tells me what to do, how to dress, where to live or any other aspect of my life.
I've also applied the same to my children, to a degree. I'm still a parent. I still control how they dress, behave, where they go and such. I still raise them right and don't let them make bad decision, but I don't control things in their life like religion. My oldest does go to church. That is his choice. The other two will have the same choice when they are older.
I remember how strong my mother was. When I was young I can remember I want to go to college and be a school teacher. Now I wonder what I was thinking. It's a challenge just to help my own children with their homework without loosing my patients. But back then that was my dream. My mother believed that every girl had as much right to dream and fulfil that dreams as any man did. Unfortunately the church did not feel that way. The place in the world for a women was as a wife and mother at home. My mother did stand up to them and told them that her daughter would go to college if she wanted to in so many words. She basically let them know she disagreed with the idea. She also knew that I was at a disadvantage for marriage. Most of the boys were much older and already had their eyes on someone, or were much younger than I was. No matter what she wanted me to be able to make my life my own and not under the control of another. It wasn't longer after she stood up to them about me being able to go to college that she quit the church. We followed a year later. To this day my life is my own. No one controls me or tells me what to do, how to dress, where to live or any other aspect of my life.I've also applied the same to my children, to a degree. I'm still a parent. I still control how they dress, behave, where they go and such. I still raise them right and don't let them make bad decision, but I don't control things in their life like religion. My oldest does go to church. That is his choice. The other two will have the same choice when they are older.
The photos are of me and my brother. 
Life wasn't all bad though. In our religion we were not allowed to have a TV, so we became a stronger family as a result. We did things together more than most families of my time. We would get in the car and go for drives. Discover old sites that had long been forgotten. It is because of the religion that I grew to love history which I still have a passion for today. I wasn't allowed to read fiction, so I only read biographies of real peoples lives. To me it was as great of entertainment as any other. And I will give it credit for making us a very strong family.
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