When I looking at my friends who are extremely active in their faith, whether that be on social media, seeing them at school or at my summer job at a Christian summer camp, they have been going to church from a young age. Their parents are probably active in their faith, or at least go to church regularly so as to introduce their kids to Christianity, leading them to maybe pursue a more personal relationship with God in the future. I’m not necessarily saying that Christianity is a necessity for everyone, but I personally believe. However, my faith wasn’t fostered and completely embraced until later in life.

While my mom and I grew up going to church every so often, she never really made me attend church, although I was pretty sure she believed. I also attended religious schools from age 10 on, and attended a Christian all girls camp for seven years which I now work at as a counselor. I have no regrets about not attending church at a younger age, and I don’t feel like I really missed out on anything either. But, once I started becoming more interested in my faith and the religion of Christianity, I started to realize that I was a few steps behind my already religious friends. They knew all the Bible stories I didn’t, with religious connotation, not just from school. They knew “how to pray” (though I’ve now realized there is no right way to pray). But, this made me more persistent to learn more and find out myself.

I wish I could tell you there was one day where I sat up and said, “I’m going to become a Christian,” but that didn’t happen at all. Over the years, I would pick up my Bible or pray once in a while. I knew I believed in God and that I believed in Christianity, but what that meant for me didn’t become clear until last summer when I was 19 and working at the camp I had mentioned earlier.

It was so much easier there, where God’s love is so obvious all the time, everyone around you is rooting for you, etc. This allows you to become completely immersed in scripture, and in my case, journaling to pray. Nobody bothers you about it, and of course it’s summer, so you have more time on your hands to devote to something like journaling and scripture.

So yes, I got a late start to recognizing myself as a Christian and really attempting to embrace that. I had some stumbles along the way, but I also feel like I was given the opportunity to explore all my options, ask questions, decide against believing and then come back again. Religion and practice is a constant journey, wherever you begin. Whether you start going to Church and Sunday School every week or you’ve never even opened a Bible, nobody should feel like they automatically can’t practice a religion because they were not raised in it...don’t ever feel like a door will not be opened to you. Religion and spirituality is something that anyone can begin or learn about at any age, with zero background or loads of background. There is nothing stopping you, especially because there are always more questions to be asked and more answers to be discovered.

Don’t lose hope, especially when not losing hope can lead to something amazing. Don’t be afraid to embrace your faith, regardless of how behind you feel.