I'm going to go ahead and put this out there: I didn't grow up in church. I didn't think that Jesus was my Lord and Savior, and I didn't think that God was a real thing. I actually didn't believe in anything really, just because I had so many questions and I didn't understand anything.

I did go to church when I was in elementary school, but after a while I realized that I would never feel comfortable there. My mom and I were constantly rejected by people we reached out to, only because they couldn't relate to what we were going through. I was forced into accepting Jesus into my life twice, and I don't even remember how I got baptized. I didn't understand anything that was happening, so I just decided to reject it all.

I grew up angry and hateful. I made bad decisions (nothing too crazy, but bad for me in general), and I didn't appreciate a single thing that happened to me. I was your typical Jesus hater. I saw myself as open minded, but now I know I was too angry to be able to be open minded about anything, especially religion.

When I got to college, I felt the need to find a religious group that I could feel comfortable with. I didn't really have a specific reason why I felt like this, other than that stereotypical "Christians are usually super happy, maybe I should hang out with them so I can be happy by association idea." My best friend, who also wanted to find a religious group to join, and I decided to attend a game night hosted by one of the groups on our campus.

That was the first night I had ever felt comfortable around Christians. They were so overwhelmingly welcoming, I didn't even know what to do with myself. Everyone wanted to know everything about me, and they remembered my name long after that night. I felt like I could finally get my questions answered.

At first, it was so difficult to tear the wall that I had built up against religion down. I met with a woman, who later became my discipler, every week, and she would explain the basics to me. I thought it was an interesting concept, sure, but did I believe that I could give up my lifestyle and live for Jesus? I wasn't sure. It got to the point where I had this feeling that I knew I wanted to accept Jesus into my life, but something was holding me back. When I look back on it, I think it might have been fear, but fear of what? I didn't even know.

I remember everything about the moment when I accepted Jesus into my life. I was in the library on campus, with my best friend and our discipler. Our discipler had just prayed for us, and during that prayer, the words that I needed to say to God came into my head. I said them out loud, and there was this overwhelming feeling of just absolute content. It was an emotional moment for the three of us: we totally cried like little babies in the middle of the library. Yes, people did stare.

Ever since then, my life has changed in so many ways. I fully accept living for Jesus, because I see now all the things that he has done for me and what he can do for me. My perspective of my old life has changed dramatically, and I don't feel the need to do many of the things that I did before. I'm not angry all of the time, and I have made so many friends who support me in my decision. I am so lucky to have my best friend in this journey with me; we are growing in our relationship with God every single day.

It doesn't matter when or where you accept Him into your life; it matters that you did accept Him and are leading your life in ways that please him. I know a few people that think that since I just now did this and I'm in college, that this will just be a phase for me and I will go back to my old life. I am standing strong in my decision, and I have so much support from the people I surround myself with.

It's never too late to change and become the person He knows you can be.