Hello Again-

I’m writing back so soon because I want to say how uncomfortable I am for having written you in the first place. I violated my cardinal rule of not giving advice to anyone I know for certain to be a minor, or if I find out later then I stop. You say you’re 13. And while I do understand that a person can know their own mind with regards to religious choice (I was 12 when I told my parents I no longer wanted to attend church and it was not a problem) you’re still very young and have a long way to go before you’re mature enough to move out on your own, so that means your parents are still responsible for you. Now, I don’t know your parents, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are protective and motivated by what they believe to be your best interests. They may even be extra protective because of your health condition. I know I would have been. I also would have been very upset, and frankly more than a little scared, if you had been my child who I discovered was posting online to an apostate forum, cuz really, that’s what this is. I don’t think for a minute that anyone here is out to do you wrong, quite the contrary. I know that many here caring and concerned people, and a lot of us are parents ourselves. That’s why I am going to say I hope you consider how your parents might view your asking for advice here. Again, everyone needs someone to talk to, and as a parent of a former teenage Witness kid, even though I was a liberal one, I can see how hard it would be to tell one’s parents they don’t want to be part of the religion. I get that. And I remember what being 13 was like and feeling very misunderstood. But I am trying to give you a little bit of perspective from the other (parent) side. I know it’s hard to understand when you’re a kid, probably impossible until you’ve been a parent yourself. Life looks very different from this vantage point. I do hope that going to therapy can be a forum for you to work out whatever you need to work out in your own mind and also that it can provide a basis for a good relationship with your parents. I haven’t read your other posts, so maybe I’m not getting the whole picture. But for myself, and my own conscience, I had to write. I wish you and your family the very best for a happy future.

Signed, A Mom and Former Teen