Category: Introspection

Taylor du Pont
Multimedia Editor

Over the past few years, I have struggled to accept a religion into my life. I was brought up in a Congregational family, but as the years of my childhood flew by, I began to question my Christian faith. After my best friend was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor when I was in seventh grade, my skeptical religious views turned into agnosticism. When I was a sophomore in high school, she died, and I became a pessimist, turning to atheism.

When I told my friends that I was going to convert to Buddhism, most of them thought that I had jumped off the deep end. I was tired of living my life like a zombie: emotionless and hopeless. I needed something to hold onto. I needed to make a difference in the world around me and be a part of something that was bigger than myself. In the beginning of June last year, without any warning, I started taking my first steps towards becoming a self converted Buddhist.