Assignment 4- Katie Taylor

Upon reflection of my transition into a teen, I have questioned some of my family's beliefs. My family is quite democratic/liberal, and I am too, so political views were not disputed often in my family. 

When it comes to religion, however, I find myself sticking out a bit from my family. My family is not super religious, and I don't think anyone in my immediate family truly believes in God, but we still go to church whenever we can. I enjoy it, as my church is beautiful and old, and I feel so classy whenever I'm there. I also really enjoy the community that my church fosters, of course. However, I am not so sure about organized religion telling people what to do. Personally, I find that a lot of churches are not properly interpreting the word of God, and in that have excluded many different types of people. I believe in God, or some kind of being, as I like to think that nothing is random and there is a purpose to life. I think everyone should worship what they want, when they want, and I wish that aside from the community aspect, churches should work to become more open-minded, etc. It's funny- I actually think I'm more religious than my parents and sister, despite having a bit of an anti-religion phase in middle school. 

Another way I differ in my parents' thinking is my opinion on social media. My parents make it out to be a place full of terror and horrible people who will steal your identity and where you'll rot your brain. I personally think that on apps like TikTok, it's nearly impossible to me fooled by someone when they've posted videos of themselves and their face before. I've made several internet friends, all of whom were wonderful. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I should be able to call internet friends my "real friends". I am not stupid enough to get fooled by someone on the internet, and I wish my parents would recognize that.