Religious involvement and the culture that accompanies it are very different in the U.S. than they are back home. While it is silent back home, I found religion a very vocalized topic here. There are several events that revolve around religion and spirituality in one way or another.

I came from a social circle that strongly preached the coexistence of every faith. We were required to study several religions as a part of the culture. It drew people who were born into several different religions or schools of thought.

No one really delved into what you believed because your spiritual journey is one that you must take on your own. I grew up in that culture.

When I arrived in the U.S., I expected to encounter some evangelism. And while most people I met were really respectful of what I chose to believe in, I did run into people who would impose and could be very invasive.

With a 20 credit hour schedule and a life, I had no time to stop and explain why I was happy with my choices, and why I thought their energy was better invested elsewhere. It took me a while to be objective about some of the insensitive remarks people could make.

In a way, those interactions introduced me to a different way religion was practiced, broadening my sense of coexistence. I have come to realize that even though they can be rude, people mean well even when they are being evangelical.