The Altruistic Heathen

Greetings and Salutations!
My fellow atheists, agnostics, skeptics, freethinkers, etc., allow me to introduce myself.  I am a 34 year old college freshman who has lived, until recently, a socially isolated life.  I've recently discovered facebook, and it's amazing!  Can't believe I refused to join a social networking site for so long. lol

I grew up in a hodgepodge of cities and towns, but the main portion of my childhood was spent in Las Vegas, NV.  My younger sister and I were raised by our single mother, and although she followed no particular religious faith, we always knew she believed in god (in one form or another).  We grew up with access to the Bible and the Book of Mormon and were encouraged to find our own path.  For that Mom, I thank you.

I was always a good student in my younger years; I was the anti-social, awkward, shy kid always tucked into a corner with her nose buried in some book or another (guess I still am).  My one and only child was born when I was quite young, so I put my educational career on hold.  During the last 16 years I've devoured a great many books and studied the religions of the world.

Because I thought I had to believe in some form of religion, I tried a couple.  First, there was my Southern Baptist experience when I was still in high school.  At that time, I lived in a tiny town of 500 people in central Oklahoma and was in the same class as the preacher's daughter.  They seemed like nice folks (at first), so when I was invited to join their services I jumped at the chance to learn more.  What I encountered was a thin public facade, lies, pettiness and hypocrisy.  The relationship ended badly.

After that, I decided not to rush into anything.  I was 22 before I stumbled upon Wicca and really latched on.  I delved deeply into "the craft", but after a few years (simultaneously researching comparative religions) I realized that all religions were the same.  They were brainwashing techniques; an escape from reality into a "comforting" fantasy.  This led me from theism and fostered an interest in the psychological mechanisms behind faith. 

But it wasn't until I was in my thirties that I realized that I was an atheist (I live in the bible belt after all, and atheists have a bad name).  Richard Dawkins', "The God Delusion", is what opened my eyes and I haven't looked back since. 

While I haven't been very involved in the atheist/skeptic/freethinker movement, I do try to keep up to date by reading my favorite bloggers, through facebook updates, and through a variety of podcasts.  I have been having a hard time this summer (I didn't take summer courses) and have been bored out of my mind, so I decided to see if I could give blogging a try.  Although, when school starts up again this fall, my free time will probably be non-existent. 

Anyway, that's a little about me and I hope I don't disappoint.
Mary