.
Now, my grandmother on the other hand, was not as strict as my great aunt. She was still a devout Christian, but not as strenuous as her sister. My grandmother, who for most of my life raised me, sent me to a Christian school as a child and left my religious teaching up to them. What they did not do, my great-aunt supplemented. With my grandmother, she just gave me rules, and left it up to me to follow them. All she asked was that I go to church every Sunday, and left my religious choices up to me. .
For the most part, my upbringing kept me out of trouble. I never smoked, drank, until this year. I stayed away from the gang life, and was never really in any serious trouble. My only problem was that I was very sarcastic. I still go to church occasionally. I make it a point to continue to give my tithes and offerings. I still hold many beliefs that were instilled in me as a child, but because many of them were forced on me, and now that I have a choice, I choose my own paths according to my own will. I believe that it is harder for many of those in my generation, as opposed to my older family members, because there are more outside influences that can stray us away. Here in America, so much more peer-pressure, media, and music influences look down upon uptight "goody-two shoes." They encourage us to explore and embrace our own ideas and views in life. To an extent, they try to cherish the different viewpoints that we may have, even if they are separate from those of our families.
I see America as a diverse nation that focuses on individuality and differences. It was originally founded on these principles. As opposed to other countries, America allows us to practice our own religions, no matter how far fetched they may be. They only put limitations on outlandish practices, such as human sacrifice and those of that nature, but you are free to believe what ever you want. In other countries, however, you can be prosecuted or imprisoned for not following their religious views.