My Becoming an Atheist

Ever since I was little, I have always been a very inquisitive and skeptical person. I would ask so many questions that I would lose track of some answers. But that aspect of who I am would influence my life to a great extent and shape my destiny.

Once, when I was in 1st grade, my teacher Mrs. Robertson told us about astronauts and how they flew to the moon. I began to ponder and raised my hand. When she called upon me, I asked a pivotal question: "When the astronauts flew past the clouds, did they see God and Heaven?" Without missing a beat she simply said "No."

This part of my life was filled with many emotions and much confusion: I felt such confusion because there were so many questions running through my mind and I did not know where to find the answers at the time. I felt like a man searching for treasure without a map.

I was only 5 years old and already I began to ask myself philosophical questions about religion and the world as a whole. Within 1 month I became an atheist. It's rather funny: 5 years of religious indoctrination was shot down in 1 month when a child dared to question what he was brought up to think.

It wasn't until a couple of years later that I learned that I wasn't alone in my views of religion; I began talking to some of my friends about the topic and they soon began to have some of the same questions I had. Up until that point I began to feel alone because I thought I was the only one who dared to question the Christian faith; it felt uplifting to know I wasn't alone.

Becoming an atheist opened up my eyes to many new things I thought I should shy away from. I wanted to know everything about the world and the vast, ever expanding cosmos. I began to read every single book I could get my hands on, with each one creating more questions for me to find the answers for. My hunger for knowledge only grew as the years went past; I still wanted to discover all the secrets this world holds. It is truly amazing how asking one simple, single question can shape your destiny. I got just a little taste of knowledge and now I want to know the whole, unchanged truth.

While being an atheist has its cultural drawbacks at times, I believe it is a mind-freeing state of being. I am not held down by a set of core beliefs that would prevent me from being open minded about new possibilities and ideas. I look at everything with a skeptical view; for it is only by being skeptical, asking questions, and thinking of new ideas that our species has been able to advance as far as we have.

My love of knowledge and discovering the unknown has led me to decide to become a college history professor. I want to instill the passion I have for learning the story of our people, our planet, and our universe into other bright young students so they can help uncover new truths even after I am gone. Nothing makes me happier than teaching others about different cultures, ideas,