Hello all - I most likely won't post too often but want to introduce myself. I've read this board for a long time and feel like I know some of you! I was a third gen born-in (NE Ohio), and half-heartedly believed until I was in middle school. One day at the meeting, while they were discussing Russell, it occurred to me that they were believing in the interpretations of one man. From then on I knew it was all a lie, and I hated every second I was in the KH. Luckily, we only went out in service for one hour at the end of the month, but it was still torture. My sister and I liked the winter best because we could tip-toe up to people's doors and pretend to knock.
When I was 19 I told my parents I didn't believe. I got the old "as long you live under our roof..." spiel. I packed up a few belongings and left. I had lots of friends and would stay with a different one every couple months. Luckily, my folks still paid for college and still welcomed me into their home. We got along better, actually. One by one, my brother and two sisters also moved out, None of us believed. And my dad has since apologized and said if he could do it again, he wouldn't have made me leave. My parents are now inactive, but they still believe the basics of the JWs. We never discuss it, though I've heard my dad work in the occasional "this old system of things." *cringe*
Well that's the short version of my JW life. I've got lots of lively stories to tell about my teen years in the borg, which I'm sure I'll have the chance to share sooner or later. And hopefully I can give a sympathetic ear and some advice to those poor souls still stuck in.