So, I got away from writing this because my life got super crazy. Here's the synopsis:
My dad outed me as an atheist, and since I had been outed anyway, I revealed my intentions to study some of Earth's oldest materials as a PhD thesis project. Needless to say, my young Earth creationist, fundamentalist Christian parents didn't like that at all. My mom said something to the effect of "I kinda knew, but I had no idea it was that bad."
They also found out I intended to move in with my wonderful significant other after graduation, upon which discovery, my mom tried to convince me to effectively elope on the same day he and I graduated with our BS degrees. Frustrated, perplexed, and confused, I asked Redditors what to do, and they brought me back to the light. My college graduation was a celebration of academic achievement, and my martial status was in no way altered that day.
Due to my parents obvious aversion to my thesis topic, my continued struggles with an anxiety disorder, and financial concerns, I decided to not go straight to graduate school. I took a job as a CSR at a furniture store to pay the bills. I learned I don't like retail.
My boyfriend asked me to marry him and I said yes!!!!!! I now wear his late grandmother's wedding ring as my engagement ring, and I couldn't possibly love it more. We are planning a wedding for summer 2014. To appease my mom, we are to be wed in her church in my hometown on her anniversary. A lot of concessions, to be sure, but I have decided those things are not as important as keeping familial peace.
With the help of a former professor, I landed a position at a state geological survey. It is part-time, temporary, but it is a colloquial foot-in-the-door. Even though I am part-time, the biweekly paychecks are better than that full-time retail position. In addition, my fiance obtained full-time position at a start-up brewery, with the hope of going into business for himself one day, as a restaurateur and brewmaster.
Perhaps as significant as the changes in my career and relationship status is the change in my religious thinking. I am no longer scared to call myself an atheist. I am comfortable with the title. I think it is a part of who I am now.
Oh, and since I've been gone, the Supreme Court overturned DOMA, sent Prop 8 back to the lower courts, and several more states (including most recently Hawaii and Illinois) have instituted same-sex marriage. YAY!!!! The fight's not over, however, until everyone gets equal rights. We need to stop proposed constitutional bans on gay marriage that some backwards Tea Party Republicans are still trying to pass, such as the one in Indiana, and we need to remove such bans already in place.
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