I do not believe in religion. Let me explain.

I grew up in a small Oklahoma town in which everyone went to church. We had Baptist churches, the Church of Christ, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. If you didn’t go to one of those churches, you were frowned upon, and I didn’t like that idea.

As I grew older, I noticed how everyone in their religion stuck to it by the book when it came to church, but on Friday night, you would see old Joe chugging his Bud Light and cussing like a sailor.

When I was in high school, I realized that you don’t have to be in a religion to believe in something, to believe in a greater being, God or whatever you call it.

I call him God, and I read the Bible.

I believe in God and Jesus and that one day we will go to a better place. The true definitions of heaven and hell are things no one should be able to describe; they're just there. In my opinion, we are all here for a reason, no matter if it’s to cure cancer or to lead the person who does discover the cure.

I also believe that the Bible is from God, but everyone percieves it differently. You can read a passage and then show it to someone else, and you’ll both get something similar from it, but it will not be the exact same.

I do not believe that just because I believe in God, I have to conform to a set guideline other than the 10 Commandments.

If I want to drink coffee, I will. if I mutter “shit” under my breath, I’m not going to beg for forgiveness. I am not bashing anyone’s beliefs--we all have our opinions and what we believe or don’t believe in.

We are all here living the way we are because God placed people on this earth, and we have taken everything for advantage.

I have never once told anyone that what I think is right. I have never tried to force my beliefs on anyone else.

Have people asked what I believe in? Yes, and I tell them God. When they ask what my religion is, I respond that I do not have one. I get a lot of weird faces and nods, and a few have told me I’ll rot in hell.

I do not like when someone tells me what I believe in is the wrong way.

If we were meant to all think alike, God would not have given us free will.

We all get to make our own choices.