This week, I figured that I should talk about something that has impacted my entire life. I was born into this and it has been with me forever. I'm talking about growing up as the daughter of a preacher.

My entire family identifies as Baptist and my father is a preacher. Back in Maryland, my family was heavily involved in the church. At the time, everyone had a pretty good idea of who we were and many eyes were on my sister and me.

When we moved to Arizona and got involved with a church, the church was smaller so the pressure was not there as much. However, these were my teen years when I found my love of public speaking and I found it there. My dad's a preacher, I got it from him, and people noticed.

When we walk into the church, people stare at the image of our family. You do not need to work too hard behind the scenes to make a good image because what's done in the dark eventually comes to light.

When dad would go to different churches to preach, he would take the three of us with him from time to time. There's a point during service when he's being introduced or he's starting to speak when he introduces us. People stare at us after that for two reasons: one, to locate where we are sitting. Two, to see the image.

As the guest preacher's kid, you have to follow the protocol: sit up straight, pay attention, try not to fall asleep, and try not to giggle. Dress properly: people are staring at you on and off for 30-45 minutes. When the host talks to you and you do not understand what they are saying, just smile and nod.

One instance that stands out to me happened a few years ago when I was about 15 years old. My mom, sister, and I were with my dad at a church he was guest preaching at. The lady playing the piano complemented my sister and me for dressing well, then talked about how some girls there don't dress as well. It sticks with me because it's a good lesson about image.

Now, you would think that with all of this, my parents had to be extremely strict behind the scenes. Yet, once again, what's done in the dark eventually comes to light.

I feel as if my sister and I got lucky. For while we were raised religiously, we were not raised so deeply religious and strict that we had to go extreme measures just to find ourselves as people.

We were not shut off from the world, we just had a different way of approaching it. Because it's one thing to have a solid foundation rooted in faith, it's another thing to block your child's access from the world.

The image of a good Christian family is for the church. My family is a pretty normal family when we are not at church.