Chris’ Story
Thanks for the stories guys. I enjoyed all of them, including the one from Michaelyn linked to above. I knew some of these details but definitely not all of them. It’s encouraging to see what the group has provided for everyone and how. It gives me some useful perspective on what might be going through new members’ heads. As for myself, SOMA became a lifeline for me when I reached the point where I could no longer tolerate being a covert atheist is a Pentecostal church anymore. Like Thomas and Michaelyn, I came to the first...
read moreWhy I Joined SOMA and How It Changed My Life
by Amanda Brown I moved to Kansas when I was ~5 months pregnant with my daughter. I moved up here to get away from the crazy, stringent, uptight, conservative, church-going people of Springfield, Mo. I was ostracized in Springfield for being different and speaking my mind. Which wasn’t unusual for me but in this city it was nasty and downright mean. So, I made the decision to go back to my “home” in a way where I knew I would be accepted a little more easily if I lived in the right area. Well as it turns out neither Overland Park nor...
read moreThomas’ Story
By Thomas Birdeno After living in western Kansas for twenty years, I decided to start a new life in Lawrence. Quickly, I found a job and a place to live. Shortly after that, my friend Mindy Jenks from back home invited me to a party on Tennessee Street. She told me about this “Awesome KU club” called SOMA. I was nervous to check it out since I wasn’t a student and I was over 30. She convinced me to go and, nearly backing out several times, I finally went. Nervously, I walked up the stairs at the KS Union to find the...
read moreWhy We Need Secular Student Groups
Originally Posted at: http://skepticalnovice.blogspot.com/2011/08/why-we-need-secular-student-groups.html By Michaelyn Everhart Last August I walked onto campus at KU as a freshman. I was nervous, but mostly I was excited. Let me introduce you to me about a year ago. I was quiet. I was going to major in physics. I really wanted to join clubs: I wanted to start doing yoga regularly or take a dance class, but I was open to pretty much anything. Did I meniton I was excited? I had just graduated high school, said goodbye to most of my old...
read moreThis is what an atheist looks like
by Brett Steinbrink Well, for the past two months or so, I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection. I’ve been thinking a lot about my life at this point, reflecting a lot about how my life has become different because of college life, and how atheism has become a bigger part of my life, and has helped me to connect to many people that I would otherwise not have met. This is what atheism means to me, and how I have lead, and will continue to lead, a life without God. Before coming to college, I identified myself as an agnostic,...
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