for the first time.

Also during that time, I really started doubling down on the schoolwork because around that time, they really start pushing college.

And for me, the message that I got there was, if you go to college and if you get into a good school, then you can make it out of this volatile situation.

And I knew that I wanted to do that.

So I really put my pedal to the metal trying to be able to go to a good school and get out of the situation that I was in.

Another really interesting part of that was just starting to go to classes for the first time, interacting with other kids.

I think the hardest part for me, though, in the transition was making friends because the evangelical subculture that I had grown up in, I was taught this is the only right way to live.

Upon being let out of prison, he will be on supervised release for the term of 15 years.

yeah Did you go to a Christian college or did you go to a non-Christian college?

Yeah, so I went to a state school.

So that was when I discovered my bisexuality for the first time.

And it was really confusing.

But to preface that, I think we need to talk about purity culture a little bit more.

Oh, yes, please.

Yeah.

wondering.

So there's this whole other way to interpret it

even.

Yeah, absolutely.

One that I've actually read recently that I really enjoyed is called Queer Christian Reclaiming the Bible or Faith and Our Place at the Table by Brandon Robertson.

Okay.

And that really lays out like...

this idea of queer theology really well um i've also found a lot of i don't know like solace like peace and this idea of liberation theology especially as a survivor of sexual and domestic and various forms of abuse right um but just front like liberation theology is this idea like we We aren't here just to go to heaven, right? Just to believe in Jesus and go to heaven.

oh that's so fun yeah

It's a great way to

put it.

And I find that.

I think generally, and I think this is a human thing, you need an enemy to unite people against one thing.

And you need something that people are either fighting for or against for people to unite.

And I think a big driver of that to bring people in can be big emotions like fear.

Like we're fearing the liberals, fearing the Democrats.

emotions,