I realized I was an atheist one October afternoon while walking home from school. A pamphlet lay on the sidewalk, stamped with a footprint, its bold letters asking, “ARE YOU GOING TO HELL?”

Curious, I picked it up and read it as I walked.

According to the pamphlet, nearly everything I’d ever done was a sin, and yes, I was bound for hell, unless I turned to God and repented.

I found it ridiculous. I was never particularly religious; I believed in God simply because I had no reason not to. The same way I believed in the tooth fairy.. until I caught my mom slipping money under my pillow.

But after reading that pamphlet, belief in God suddenly felt hypocritical, illogical, and even morally wrong.

And just like that, I was an atheist. Not that I needed the label. God had never played a role in my daily life anyway. The world kept spinning, I kept going to school, and, honestly? Nothing changed.