High school is a time where many people learn who they truly are and create beliefs centered around what they want in their lives.

Religion is a large part of some student’s lives, and, in this formative time, can shape who they become. Senior Keziah White follows the religion of Christianity, and she has her whole life.

“What Christianity is, is how Jesus died on the cross for our sins to give us eternal life, if we believe in Him,” White said.

While White’s parents also follow the same religion, she feels that she has taken what she was raised with and used it to shape a relationship with God and create her own unique feelings towards the religion.

After some hardships in life, White felt that she truly knew God’s love and he helped her through the tough times. Experiencing the loss of a loved one and depression caused White to question her beliefs, but these doubts were soon resolved in the midst of her sophomore year.

“I can now say that I learned how much He loves me and everyone else,” White said. Junior Kelso Garcia views religion very differently than White and many others. Garcia is an atheist and does not believe in God or any other higher power.

Garcia was raised with religion in his family but strayed away at a young age. He and his family attended church but began to stop going early in his life.

“We were agnostic, so it’s like we didn’t necessarily not believe but we didn’t believe at the same time,” Garcia said.

While his family was slightly religious when he was younger, Garcia stemmed off of that and stopped believing in all aspects of religion.

“I kind of realized like towards the age of eight that Santa wasn’t real and God didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Garcia said.

While beliefs can transform and help people through their lives, they also open criticism from those with opposing views.

White believes that religion is not a factor in judgement, as people are judged no matter what they believe. Along with this, the Bible teaches to not judge, therefore causing judgment to be unrelated to her faith in Christianity.

“I think about it and say that the Bible is saying you can’t judge someone of whether or not they go to heaven,” White said.

On the other hand, Garcia does feel judgement in school and in family life for what he believes, or doesn’t believe in. Most of his family does identify with a certain religion and therefore his atheism is a good topic to discuss around those not in his immediate family.

“In arguments and things, I definitely feel that people hold me in a lower opinion,” Garcia said. “But I don’t really let it bother me.”

Both White and Garcia feel that their beliefs have defined them as a person and helped them become better people in life. Christianity and a relationship with God has helped White through struggles in her life and helped her realize love for herself and others. Not believing in God has helped Garcia in being more accountable for himself and taking his actions into his own hands.

“I don’t put my future in God’s hands because I know that I’m the one that has to change it,” Garcia said.