Orem’s not so bad when you give it a chance. (OH continues…)

“Your family moved here so that you would date Mormon boys?”

“Essentially. When I told my parents I didn’t believe in God and didn’t want to go to church anymore, Dad completely flipped out. He blamed it on the kids at school being a bad influence on me. But apparently he’s not opposed to peer pressure per se as long as it works in a good direction and not a bad direction. He said that if I’d grown up in Utah like he did this never would have happened since I’d be surrounded by good Mormon kids who would teach me that it’s cool to go to church instead of being rebellious. Same for my younger brother and sister — he wanted to be sure to get them into a good environment before the same thing happened to them. So Mom and Dad both quit their jobs in New Jersey and found new jobs in Utah. Naturally Dad is hugely proud of himself seeing me go on a date with an Eagle Scout. Back at my old high school in Princeton I doubt that there was a single Eagle Scout in the whole school.”

“I didn’t really want to go for Eagle Scout, actually. It was my mom that wanted me to do it. Read the rest of the story »