valparaiso

I grew up in Valparaiso, a predominantly white, Christian city in northwestern Indiana. Brought up in a fervently Lutheran family, I attended a Lutheran parish (a church-run school) for eight years, went to church twice a week, and prayed before every meal and every night before bed. Even with all of the influences around me that should have produced a dedicated young Christian woman, I did not feel like I was in the right place.