Becoming A Mualaf

Hello peeps..
Read this post only if you have an open mind and if you are mature enough to comment respectfully.

I was born into a non-muslim family. When I turned 18 I choose to become a Muslim. No, I did not become a Muslim because of a Muslim boyfriend as a lot of people seem to believe. I became a Muslim because I believe in the teachings of the Islamic religion.

My journey to becoming a Muslim was neither a short nor easy one. It started when I was 15 and I had a lot of discussions and debates with my Muslim friends on issues that I did not understand about in Islam. By 17 I was feeling lost and confused. On one hand here is a religion that I was born with, that I had never dreamed I would leave. On the other hand here is Islam, a religion that I could relate to and understand so much better.

I deserted my quest on learning about Islam because I figured that maybe I was being weak in my former religion because I had not done my part, because I did not go to worship God enough, because I was under the influence of the Devil. So I threw myself into my former religion's activities. I went and worshiped God every week. I became a facilitator for religious activities, etc. Nothing worked.

In the end I gave up. I decided to be an atheist so that I wouldn't feel so torn anymore. By the time I was 18 years old something happened that made me unable to deny the truth (in my eyes) of the Islamic religion and I