So far I've been treated okay, I suppose. My parents respect me and most of my friends are either also Pagans or don't really care what religion anyone belongs to. Seriously, when I told my best friend I had converted, she just said "Okay" and we went on to a new topic because there was just nothing else that needed to be said. On the other hand, I always feel like I have to be really careful about where I talk about my beliefs or who I tell. For example, I can't tell my mom's side of the family because my grandmother is a strong Italian Catholic who just wouldn't get it and the rest of the relatives, though no longer so strongly Catholic, just wouldn't get it either. Their reactions could range from mild shock to totally disowning me, and I'd rather not deal with those things. I'm not sure about my dad's side because we didn't have much contact while I was growing up, but from what he's told me about them lately they seem like a pretty liberal bunch who would just shrug and deal with it.
I also feel like I have to be really careful around my town, because it's a small town and there are some really conservative folks living there. I'm afraid to wear my little pentacle butterfly earrings in town (which is really sad because they were a Christmas present from my mom right after I converted but before she knew about it....long but highly amusing story if you really want to know). When I bought my first pentacle pendant I made sure it wasn't an obvious design, just in case I run into the wrong people while I'm wearing it. I suppose I'm being a bit paranoid, but I'm also fully aware of just how hard it can be to stand out in a small town setting and of how dangerous it can be to stand out for doing something as "different" and misunderstood as being Pagan, so I'd rather keep my beliefs private and thus run a lower risk of bringing harm upon myself or my family.
