Your story is very similar to mine. I was raised in an Italian Roman Catholic family. I was about 15 years old when I started questioning the religion I was being taught. No one influenced me to feel this way- it just happened. I realized that I was Atheist at a very young age, and kept it to myself until I was an adult. I was also in high school when I learned of Buddhism for the first time. It was always something I carried around with me in the back of my mind, but didn't formally practice. I'm 30 now, and for the first time can truly say that I am a Buddhist. I do a lot of Buddhist reading because I don't live near any temples (you might not either). But that's ok. Buddhism lives inside of you. You can't find it at a designated location, you know? I'm glad I found this site. It's a great way to connect with others like us.
Oh my, i'm so sorry that i didnt see this message to me until now! Thank you for the kind words. We do seem pretty similar in our stories. Id love to chat more with you, i promise i will pay more attention to my messages! Ha