I'm still technically a member of SGI. I stepped down from leadership March-ish (I think).

I actually tried to step down before, about 6 months prior to when I submitted my letter of resignation.

My leaders at the time really wanted me to stay in leadership, so for their sake, and them making "deals" with me to keep me to stay, I agreed not to step down right away.

I decided to keep pushing on, but the more I would get direction from the National team to execute, the more resentment I would build within myself.

My attitude then was that I had hope for things to get better. However, with more and more things I would be asked to do, I just didn't want to do any of it anymore.

Fast forward to when I finally stepped down. I decided to weigh the options between why I should stay and why I should leave, and the pros for leaving definitely outweighed the pros for staying in leadership.

When I submitted my letter, my attitude was that it was something that had to be done for my own sake, and nothing anyone would say would sway my decision otherwise. I really just wanted a break from everything, and not have to jump on the bandwagon every single damn time.

And now, some people are contacting me regarding how my views have been towards SGI USA. I tell them I couldn't care less about the status of SGI USA, and that I feel that they have very little going for them. Sure, they can bring people in, but what they're doing is not sustainable to keep the train running. And no joke, I told them, too, if the structure of leadership becomes more democratic, and things the people say will actually be taken into consideration, I'll consider coming back. However, until then, you're not going to see me at any SGI activities.

Rejection has always been one of my fears, I admit, but after being more or less "rejected", if that's what you want to call it, by SGI members for holding different beliefs from theirs, I feel I have overcome a huge part of me that I've been hesitating to confront.

I'm not going to say that I don't care about what everyone thinks because there are a handful of people whose opinions I do care about, namely, those who are close to me. However, I truly do not care for the opinions of those who support SGI unless they're open to having an objective-based discussion regarding the pros and cons of SGI.

In conclusion, SGI has changed me for the better, but only after stepping away from it.