Welcome to Gaia! ::

You aren't going to like my answer! sweatdrop

I was pretty young - 12 or 13 - when I started reading and researching, but I've been integrating my spirituality into my life even before then. I wasn't able to be somewhat 'active' in practice until my later teens, and not fully until I left home at 20. I did not have a typical childhood - my family is not religious, we moved almost yearly, I lived a very isolated life in the country for a good deal of it. I am the only girl of four children, and the oldest. So I had time and space to do my own thing for a long time.

There's time for spiritual life, and time for mundane life. School is certainly the best thing to focus on, if you're still a student. I had a hard time with student life after a while - it is something that requires the ability to stay tuned into and hammer out your work, which I couldn't do. Spirituality also tends to ebb and flow - so don't stress if it ebbs. We all need to focus on the world around us, sometimes, rather than the worlds beyond.

Meditation takes practice. Some people fall easily into it, and some don't. I tend to practice a method that's mindful but works towards a more 'no-mind' state. I don't try to push everything out of my head at once; rather, I let thoughts fall away, like pebbles into a pond. I let the thought go, it runs and 'ripples' to the edge of my mind, and then the pond is still. That way I don't worry about every stray thought I have, and eventually my mind is still.

It's tough if your space isn't conducive to meditation. But with some practice you can learn to meditate anywhere. As a teenager my house was a nightmare (I have three brothers, and four step-sisters, and got no peace and/or quiet at either parents.) So I used to meditate in the public library; I'd find a quiet nook and chill. I had the option of countryside as well, which was always nice. When I moved into urban environments after leaving home, I found my university was full of quiet nooks, shaded benches on the river, and empty parks. If you can get enough practice in, you can learn to meditate anywhere. I often meditate in the car, on longer trips.

Meditation is easier if you are centered and grounded before hand. Is this a practice you've taken up yet?

I have a new questions, well more of a concern really.
I'm finishing school and going back home in about three weeks. I excited, and I feel like I've really discovered more of myself being away from home, especially spiritually, and I want to share that. But I'm nervous about telling my parents, not that they would really judge me or react poorly, but I don't want things to become awkward.
So does anyone have advice for telling family members about a change in your spiritual path?

I simply didn't tell mine. It wasn't any of their business, really. I didn't have a full open practice until I moved out on my own - they found out eventually, but it really didn't matter then because I was under my own roof and responsible for myself. If I had ever returned home, I would not have continued practicing openly (at least in their home), and I still wouldn't have told them.

As previously mentioned it really does depend on the situation; what sort of people your parents are and what kind of relationship you have with them. My parents are aware I'm pagan but it wasn't ever anything that was a big enough deal that i had to make an announcement or take them aside to discuss it. It's ust something that comes up occasionally when talking about friends and plans. Kind of family white knowledge. They're very open though and we were always encouraged to ask questions and search for our own answers.