Hershbergers only older sibling, her brother Joseph, had left herAmishcommunity one year earlier.
I did not tell them where I was or anything.
They had no way of getting a hold of me.
She recalled her escape: I left Monday right after church because they only have church every two weeks.
Hershberger continued: When someone leaves the community, its always tragic.
They treat it like a funeral kind of, and its very sad.
I didnt want my parents to have to go to church right after I left.
I wanted to make it as easy on them as I could.
Hershbergers decision to abandon thesectreportedly came as an effort to break out from under her fathers control.
It was the one thing that I loved about beingAmish, Hershberger admitted.
Growing up, the only subjects she studied were arithmetic, English, and German.
During the 2021 school term, Hershbergers father reportedly decided to end her beloved career.
When I left, I still didnt think leaving was the right thing to do, she reflected.
She recalled: Back then I didnt have any confidence.
I was very scared that night.
I slept as good as I could on the semi-sleeper for the rest of the night.
I was kind of in a state of shock.
I dont think I said a single word in those two and a half hours.
I nodded my head, shrugged, and shook my head and everything, but no verbal words.
And those two take a long time to get.
You need proof that youre a real person.
She added: I never saw my birth certificate or social security number before I left.
Hershberger now works as a podcast editor for her ex-Amish unclesAmish Rebelpodcast.
She toldPeople: I was very blessed growing up.
I never knew that happened.
I never experienced it.
But since leaving, being on social media, I found out that that stuff does happen.
And its very sad for me.
Its very sad to hear stories, but I dont have the experience.
I never experienced it, so I cant express it the way someone could that did experience it.
Hershberger revealed: They can disown me, they can ignore me.
They can tell me not to come home to visit, but they cant technically shun me.
You would have to eat at a separate table.
Im not supposed to have a phone, but I do.
She said: Before [I left], I thought anybody that left the Amish was condemned.
They were doing wrong, and I was never going to be one of those people.
I went against every respectful bone in my body to leave, Hershberger adds.
It was a very scary time.
But it led to beautiful things.
As a result, decisions about the Ordnung (Amishs rules for daily living) are highly localized.
Therefore, certain phones are allowed, depending on the situation which varies a lot, region by region.
An Amish person doesnt just get shunned overnight.
The whole thing is about control, a TikTok user commented
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