I was raised Amish and didnt wear jeans or get my hair cut for 26 years

A young woman has told how she has fled the Amish community and had her haircut and wore a pair of jeans for the first time.Alisha Green, 26, was a generational member of the Amish and Mennonite community after her parents and grandparents were born into it.She claims that the community was restrictive as it was recommended that you didn’t have contact with anyone outside of the group.Alisha claimed that being raised within the Amish community meant she was expected to get married and raise a family instead of going out to work.She claims that people are kept in the community by fear after being told that bad things will happen to them if they leave.After going for her driving test when she was 18, Alisha realized that life outside of the community wasn’t what she was told and in May 2024, Alisha packed up and has not had contact with her family since.Since leaving last March, Alisha has had her hair cut and put on a pair of denim jeans for the first time.Alisha, a delivery driver, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said: “It got to the point where I was either going to leave or stay for the rest of my life.“I was 26 years old, I was tired of the expectations put on me.“I was expected to get married and have a child, that is what my parents wanted.“I didn’t feel like I had the freedom to have a career or live life how I would have wanted.”Alisha was born in the Amish and Mennonite community, she was homeschooled as a child.She claims there were a lot of “faith restrictions” and she was warned to stay away from people outside of the Amish community as they didn’t follow god.Alisha said: “I didn’t even realize how restricted it was until I left, I was able to get my hair cut for the first time and I was able to wear jeans.“There was an understanding that if you had friends you couldn’t be close with them if they were outside of the community.“It was encouraged not to have friends outside of the community.”Alisha claims that religion was la...