Any atheist around here?

I have a couple of questions for atheists. Why did you leave your religion? What made you realize that God or someone above you was not real? What is your overall opinion on religion and religious people? How did you tell your parents?

I wanted to ask these questions as another atheist because where I live, most people are either Muslim or Christian and I have never met anyone who doesn’t believe in those religions and has the same beliefs as me. I started deconstructing religion only a few months ago and left my religion, so I want to hear others’ experiences.