Considering Siki, but Have Questions

[OCTN2016]

Hello, I came to this forum because I wanted to post some questions where I knew could get the opinion/advice of Sikhs.
Just a little bit of background (I'll try to keep it brief): I was Baptized into Roman Catholicism as an infant, but my family wasn't practicing until I was about 12 or 13. I first learned about Sikhism in middle school when I found a book about it in my school's library. It absolutely fascinated me, and I thought it was a beautiful religion. It went into the back of my mind, and eventually, I got myself into practicing Catholicism. In eleventh grade, I got really frustrated with how deprived I felt spiritually and seriously looked into Sikhism, but more or less "chickened out" of it, largely due to familial and social pressure. Now, I'm about to go to college. Over the summer, I've been reading Guru Granth Sahib and trying to listen to prayers at prescribed times (mornings are difficult, but it feels amazing when I do). I've never actually met a Sikh in my life, and I've really been looking forward to visiting the gurdwara that's close to my college, but I'm getting scared again, and I've found myself almost talking myself out of going at all.
Long story short, I have some questions about Sikhism that have been significant concerns for me, and I'd love some input from this online community:

1. Social/Political: Even before I was a practicing Catholic, I've always held relatively strong, conservative views concerning abortion. I think it's best to treat life as if it begins at conception because it's the safe way to go. I personally don't have any objections to true contraception (ie condoms), but due to my conservative definition of life, several devices and medications deemed contraceptive by main stream society are actually abortive to me, such as the Plan B Pill. When I'm looking to get involved in an organization, I try not to support ones that support abortion because I do consider it murder. I feel safe getting involved with things related to the Church because, while I still have to do my research and be careful, they tend to respect my definition of life because they hold the same views. In my research, I've found that the Sikh community is divided on this issue, as is the Catholic community. However, the difference (as I see it) is that, for Catholics, we do have the Vatican issuing the official Church position as being Pro-Life, so I don't generally have to worry about Church health programs and such. I almost feel like adopting Siki would force me too become more liberal on this issue. Am I right to think that?

2. Career: I'm going into nursing, and my father (himself a nurse) says that it's basically a guarantee I'll be doing night shifts. How would a 7pm-7am shift fit into the Sikh prayer schedule? Right now, it seems incompatible, as my understanding is that baptized Sikhs are never supposed to miss their prayers. Even so, I know that practicing Sikh nurses exist. So, what is to be done about night shifts? Also, since I live in the United States, I feel this is less of an issue than other areas of the world, but how tolerant are employers (especially healthcare facilities) of Sikh religious articles (especially the dastar, kara, and kirpan)?

3. Family: My family is only Catholic on my mother's side, and I get a whole lot of pressure from her and my grandfather. Every time I see or speak with my grandfather, he urges me to "keep the faith." I know that the Church has been a guidepost for him throughout his life, and I'm happy that It's a comfort for him in his old age. I've been trying to live by his example, but I feel like the Church doesn't really do much for my spiritual welfare, and I mostly do it for social interests (lots of activities to be had, I can get politically involved through Church organizations, etc). Whenever I listen to Gurubani, it gives me this deep sense of peace, but whenever I go to Mass, pray the rosary, or read the Bible, I just feel good because I'm being a "good person" and keeping family tradition. I don't really know what to do about this issue, because I feel like if I don't obey him in this aspect, my children and grandchildren will be even less likely to listen to/obey me. It's especially difficult because I know he could pass away at any time, and I don't want to disappoint him. I feel like I have an obligation to serve and stay with the Church. At the same time, I know that when my time comes, I'll have to answer to God and no one else. My understanding of Sikhism is that it holds all religions to be a pathway to God, but I want to make sure the religion I practice is actually getting me closer to God, not just furthering my personal social and political interests. What should I do?

Thank you for taking the time to read. As you can probably tell by my post, I have a fairly basic knowledge of Sikhism, but these are some nagging questions that general online answers haven't seemed to answer. Also, on a technical note, I tried to search "Sikh Prayer + Night Shift," and I got a bunch of articles about employers working with Muslim employees during Ramadan. I've found similar things when I try to search other topics on Sikhism. I know that Sikhism has fewer followers than Islam, and Sikhs are sometimes confused for Muslims, but I don't understand why these results are coming up, as they seem completely unrelated. Is there anything I can do about this as I continue my research?

[Superstar]

1) No, you don't have to become more liberal on this topic. This is a very interesting topic and it isn't always black and white though. That is why people have different views on it. People think from different levels of understanding and value and quality of life. Only edict issued is not to kill girl child(ren) because people used to do that in the past because it was tougher to raise girls in the olden days with Mughals and Pathans always looking to abduct them and dowry issues. Dowry is banned for Sikhs and killing girl child is automatic excommunication.
2) Prayer schedule should depend on you. If you would like to recite or listen to morning prayers in the morning when you come back from work, that is up to you. It depends on how you want to organize your schedule. Main thing is connecting with Gurbani and seeking guidance and practice.
3) For the third topic, all paths want to and try to lead to God. It doesn't mean person will end up there. However, you don't have to claim to be Sikh until you are mentally ready. You can practice the basic conduct and still not claim to be Sikh. E.g. you can keep your hair, don't indulge in fornication or adultery, don't consume halal meat and don't take intoxicants. Don't mislead or intentionally hurt others and you will be alright for now. If God wishes, you can keep your grandfather happy and wait until he goes and then start wearing turban, etc. Also, there is no guarantee about kids either way. You can do your best and leave the rest to God.