In Love, We Burn

To be a muslim girl means wearing your identity on the outside.

Our appearance stands out among the waves of people who don’t. With our hijabs and our turbans and our accents and our unibrows and our big noses.

But people still assume. They assume because they are not used to seeing women not conforming to the societal norms and the unwritten rules of america. They are not used to seeing women conduct themselves under the the flashy lights they throw at us. They are not used to seeing

Empowered women. Women  who are unabashedly themselves, and more. The women who had nothing but their history and hope for the kids they will raise in the land of the free.

An everlasting hope, even when no one else believed in us. A hope that we will carve our place in this country, built on the backs of slavery and labor. Our mothers are relentless and tireless. They continue to work as they continue to push their culture on ours. A culture and religion that was cultivated for thousands of years.

Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, Syria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Malaysia, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, and the

United States of America. This is home to 3.3 million Muslims. 1% of the entire country. Yet we are here. Do not forget about us. Do not underestimate us. We are all capable of so many things, and our differences only make us stronger. Women like Ibtihaj Muhammad. Halima Aden. Amani Al-Khatahtbeh. Linda Sarsour. Shahd Batal. Leah Vernon. Blair Imani.

Say their name. Say their name and don’t ever stop. They are the trailblazers, the pioneers, the trendsetters, the change makers, the innovators, the spearheaders, the groundbreakers for the future. But how many more women are going to be called groundbreakers for work that has already been done?

Let’s make people comfortable with being uncomfortable with the women we see in the news. Cgfky  Let’s get used to seeing women in hijabs becoming president. Imagine a world where you don’t get any odd stares on the street. Where you don’t get called out for being yourself and being born the way you are. Embrace the beauty of this country. The United States is an amalgamation of diversity. And America needs

Muslim girls to change the game. Muslims to show you that it is okay to be who you are. Muslims to show you the importance of putting yourself out there to make people comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Go into the world as you are. Don’t wait for people to accept you and to beckon you out the door.

Inspire people to do the same. Really, we are all bound together through one trait. LEADERS. WE ARE ALL LEADERS IN EVERY FORM THAT WE ASSUME.