I was in first grade when 9/11 happened, I didnât understand why the attack in NY made people we never met want to hurt us. The next few months my mother tied her Hijab in a turban style to blend in so we wouldnât be noticed.
I was about nine years old, a fresh hijabi, when a man in a large truck tried to run us off the road. I didnât understand why he was imitating a gun with his hands, he didnât know us. Why was he doing this?
I was ten when two boys at school pulled my Hijab off. We were in P.E class and I was almost done with my last lap when I felt two hands grab my Hijab. I stopped running and looked to the ground for my pearly white scarf. I felt exposed, and humiliated.
I was twelve when my little sister came home from school crying. Her face soaked with tears, âfive boys jumped me at school and pulled my Hijab offâ. All I could think of was beating all five of those boys. We rushed out the house and ran to the school.. The principle suspended them for two days.. Two days?
Blind hatred is accepted and taught in our society. Our media pushes the idea to hate something you have no knowledge of. #GrowingUpMuslim
