What confidence means to me is respect for myself and staying true to my identity. I was bullied most of my childhood. I never was able to keep a friend because of the impact. It took me years to find my confidence. I had to handle this alone and never was able to stand up for myself. I was a young brown Muslim girl with curly hair, dark features, and a nice big smile. I remember, the bullying started at age 10 and lasted until the end of high school. I have fought hard mentally against individuals who degraded me for my looks, name, and religion. Publicly, I stayed strong and confident. At home, I cried everyday. However, I knew when the world felt like it was ending for me something said, “No you will get through this.” Gratefully, I was right. Outside of school I was able to meet people locally, and within my own Muslim community. I joined my youth group around the end of high school. I was introduced by many welcoming individuals who connected with me in a way I never could have imagined. They were so kind to me. Meeting them gave me purpose. I finally understood myself. With that, I educated myself more about Islam. At the age of 20, I wore hijab. This was a huge step for me. Hijab’s purpose as a Muslim women is for modesty, kindness, and most importantly confidence. It made me feel beautiful internally and externally. If it was not for me branching out and finding accepting people, I would not have had the confidence I do today.

I consider myself as a social individual. I love getting to know a person’s story and what brought them to where they are today. When I was in college I created a storytelling project called, “Muslims of Chicago.” It is an Instagram page that shares the lives and stories of Muslims of all different backgrounds. The narrative of this page was to capture the audience’s attention through empathy. It is to pass judgement from the outside and seeing them within. My posts contain a picture of a human with a paragraph in the caption sharing a story about themselves. I created this idea to showcase the humanity behind every Muslim. We are all human beings, though we may not look the same our stories may be similar. Thus, developing empathy over that human experience. It gives us a reminder that, though we may have different upbringings, we all go through similar experiences and that’s what makes us human.