My story started a long while ago; at a time when I put on the hijab and didn’t really get what it was all about. Why does a scarf on my head would please Allah? What’s the connection between covering up and being modest? If Allah loves me, why does He want me to not look ‘attractive’ like other girls? If my hair and my body is a gift Allah gave me by making me a woman, why doesn’t He approve of me to put that out? For a 13 year old teenager, that was the kind of questions going on in my mind. And that was the time when I put it on.

Why did I? Because it felt right. With all the misconceptions and lack of understanding of what this Hijab is, all I knew and felt was that I am a grown up now, and Allah wouldn’t want me to wear it if it wasn’t for my own good. ‘Till this day, I thank Allah for blessing me with it, and I thank Allah for showing me how my Hijab has been the light of my life day after day. Being a hijabi teenager when most of the girls my age were not, I felt unique. When I walked around, all short and covered up, people looked at me…That’s kind of cool, right?

As a 20 year old now, my Hijab makes me feel secure. It feels like Allah is watching over me. Growing up, I’ve always made the following duaa ‘اللهم استخدمني و لا تستبدلني’, and now I know that my prayer was answered when I’ve become a representative woman of this wonderful deen (religion).

Covering up made me feel preserved. Preserved for the one person that would deserve to have that when I get married; and when my father walks me down the aisle to my man inshAllah, I will feel like a wrapped up gift. Hijab is one of the things I’m most grateful for, and I’m so proud to have it as a first step in my grown up life. Trust me when I tell you, extra garment on you has more to it than you can ever imagine.

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I started wearing the Hijab in Ramadan 2014. I remember writing a list of things that I wanted to pray about during the month of Ramadan. One of the things on the list was praying for the courage to start wearing the Hijab. I’ve always admired people that wore the Hijab. I reached a point in my life where I knew that I wanted to start wearing the Hijab but I didn’t know when. I was convinced that I would finally start wearing it many years later when I am a lot older. I wanted to start wearing it but I was not ready yet. Then one summer morning, I was lying down in my bed and something inside was telling me that it was finally time to start wearing it. I thought about it briefly for that moment and then brushed it off. I started to think about it a lot more and then finally decided that it was finally time to start wearing it.

It was as if Allah had spoken to me through my heart when I made this decision. It took some time getting used to it especially because I went my entire life without wearing it and no-one else in my family wears it. However, I believe that this was the best decision that I’ve made and I am not turning back. I cannot imagine myself without it. Sometimes, I am in disbelief as to how I have gone so long without it. Since I started wearing it, I feel secure, protected, and a lot more beautiful. I feel liberated in knowing that I am no longer hiding a main part of my identity in order to conform to society.

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I actually wear hijab in secret. I am Christian and Cherokee from Minneapolis, MN and it is not widely accepted here. It is unlikely to receive support from friends and some family. Therefore, I only wear hijab when I know I will not run into them.

I feel so much more comfortable covering up. Hijab has been speaking to me for a long time and World Hijab Day is the first day I will proudly wear hijab in front of friends and family. I am hoping I can find the courage to continue wearing hijab happily and proudly for many days to come after. It is hard without support, but I think I have found truth in hijab.

I am such a better person when I am wearing it. I am constantly reminded to pray and be kind. I hope this day can help someone else find the joys of hijab as I am finding now.

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