I am 24 and recently reverted to Islam. I have been wearing hijab for just over three months now.

I don’t just like my hijab, I love it. It has become such a part of me and I would feel very off without it. The first day that I started wearing it, it just felt so right.

My hijab is not a burden or a pain or a nuisance. It is not hot or itchy. It is not in the way, annoying, or cumbersome. It is not time consuming or ugly. It is not oppressive or restrictive; it does not prevent me from doing anything. My hijab is nothing bad, nothing negative, and nothing harmful.

My hijab is pretty and nice and awesome. It is comfortable, warm, and protective. My hijab is empowering and powerful.

My hijab reminds me that I am always in the presence of Allah swt. It reminds me of my faith and to stay strong in it.

My hijab says please don’t be negative around me; I don’t have room for your darkness. It says make small talk with me. It says I am strong. It says look at me with respect; look at me not my body; have interest in me not my body. It says please refrain from hitting on me because I do not need your remarks.

I would take what I have now over what I used to have any day. People do not hit on me; I do not get cat-calls. I can just go out and not be bothered, or if people talk to me there is no underlying intention.

My hijab lets me know that I am too beautiful, too precious, and too important to be put on display. It tells me that I am something more than I ever realized.

That is why I choose to not only wear, but love my hijab.

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 I became Muslim in October of 1999 Alhamdulillah. When I converted to Islam, my family didn’t agree with my decision at all. I even provided them with literature about the fundamentals of Islam and what’s required of a Muslim. But that meant nothing to them. Like all Muslim women in western society, I experienced hardships because of idiocy and the severe lack of knowledge of Islam. One predicament was on September 12, 2001. I was driving to school and when I stopped at the traffic light, a man in a truck pulled up beside me and yelled profanities to me and said,”Go back to your own country!” Being an American woman… my instinct at that time was to answer him. So, I did. I said,”This is my country.” As soon as I said that… he threw an apple at me which hit my face and left a huge bruise on my face. I didn’t go to school as planned. I went to my mother’s house because of how upset I was. My mother of course persuaded me to take off my hijab. And so… I did.

I didn’t start wearing it again until September 11, 2012 (the date was purely coincidental by the way). I am happier with my hijab. It is apart of me and who I am. I am a MUSLIM woman and I am proud! Non muslim society believe that muslim women who wear hijab are oppressed. Where in fact, it is those same non muslims who oppress us by trying to force us not to wear hijab. I wear hijab anyway and endure being teased and made fun of by people (including my family) but I wear it to please Allah and Him alone. Alhamdulillah.

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