Personal Narrative: My Experience As An American Muslim

As an American Muslim, I’ve personally faced many challenges growing up with a different culture. At a very young age I chose to express my religion with more pride. A semester into 4th grade, I chose to wear the hijab. The hijab to me was not just a piece of cloth covering my hair for modesty but a symbol of freedom. I not only chose to wear hijab in a sense to bring me closer to my faith but to also help others understand acceptance.
The first day I wore my headscarf to school I was ridiculed, taunted and ashamed of my choices. As I walked to the bus stop that morning, my headscarf was pulled off by another student. I turn around to see it was actually my neighbor, someone I had grown up with and looked up to. From that day on, I started to wear my headscarf less and less. I hid my accent, any signs of growing up different and spoke less in class. It came to a point where teachers would be concerned with my involvement in class and made phone calls to my parents or left notes on report cards.
I chose to hide from my peers, to never go outside for recess or to participate in group projects. My idea was that if I sheltered myself and simply disappear from sight, if people forgot about my existence that I would no longer be treated as less then. I eventually stopped speaking completely.

My first task was to go around to every class and share the upcoming school events. I walked into Mr. Fields 8th grade Social Studies class and began my speech. A student from the back of the class shouted, “Oh look the terrorist is speaking.” As if I was carrying a black bag, full of dynamite in my hand, the attention turned towards me. I immediately froze, my peers had to physically remove me from the classroom. I was in distraught, thinking that I would make a positive change that year. I gradually turned back into the girl who was afraid of being