There’s something I always ponder, what would my life have been like had I not chosen to wear the hijab, and it’s been so evident how heavily this one piece of fabric has impacted my life and in such amazing ways alhamdulilah. I like to think of it as the side effects of wearing a hijab.
Donning the hijab made me more aware of my own identity, it demanded that I carried myself with respect regardless of my surroundings. In so many ways it grounded me. The largest side effect of all that I experienced was the people that I attracted and the people that I was inclined to include in my life.
As I recently prepared my child to go back to school, the thought of beginning university came back to me. One of the most pivotal points in my life. I was attending frosh week, it was my first day and I was beyond excited about this new beginning. However in so many ways the celebratory week felt off. It was Ramadan and I went looking for a prayer room to pray Maghrib and I spotted another hijabi, and instantly it put me at ease. I asked her where I can find a prayer room, she told me she’d take me there, and in fact there is a whole other Frosh week organized by the MSA and honestly the rest is history.
The friends I made, the people that I surrounded myself with, the small and big life decisions that I made have been so heavily impacted by even that one small occasion. Because I dressed modestly and wore the hijab, I found comfort in finding a group of like minded women, who shared my values and my faith. These are women who continue to be a part of my life today and have been an inspiration to continuously work on myself and strive for better.