As I walked into first period that September of 2001, the loud chatter of students after a whole summer without seeing one another subsided. I could only hear the throbbing of my heart resonate throughout my body as one student after the other turned around to gape at something they had never expected. Was it really me? Or was it just a Muslim girl observing the headscarf prescribed by her religious dress code? “Here”, I said as my teacher called out my name for attendance. Here I am. It is I, a hijabi.

Salam,
That would be the last paragraph of a personal statement I wrote for the bajillion scholarships I'm applying for. Hijab is so versatile, subhanAllah. It has motivated me to become involved where I would never have imagined. It has made me enthusiastic about learning, contributing actively, being someone who could think on her own feet. A vocalist, a political activist, a feminist, and a human rights advocate have I become as I shaped by beliefs even apart from Islam. And it makes a really good college essay. :)