NASHA

I took off my jacket and then started unraveling my hijab. I just took it off and it was almost like” Alright, what else? What else do you want from me?”

This is me breaking.

I felt lighter and I was invisible. That was the best feeling for me. I didn’t have to smile at anybody and I could be pissed off. Whatever I felt inside, I could be. I could blend in and work on whatever’s breaking me. All this extra stuff you have to worry about: representing Muslims, speaking for Islam, carrying this banner of Islam on your shoulders, and defending and educating people on Islam, it’s all on you when you wear hijab. It's almost like every girl who wears a hijab suddenly has to be a scholar of everything and explain everything to everyone. You can’t just be a girl anymore that is going through her own experiences and has made a choice.