I Am A Muslim And Proud Of It !

* I'm just sharing this & it's entirely not mine .

I went to the mall , and a little girl called me a terrorist . 

My name is Ela . I am seventeen years old . I am not Muslim , but my friend told me about her friend being discriminated against for wearing a hijab . So I decided to see the discrimination firsthand to get a better understanding of what Muslim women go through . 

My friend and I pinned scarves around our heads , and then we went to the mall . Normally , vendors try to get us to buy things and ask us to sample a snack . Clerks usually ask us if we need help , tell us about sales , and smile at us . Not today . People , including vendors , clerks , and other shoppers , wouldn’t look at us . They didn’t talk to us . They acted like we didn’t exist . They didn’t want to be caught staring at us , so they didn’t look at all . 

And then , in one store , a girl ( who looked about four years old ) asked her mom if my friend and I were terrorists . She wasn’t trying to be mean or anything . I don’t even think she could have grasped the idea of prejudice . However , her mother’s response is one I can never forgive or forget . The mother hushed her child , glared at me , and then took her daughter by the hand and led her out of the store . 

All that because I put a scarf on my head . Just like that , a mother taught her little girl that being Muslim was evil . It didn’t matter that I was a nice person . All that mattered was that I looked different . That little girl may grow up and teach her children the same thing . 

This experiment gave me a huge wakeup call . It lasted for only a few hours , so I can’t even begin to imagine how much prejudice Muslim girls go through every day . It reminded me of something that many people know but rarely remember : the women in hijabs are people , just like all those women out there who aren’t Muslim . 

People , please help me spread this message . Treat Muslims , Jews , Christians , Buddhists , Hindus , Pagans , Taoists , etc . , exactly the way you want to be treated , regardless of what they’re wearing or not wearing , no exceptions . Reblog this . Tell your friends . I don’t know that the world will ever totally wipe out prejudice , but we can try , one blog at a time .

Birthday Wishes And Mother's Love

  

Special Days

    So . . . here comes my birthday again . . . I'm 21 this year, and only 6 days late from the General Election 13 . Like always , mom would be the first to feel excited about buying cakes and balloons for the special day . Daddy would sometimes mistaken the actual date of my birthday , so does mom's & other person's birthdays . He's 60 , it's surprising enough if he could remember one's name correctly . 

       During the entire night of May 10th , after replying friends' and family's wishes on Facebook , I started to day-dream once in a while , and thinking how the hell I didn't realized I'm a grown-up already , I'm an adult teenager! Well , not so 'adult'. 

My birthday usually close to Mothers' Day event , and when I was a child , my family used to celebrate both occasions on the same day but of course , with different cakes . I got my own cake with cartoons on it . 

When I grew up to be a young teenager , I was still getting gifts and cakes from mom although in that phase I was quite rebellious . Actually until now, I always got into a fight with mom . It ain't no lie I'm a little stubborn , and sometimes I thought mom's opinion is wrong , she never understands my words or my needs . I put all the blames on her .

However , after the fight and the sulking part , my anger would turned into tears . And I would simply fell asleep . Then I would began to memorize my bad behaviors and how stupid I was , not able to think straight and control my emotions . How comes mom never understands my words and my needs when she's the one who always listened to me when I was a baby , the one who didn't manage to take care of herself while busy taking care of me , the one I search the entire house if I need something , the one who would be the first to know if I got As in my exam ; sharing happiness , the only one I turned to when I'm sad or in troubles ?

I still remember my childhood and the past few years' memories clearly . I remember how mom divided her times between her career and children . She always be there for both of us ; me and my sister . 

Whenever each of us fell sick at school , she would left her workplace just like that just to make sure we're fine . She spent times to send and pick us up from school , no matter how busy she was . She reads us stories and fairy tales every night before bedtimes and sometimes I would took her place ; telling weird stories I made up . She stayed up all night , accompanying me or my sister finishing our homeworks . Sometimes she would prepared lunch box for me ( and even for my classmates ) when I told her I have extra classes for the big exams . When she had to leave us for a few days , she would put boxes of foods she cooked into the refrigerator so that we won't be starving waiting for her to come home .  

As I grew up and make friends , I realized how lucky I am . Although my childhood is a little bit different from other kids ; mom makes it special to me . Other kids at my age typically grew up to be someone who thinks friends are better than family . And I'm not that kind of person .

 I stand up nowadays as a young lady who represent a part of my mom , each day I become more like her and I couldn't be prouder . No one could ever imagine how hard I struggle to live without a father's love before Daddy came to my life , but I always forgot , I already had a dad which is actually my mom , who's way more intelligent than most dads . She's strong and a fighter , that is what I'm going to be . 

My birthday is not all about me , it's 99% about you , mom . Sometimes you're a magician and most of the times you're a superwoman aka supermom . Thank you for giving birth to me , taking care of me , and all the things you have done for me andddd happy birthday to me ~ !