Let me start by saying, Alhamdulillah.
The past month has brought two huge changes. We're purchasing a home (well, purchased, provided the inspection comes through) and I found out today I was given a promotion within my company to a department and a role that I really wanted.
And all along, I couldn't think anything other than God wanted it to happen, and so it did. We worked hard, on both endeavors, and have been wonderfully blessed for our efforts.
One of my fears, or reservations, when I began wearing the hijab two months ago was that the perception of me within my company, which is not hugely diverse. My mother had a similar reservation as well, but as I told her: it did not change my abilities, and truly, if a manager would not want me working for them because of it I would not want to work for such a manager. And it turned out that, in this case, it was not a hinderance.
The morning of the initial interview, as I was walking to get coffee in our building, a group of school children from a local parochial school were taking a tour. As I opened the door to the cafe, one of the boys said, loudly, "Terrorist, terrorist, terrorist!"
It actually took me about 10 seconds to realize he was talking about me.
I didn't say a word to the barista, also a hijabi, who I have struck up a casual friendship with. It wasn't until I was back at my desk that I calmly texted my boyfriend and said, "Well, it happened. Someone called me a terrorist."
As much as I knew not to let it bother me, it did. I was off for a while afterwards, shaking inside. After a comment.
But I went to the interview, and as I was walking for the interviewers, I said a small dua, and a calm came over me.
And a week later, I was notifying I got the position. Alhamdulillah.
The house purchase came very smoothly. We did a lot of research, a lot, and had most of our ducks in a row before we even started the process. And, inshAllah, on May 30th we will close and move into our first home. Alhamdulillah.
Not to mention, in just 18 days, we will be traveling to Egypt for two weeks, a trip that will tick a major milestone off our bucket lists and just be a beautiful experience. Again, Alhamdulillah.
2014 thus far has been so blessed. I pray that we will both stay diligent and it will stay that way.
