I don’t want to be like them.
Dear Mom, I don’t want to be like them…
They’re all circles with smooth edges,
talking and chatting comfortably with one another.
I’m left to my own devices
because I’m the only square among them,
defined by rigid lines —
straight ones that don’t fit in with their soft, double crescents.
I’m scared they’ll soften my edges,
slowly turn my square into a circle —
not as perfect as theirs,
but with time,
I fear it will become round
so that I’m no longer the square I used to be.
I hope that my lines don’t soften — or break
as I sit among them,
waiting for time to evaporate,
so that I can finally be free of this place.
I don’t want to be like them,
but sometimes I feel like my lines have softened a little bit.
I have grown familiar to the sight of their circles —
and I’m scared that with more time, our differences will no longer be noticeable.
But don’t worry, Mama,
I’ll keep my lines sharp,
and will not allow them
to shake my pillars
and turn my shape into a deflated circle like theirs.
I’ll keep reminding my heart,
so that it doesn’t soften — or get used to the sight
so that I’ll exit this place, with my shape,
what I believe in,
and what I advocate for alright.
And as I depart from here,
I promise to stay stark,
never losing my angles in this ever-changing, rounded park.
Don’t let your environment change you for the worse, stick with what you believe to be right even if you’re the only one doing and believing in that.
And as you reflect on your journey, think about how have you maintained your true shape in the face of external pressures. And how do you plan to protect your identity if the world tries to reshape you (for the worse).
When you are shunned, excluded, or can’t fit in for being a Muslim, or because you pray, wear the hijab, don’t eat pork, don’t date, etc., remember:
(بدأ الإسلام غريباً وسيعود غريباً كما بدأ فطوبى للغرباء (صحيح مسلم
Islam began as something strange and will return as something strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers (Hadith Sahih Mulim 154)
Thank you for reading!
