For a really long time, I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we were all born to stand out; nobody is born to blend in.

I used to be so self-conscious about my braces that people thought I was shy - I just never talked. It took me a long time to realize, whatever, it's not like I'll have them forever, so I might as well enjoy it while I do!

There are so many Muslim women that feel like they don't fit society's standard of beauty. I just wanted to tell them it's OK to be different; being different is beautiful, too.

If you blend in, you don't stand out.

I thought for a very long time that I had to conform or maybe change the way I look, or maybe the hijab was dimming my beauty. I took a moment, and then I realized, you know what, there's a lot of girls who do wear this, and this is their reality. It just made me even more prouder to wear it.

I will stand up for a girl who is being harassed or bullied for choosing to wear revealing clothes. I will stand up for that!