Hijabi Style: The Surprisingly Average Life Of A Teenage Muslim Girl

Second Beginnings

Second chances are rare opportunities that should aways be taken advantage of. Unless, of course, you're referring to school; because in that case, maybe not so much.

BRING! Noooooo. This can't be happening.

I slam my hand down to silence my blaring alarm. It can't be time for fajr prayer already! Yet, a glance towards my window assures me that it is in fact dawn, and therefore, time for the first prayer of the day.

I sit up in bed, wiping my eyes and spitting out the tangled hairs that had gotten into my mouth during my sleep. "It's definitely going to be a long day." I mumble to myself. Falling back into bed, I close my eyes, only to be interrupted by my father.

"Yasmeen! Wake up, habibti! It's time to pray!" He nudges me with every word.

"Yes, I know, Abba. But I'm so sleepy..."

My father chuckles and chastises me for staying up so late the night before. "I knew you wouldn't get any sleep once you got your new phone. Now come on, after prayers you have to get ready for school. It's your first day of sophomore year."

Holy crap! School! I'd completely forgotten. This was really going to be a long day. Trudging into the bathroom to perform my ablution, or wudhu, for prayers, I get a good look at my face. There is a little crust in the corners of my eyes, and smear lines where I had drooled the night before. I'm pretty sure I'm the only girl who wakes up like this.

After performing ablution and washing my face several times as an attempt to wake myself up, I bound down the stairs to join my family for prayer.

"Salaam wa alaykum, Ummi. Good morning." I greet my mother and then say the same to Abba.

"Someone's going to have to fight to stay awake in school today," Ummi says, noticing my yawns. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I know, I know. I'm regretting it already." My parents laugh at my statement as my younger sister, Deena, walks in. Deena says her salaams to us, and then it's time to pray.

As much as I would love to hop in bed and drift off to sleep after prayers, I can't. Instead, I tie my hair up with a scrunchie, brush my teeth, and shower.

Dressing up for the first day of school is always risky business because so many things can go wrong. You could wear the wrong thing, the wrong color, or worst of all, have the exact same outfit as someone else. Seeing as I'd like to keep the drama to a minimum today, I opt for black ballet flats, gray jeans and a long sleeved red tunic.

I absolutely love choosing the perfect hijab to match an outfit and then dressing up the scarf with decorative pins. I select a black and gray one, wrap it around my head and secure it with a silver butterfly pin. I'm ready to go. Well, after I've had my coffee.