March 28,
Today I went to my first class and wore my hijab. I was about an hour late to class and walked in making an entrance lol. Jen and Lynette laughed at me and snickered. I expected reactions but I don’t know if I expected laughing. Regardless, I sat down right next to the laughing young ladies who have never seen me cover myself in the year that I have taken classes with them so I understand the immediate shock. But they kept it up and then asked questions and the laughing stopped and dialogue began. Maybe next week will be different.
After class I traveled to the pharmacy in Detroit to get my prescription. I have to admit I did call and talk to Grace and told her what to expect when I walked in because I do know them all too well. Or so I thought. When I went to get my prescription the Pharmacist Mike was very loud when he yelled, “you make one ugly Muslim” and I felt my face flush red. I really did not expect that from someone I knew and have admired and worked with for 5 years. I looked at Grace and Tracy and they just looked on as if they were uncomfortable with his loud attempts at humor and knew he crashed and burned but I laughed it off with him knowing he meant nothing but to give me a hard time. He meant NO malice at all but it didn’t stop the sting. People’s true colors arise when they see a woman in hijab and when it is someone I know who only knows me without the hijab it is more shocking to them. In saying that, their reactions are the reactions I expected from strangers not acquaintances or family.
My last class was at 6:30 pm and I was expecting much of the same reaction that was trending that day with everyone else I knew, but it didn’t happen. People were mature and no one said anything and no one laughed (at least not to my face or that I could hear.)
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