Halima Aden Quotes
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Every little girl looks up to her mom so much - that's your first hero.
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I choose to focus on the positive.
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I mix things from my Somali culture and my American side.
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Be who you are. It's easy to feel like you have to blend in, but it takes courage to live your life with conviction and embrace the person that you are.
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I like shopping at retail places like JC Penney or Macy's, and maybe buying a top or a shirt, and then buying a skirt from Rue 21 or Forever 21 because they have the maxi skirts, which I appreciate so much, and then topping it off with something that I buy from a Somali shop.
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I know I got to do something that's one in a million, to escape a refugee camp, to come to this country and have so many doors open for me. So I want to go back and make a difference and give motivation or hope to all the kids that never got to leave or have the privilege that I did.
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I feel bad for my little cousins who don't see themselves being represented, or the little girls in my community who won't have a chance to see a Disney princess... who resembles them.
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What I do is I always try to educate myself about my neighbors, about the people I meet.
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I did notice growing up that there are so many things, obstacles and things, that people think you can't do because you're Muslim or because you're wearing a hijab. You hear a lot of no's. That was something that I wanted to see change.
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America has always been a land of diversity, basically made up of immigrants, and that is something I want to see continued. It's something I'm proud of when people think of America.
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There is not one description of beauty - that in fact it has different faces, different stories, and different background, and it's important to embrace all of those.
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Always stay true to who you are - barriers can and will be broken!
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I feel like I'm here to bust those misconceptions and stereotypes of Muslim women.
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When you have a lot of women in our state that do wear the hijab, we should be able to see that everywhere.
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I love Somali foods like canjeero, a pancakelike bread; same for pizza, burgers, and sushi.
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I think often the West does not understand the history and the privilege of wearing a hijab. They always think of oppression.
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When people put labels on us, it doesn't always enclose everything that we are. So even though I'm proud to be Somali, I'm proud to be American, at the end of the day, I'm still Halima, and I take things from both sides and combine them, and I make my own little category. I'm me!
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Wearing modest clothing is a belief, and I'm not going to say that every Muslim woman is in my shoes, but the majority of us do have a choice.
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Skin care is so much more important than makeup. Makeup is for when you're having fun and going out. But your skin is forever.
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I know that for me, a lot of people will look at me and they'll think 'Somali' or 'outsider' instead of 'Minnesota.'
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If there's one message I want people to take away is never compromise being your authentic self. Even if that means making others uncomfortable.
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People I looked up to a lot were, you know, Oprah because she had a rough childhood but overcame so many obstacles and broke barriers to become who she is. It was really eye opening to me: just because I had a rough childhood doesn't mean that I can't make something of myself.
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The hijab is a symbol that we wear on our heads, but I want people to know that it is my choice. I'm doing it because I want to do it. I wanted people to see that you could still be really cute and modest at the same time.
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I don't want to be taller; I want to be myself.