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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.
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I feel like with anything you choose to do in this world, there are always gonna be people who disagree. But I've had a lot more supporters than critics.
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I don't want to be taller; I want to be myself.
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I want to go see Somalia because I've never been there, and I feel like I'm missing out. I want to learn that heritage; I want to learn about my culture.
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You don't let being the first to do it stop you or get in the way.
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I am Minnesotan.
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My favorite part of modeling is backstage. Every day you work with different people, and as much as people learn about my story, I get to learn about theirs.
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Moving to the U.S. was an adjustment. I noticed that the kids played in groups. Back in Kakuma, everyone played together.
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For me, being able to say that my first-ever photo shoot was with one of the most well-known and iconic fashion photographers in the world is unbelievable.
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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.