I used to think beauty started with your hair—the way it framed your face, the way people noticed when it was done just right. But when I started college, surrounded by women with long braids and slick buns, I felt the quiet pressure to fit a look I couldn’t always relate to. For me, beauty isn’t in the strands I show; it’s in the choice to cover them. On campus, my hijab isn’t just fabric; it’s a statement, a boundary, and a form of self-expression. Â
On college campuses, beauty can often feel like a silent competition. In the dining hall, in the dorm bathroom, even in group selfies—there’s always a subtle awareness of how we present ourselves. The curated Instagram feeds, glossy hair, and carefully “effortless” fits start setting an invisible standard. But for many women, especially those who wear the hijab, beauty looks different and deeper. In lecture halls and dining halls alike, hijabi women are redefining what confidence and femininity means in spaces that weren’t always made for us.Â
I come from a long journey growing up with the hijab because I was not surrounded by peers who wore it in school nor many family members. My family did their best to guide me, but it was hard to stay true to what I knew because of the other influences around me. As I got older and came to college, it essentially became worse. Every girl talking about their back-to-school hairstyle and what parties they planned on attending made me feel like I was missing out on a big part of college culture. Little did I know, my version of college culture would bring me closer to the part of me I loved than ever before.Â
I joined clubs and talked to people who were interested and devoted to the same things as me. Temple’s Muslim Student Association has brought me to friendships that have helped guide me towards becoming a better Muslim. They create spaces for people like me to connect with others who want the same end goals and put us in spaces that feel like home away from home. Their annual bonfire event and Sisters DIY event showed me that I can have fun in college without having to give into the temporary temptations on this Dunya. Â
As I continue my years in college, I’m learning that confidence doesn’t come all at once—it’s something you build, layer by layer, like the folds of my hijab each morning. Some days it feels effortless. Other days, it takes courage to stand firm in a world that still misunderstands modesty. But I’m growing into it, learning to see my hijab not as a barrier but as a reflection of strength, faith, and individuality. More than anything, I hope my confidence can ripple outward—to remind other women that however they choose to express themselves, their beauty is already valid, already seen, and already enough.