About Me

I was born and raised in an Hispanic family in the midwest.  My early childhood consisted of many things to do, but Sundays were meaningful because we attended “misa” or mass at the local Catholic church in town. I remember having to wear those frizzle laced dresses with matching shoes which I just disliked so much. As the eldest, I was expected to be an example to my brothers and sisters and my behavior at church had to be at its best. Oh, and my folks were watching if I donated any of my spare change they gave me that needed to go into the collection basket.  You see I had already gotten caught once and reprimanded for not showing my genorosity to the church. I did not understand why a child should give up their ice cream money to a basket being passed around and who knows if only donating this money at a Sunday mass service would encourage others to give more if they only knew that twenty five cents was a lot for a little kid.  After church, we headed to one of those “All You Can Eat” restaurants and then dessert was hand picked at the local “panaderia” (Mexican bakery). The scent of warm bread baking was an immediate invitation to satisfy any customers choice of what was defined as being “pan dulce” (sweet bread).  These were all just memories that remained of certain traditions my family held on. Growing up as a Catholic meant something, but I did not feel the true understanding of why certain things needed to be done at certain times. Such as, attending baptisims, participating in first communions, having a “quincinera” which is the equivalent of a sweet sixteen. Later in life, I decided to research all of what I thought I understood about being Catholic but I still had gaps. These gaps of understanding were never clarified and I would later turn into a search for a reason to find a different belief system.  This encounter were with the words Muslim and Islam which seemed so foreign and unrecognizable. However, I was determined to find the reason to believe that these words went hand in hand with what they stood for. After extensive research and inquiry, I was convinced that all those years of searching for clarity in one religion did not leave me any hope to hold on to what most Hispanic families practiced-Catholicism. My confusion and misunderstandings were standing in my way to feeling satisfied with religious convictions. At some point, I understood that Islam and Muslims were not a “culture” but a unity of faith that embraced anyone regardless of heritage. The belief system as I begin to get acquainted with was fulfilling and worth recognizing. My life turned the page into a new and exciting feeling of religious satisfaction.  I felt that I had conquered something grand when I decided to associate the words Islam and Muslim as being where I wanted to be. My family thought I was going through an identity crisis. LOL   However, when I opened my eyes I was sure that accepting that which Allah had planned for me was sometning good and it gave me reassurance that converting was the next thing I wanted to identify with. Thus, I began my journey as a Muslim and Islam has never left any gaps in my life. Insh’Allah I pray that my family become Muslim someday.