I was watching a documentary on the Hajj pilgrimage and they were interviewing a women. I remember, she was dressed in all white, covered head to toe and during the interview she visited the various sites of Mecca, on one of the days she visited Arafat. As they were interviewing her and upon her reaching the top of the mountain she broke down crying, and I broke down with her. In some weird way, I was feeling what she was feeling, it was at that moment, I knew I wanted to convert to Islam.

I became a Muslim on October 22nd, 2006.

I wasn’t hard, because I converted the last day, before the end of Ramadan. Lol

I am a lot more secure in what I believe in and a lot of my decisions are based on my religious beliefs or what would God want me to do.

I was an Evangelical Christian.

My parents were in denial, up to this day, they do not talk about religion with me and I don’t bother on correcting them either.

Prayer, reading the Quran is one of my biggest struggles. There are always excuses like I’m too busy, or I’m too tired that get in the way. I also struggle a lot with the idea of being judged by fellow Muslim women.

If you feel Islam is right, you shouldn’t think about what your family or friends will think. If Islam is right for you you should follow your heart, but also make sure you are converting for the right reasons.

I was raised in an Evangelical Christian home in California, at age 21 I met and married my husband, who happened to be a Muslim from Morocco. Prior to me marrying my husband, I had never heard about Islam, other than the events that occurred on 9/11. Everybody in my family was very critical of my husband given that he was Arab and Muslim, except for my dad, who embraced him from day 1. On our 4 year of marriage and after having our first child—Adam—I decided that I would follow my heart and convert to Islam, not only because it felt right, but also because I didn’t want Adam to be raised in a household split between two religions, I wanted him to grow up in a home with a strong religious foundation. Now almost 15 years after I took my Shahada, I have no doubts that I made the right choice.