Zitat des Tages von Halima Aden:
I am proud of being a Somali-American Muslim, and my wardrobe has been an important part of my religious and cultural upbringing.
A lot of people have the misconception that, as a Muslim woman, I am somehow against women wearing bikinis. No, I want women to feel comfortable and confident in whatever they wear.
When I was younger, I got bullied for wearing my hijab.
Moisturizing every night is important. When you're 50 or 60, it's going to show if you don't take care of it. You have to prepare when you're young, so you still have that healthy, glowing skin when you're 60 or 70.
You don't let being the first to do it stop you or get in the way.
What I have learned is that designers are willing to tell the world that they are here to empower women from all different backgrounds and different walks of life.
Diversity and inclusion are always something industries should strive for.
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.
Always stay true to who you are - barriers can and will be broken!
I think it's important to be diverse, and I hope we continue to see that as a trend in the fashion industry.
I think to be Miss U.S.A., first of all, you need to represent everybody, all of us here.
To be honest, before I joined the industry, I knew very little about the fashion world, and I hardly knew any name brands. Probably because the price tags were a little too high, and home girl needed to work.
Product-wise, I use a morning and night cleanser. I'm really not a brand person.
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.
I truly believe diversity is beauty.
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.
There are so many Muslim women that feel like they don't fit society's standard of beauty. I just wanted to tell them it's OK to be different; being different is beautiful, too.
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.
I say this all the time, but my hijab, it really is my crown, and it's something that I bring to the table. It's something that makes me unique. It shows the world who I truly am.
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.
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.
I will stand up for a girl who is being harassed or bullied for choosing to wear revealing clothes. I will stand up for that!
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!
I'm covered up, but I'm still getting these comments that say I shouldn't be. But the girls who wear the bikinis, they're being told they're too revealing! Enough. It's their body, their choice.
My goal is to send a message to Muslim women and young women everywhere that it's okay to break stereotypes and be yourself.
I have much more to offer than my physical appearance, and a hijab protects me against 'You're too skinny,' 'You're too thick,' 'Look at her hips,' 'Look at her thigh gap.' I don't have to worry about that.
The fashion industry really welcomed me with open arms and open hearts. They've been very accepting of my faith. I have strict wardrobe requirements, and that's something they've upheld.
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.
Every little girl looks up to her mom so much - that's your first hero.
How boring would this world be if everyone was the same?
Sometimes I'll go with a long hijab, or sometimes I'll wear my scarf and go somewhat business-y with a blazer. Every day is something new.
I mix things from my Somali culture and my American side.
I know that for me, a lot of people will look at me and they'll think 'Somali' or 'outsider' instead of 'Minnesota.'
What I do is I always try to educate myself about my neighbors, about the people I meet.
A lot of people will look at you and will fail to see your beauty because you're covered up and they're not used to it. So growing up, I just had to work on my people skills and give people a chance to really know me besides the clothing.
I love Somali foods like canjeero, a pancakelike bread; same for pizza, burgers, and sushi.
