I love you. You are amazing. You are intelligent, you are funny, you are inquisitive, you are strong, you are sassy, you are beautiful. You are one of my favourite people, and I love telling others how much I love you. I love, have always loved, and will always love, that you are a part of my life.
But I need you to back off my hijab. I need you to stop asking why I wear it, because I've explained it to you several times. I need you to not insinuate anymore that women who cover their heads because they believe that God wants them to haven't yet come into the 21st century (Catholics, Muslims, Jews, anyone). The idea that I'm somehow stuck in the 7th century simply because I, and I alone, choose to not show anything but my face and hands to men who aren't related to me is insulting, rude, and, depending on how you're phrasing it, hurtful.
Love (because I do love you), my intelligence, strength, sense of humour, and strength don't diminish every time I put my hijab on. My IQ doesn't diminish point by point with every layer that goes around my head. The tightness of my hijab doesn't squeeze out my individuality, nor my sense of self, nor my self-esteem --- though sometimes it can make hearing and/or breathing a bit difficult, depending on the thickness of the material and how badly I've wrapped and pinned it. Also, I'm just deaf sometimes.
