My family is like every other American family in the country. My mother, Jamie, works as a nurse mostly doing nightshifts. My siblings fight over the remote and have contest to see who can annoy the oldest first. Our house is decorated in my mother's taste and so many decorated pillows we have no idea what to do with. All in all we are pretty normal, except for one thing.

I call the lord God and they call him Allah.

Let me explain this in clearer detail. It was not until the time that I turned twelve that I began to live with my mother and siblings. Before that I was raised by my two loving grandparents who never really mentioned a specific religion to me. On one hand, I had my grandpa who believed that God was an alien who landed on earth long ago. Whereas my grandma just simply didn't believe in sitting in church when you can just pray at home.

Now, my siblings were born and raised to believe in the islamic faith. My mother had converted from being a Christian to a Muslim when she married her husband, a Muslim man at the time. When they turned about five they were put into a Muslim school that taught them key points on the region and how to write in arabic. When I would come to visit them they would show me the different letters and how to combine them into words.

Here is the thing though, it didn't matter that I wasn't born into the Muslim world or that my siblings and I shared different views when it came to religion. We were still family and to me they are just ordinary teenagers living in America. However, the question is how long to do they have to be normal? In this country that we call home, how long does it take for the words of hate to reach their ears?

I say this because there have been an average of 12.6 suspected hate crimes against Muslims in the United States according to F.B.I statistics. Those hate crimes are continuing to grow as more people begin to blame all Muslims for the actions of radicals. Also some are quick to pass that the shooting at Orlando is to be blamed on Islamic religion. From what has been released to the public, we know that the man was a regular visitor of Pulse and some facts have lead some to think he was gay. This was not a terrorist attack, this was an attack against those that choose to love the same sex.

I am frustrated right now for so many are silent when the mass is quick to label things and people without even knowing the full story. My sister is only fourteen and she is scared that one day that she will be attacked for her faith. A 14-year-old girl is afraid that she will be attacked! If that does not strike a cord in you, I don't know what will.

This nation used to be about freedom to choose, and now it seems that this ideal is no longer valid. Men and women and children should not be afraid to practice a belief that is not Christian. People should be able to love who they want to even if that means loving the same sex. We need to stop speaking hate and start speaking love, because I would hate to see the country become consumed by it.