As a Muslim who's been raised in the states, it's a pretty exciting journey. The insults, the looks, the word ‘oppressed’ whispered quietly. I am not exaggerating.

"Welcome to my life."

Believe me when I say I have come across so many journeys. It's extraordinary. But enough about that, because this is where things are going to get interesting.

As someone who uses Tumblr 75% of the time, I read so many things about the LGBT+ community. I have so many friends and coworkers that are in the community, including myself. I first thought, 'hey, maybe I'm bisexual because I think this girl is attractive,’ or, ‘maybe I'm gay, because I really like this girl'.

But, I was wrong. I kept doing research, and kept talking with so many people on so many different blogs, until I came across the best sexual orientation title for me.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has defined Pansexual as this: of, relating to, or characterized by sexual desire or attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation.

That is who I began to identify myself as, and that's when everything went downhill. It's a wild ride.

As a Muslim, I will say that this religion is strict. Very strict. In their eyes, being queer is a sin, but that didn't stop me, or made me happy, and that freaking matters.

Media nowadays doesn’t show much of the LGBT+ community, because it's ‘not normal’ or ‘doesn’t appeal to the common person’. But, to credit the film industry, a movie called ‘Love, Simon’ was made after a book, and was a huge success. Such a good movie - a tear jerker!

There have been many people of color who are part of the community shine through on the many platforms of media.

I have not seen one Muslim represented.

It tugs at my heart because yes, we are people too, and yes, we can be queer too. We deserve some recognition. As someone who's both a Muslim woman, who's an American, and a queer, I believe it's time. It's time for everyone out there to fight back. Make a statement, show people that we, too, exist.

I understand if people who are reading this think I'm making a big deal, but have you ever met a queer Muslim? Are you friends with one? I highly doubt it.

Here's a fact, I was the only Muslim in our school's GSA (Gay Straight Alliance), and I felt welcomed, and I made so many friends. My new family. I felt as if I was finally part of a welcoming community, one with big arms that can give lovable hugs and the never ending support I have always wanted.

I've had the courage to come to terms with who I am as an individual. It's pretty much a very important life lesson. I've gotten a few good relationships, a few bad ones, and very good friends.

Here's a big ass thank you to Courtney, who taught me, that yes, most of my decisions may suck, but she still loves me. For Ian, because he's still there for me after putting up with my craziness for about 7 years, and lastly for Mallory, because not only is she a good friend, she's really good at making me laugh when I'm always feeling down. She's helped me out a lot since I've met her. I'm thankful for more than those three, but those three made a huge impact on my life.

I'll be straight (I'm not) with you, being a Muslim American living in these past few years, it's pretty heart-breaking. The looks I get from passing people is pretty shocking, like believe me. They act as if they haven't seen a Muslim woman wearing a piece of cloth on her head. Oh wait, it's not just a piece of cloth. It's a sign of modesty, a sign that I am a STRONG ass woman. A sign that I have been through so many hardships.

I had a really good friend of mine, one that was there for me throughout the last two years of high school. We bonded over our love for Panic! At The Disco, and our love for the TV show Supernatural, and how we saw ourselves in the two main characters from the show. We were like sisters, inseparable, and we thought we would live to the day we died.

We were wrong.

My depression got the best of me during the summer from my junior year to senior year. Trigger warning, but I actually considered self harming. I was at the lowest part of my life, and the only person I needed at the moment was her. Let's call her Bella. Everything went sideways, and she wouldn't talk to me after weeks of arguing. We argued over the smallest of things because one, I was a human who was going through a low point in life. I didn't know who I was back then, I didn't know what to do. She called our friendship toxic, that I was manipulative, that I wasn't a good friend. I believed her. I shut myself off from the rest of my friends, and thought maybe I'm not a good person. Maybe I was a failure to the eyes of my peers, but I thought wrong. That was a hardship, and I lived through it. I'm still going through it. Every day I hope for the better because that is what I deserve.

I deserve something good.

I deserve happiness.

I deserve better.

Put yourself in my shoes. You're still in the closet to some, you're out to others. You've got a bold sign above your head that reads " PANSEXUAL", and you have this idea of doing something with that. You have this brilliant, extraordinary idea and you don't know how to put it to the test.

So, you do what I did. You scream it out, you post about it on some sort of secret Tumblr, you wear pins with anything relating to the LGBT+ community.

I believe that I have impacted society as a whole. I believe that me, as a person has shaped the way this world is somehow. It's still growing, and I'm there to hold it's hand, and take it along for a wild ride.