I wear a hijab. I've been wearing it for about a decade now. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding Muslim Americans at the moment, and Muslim American women who wear hijabs have always been the subject of scrutiny and hate crimes. I understand that perhaps some of this hatred or animosity comes from the misrepresentation of my faith or an honest fear of the unknown. So as a Muslim American college student who wears the hijab, let me answer some frequently asked questions about us crazy “mozlams” that will hopefully broaden your worldview:

So like, why do you wear it?

The hijab is a covering worn publicly by some, but not all, Muslim women. Hijab wearers, or hijabis, have a multitude of reasons for donning the hijab. Some view it as a protection of modesty that most explicitly demonstrates their devotion to God. Others wear it as a badge of their faith and an extension of their identity. Some women wear the hijab as a means of cultural expression that expresses their political or social leanings with their country of origin. Personally, though, I thinks it's great at catching crumbs from foods I’ve eaten so that I have snacks for later.

Do you have to wear it?

No. Nowhere in the Quran does it say that a Muslim woman has to wear the hijab in order to be a good Muslim. Just as any other faith, the scripture is open to interpretation allowing for a more personalized relationship with the faith and with God. This being said, the majority of Muslim women view wearing the hijab as a choice and have their subjective reasons for choosing to wear it or not to wear it.

Do you wear it in the shower?

Absolutely. I absolutely wear my hijab in the shower. In fact, I don’t take off any of my garments when I bathe. I step in fully clothed to exfoliate my t-shirt and deep condition my scarf so that it can grow healthy and strong. I do take off my shoes though, I’m not a psychopath.

But isn’t the hijab oppressing you as a woman?

While some countries use the hijab to wrongly and forcibly subjugate their female Muslim population, the hijab in itself is not a symbol of oppression. Most Muslim women who wear it have chosen to do so for their own reasons. There has been much discussion among Western feminists who have voiced their concern for Muslim women who have been “silenced” by this piece of clothing. But, rest assured my dear FOX news enthusiast, we don’t need your pity or your misinformed opinions about a choice we made entirely on our own accord and religious jurisdiction.

Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have hair under there?

Well, this is different for every person. I know for certain that a lot of hijabis do in fact have hair “under there.” I know others, however, who have coils of writing snakes, others still who hide full sized coffee makers, and one individual whose scarf hid a void-like region of space-time with the gravitational prowess of a supermassive black hole. I’m not anything special, though, my hijab covers only the salvaged remnants of the greatest dark wizard who ever liv-I mean hair. It covers my hair.

This was just a little bit about the hijab that you can hopefully take with you as we navigate through the prejudices that threaten our nation and the world today. Unity is our greatest strength. So be kind, keep an open mind, and seek to understand the differences that make us human.

Also, please refrain from asking a hijabi if she wears her scarf in the shower. C’mon man.