A beautiful baby girl is born

She is brought into this world by God with only one hope in mind,

Young Maryam will grow up and fulfill all her hopes and dreams

She will not have to follow in the footsteps before her.

Maryam is now 15 and in her first year of high school

Young and naive, all she wishes is to discover the world and herself,

Grandmother always told young Maryam one thing

"Free yourself and fly away, for those will capture and steal you away."

Maryam, who does prefer to go by Mary is now 18

The four-year death sentence is now over,

She looks forward to her future, hopeful and ambitious

She puts on her cap and gown, and heads out the door.

Day and night she stays awake

Head buried deep in textbooks,

"I will become a successful doctor," she says,

Reminding herself over and over again.

Maryam, who is now 22

Has already managed to achieve so much,

Not with the intention to impress

But to show she is not like the rest.

Meanwhile friends of her childhood whom she went to the park with

Had sleepovers, and trips to the zoo with,

These friends have settled down

Some even with two kids.

Maryam is filled with joy for her friends

But young Maryam does not understand,

Why is it that the faces of people glow over the news of a new child or marriage,

But seem to hide away over the education or successful career of a young Muslim woman?

Her older brother, only by 4 years has also been accepted into a medical program

Parties, gatherings, and prayers are made for him,

Maryam is again filled with joy for her brother,

But where is the light and happiness in people's eyes for her success?

This brilliant woman is now 25

Never has she been filled with the slightest bit of pride,

For all the hard work and effort she has put in

All she now wants is for her parents to give in.

Successful and humble as she is

The first question when approached is,

"When will your life begin?"

Maryam is happy and thanks her Lord every day

But even she does not understand,

"Only a husband and children will satisfy these people?"

"These people who do not know me, do not know what I stand for."

Young Maryam is now 30 years old,

Sitting in her one bedroom, one kitchen, cozy apartment in Chicago,

She remembers something on this gloomy day in April

She remembers what her grandmother once told her as a child,

"Free yourself and fly away, for those will capture and steal you away."

Now she understands what her grandmother meant. She had two options at the time after graduating, to either pursue her education and make a life for herself or settle down, search for a man, meet with his family, plan a wedding, have children.

Her grandmother told her to free herself, but she forgot one thing. Young Maryam was already free, not captured because she did not allow it. This just took her some time to realize.