In 2016, Halima Aden's pageant journey at the Miss Minnesota USA came to an end when she was eliminated in the semi-finals. In retrospect, though, perhaps she didn't need the crown after all; she has always been a winner with or without it.
Before the pageant and her subsequent accomplishments (that include getting signed by IMG Models, becoming the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, and being appointed a UNICEF ambassador), Halima was her high school's homecoming queen. Receiving the title was not something that Halima, a Muslim immigrant, expected at all. "If you guys know America, you know prom and homecoming, that is a huge deal," she said. "And so that was a big deal for my classmates to elect a hijabi."
After seeing her in person during her talk at Jakarta Halal Things earlier in December, we could instantly tell why she won the votes. Friendly, positive-minded and kind, Halima can be considered a rarity these days, especially considering the fact that she’s a black Muslim girl living in today's America. During the Q&A session at the end of the talk, one audience asked her the one question that was no doubt also hanging in others' minds: "How are you so kind?"
We've put together a few select points from her talk to investigate.
"We always have a choice" is Halima's philosophy in life. Reactions and emotions, including negativity, are also a choice. "When I see the negativity, the backlash, the naysayers, I choose to look on the positive side. I choose to remind myself that is two-percent, and [I can tell those people,] 'I don't need your support. It's fine, you pull that, you have your way,' but I'm gonna focus on the positive."
It's easier said than done, obviously. But if someone who's gone through what Halima, a former refugee, has could do it, maybe the rest of us should try to do so. "No matter what, there's always a bad situation, but you can't let the word take away your smile, you can't let the world take away your peace, you can't let the world take away your joy, and you definitely can't let the world take away your values... Especially in America, it's not the easiest thing to be a black young Muslim girl... But again, I refuse to let people change who I am."
Halima at Jakarta Halal Things, December 2019
Having pure intentions. Halima lives by a code, and that is "Akhlaaqda," a Somali word that means "Behavior." In her mother's point of view, behavior is to be lady-like. "And it's kinda ironic, because she gave birth to me," she said, laughing.
For Halima, your behavior also includes how you treat people, and she always insists on having pure intentions. "Kindness," she said, "no matter what religion you are, you have to be a kind person. You have to have a good heart. And you know what? I make a lot of mistakes, but I always try to have pure intentions, you know. If [you do something with] a good-meaning intention, i think that's better."
Putting things into perspective. Born to a Somali mother, Halima spent the first seven years of her life in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States. She's credited her mental strength, dislike of camping and her big heart on her refugee experience, which she's described as "Amazing— On some days."
She elaborated, "If you don't know any better, it's a childhood. And I think that's where I got a lot of my values from. Now I don't break down over Instagram, because I remember what real pain is. I don't break down over, like, not having a lot of friends when I was younger, being teased, getting picked on, because I remember real childhood, like, not having food on the table 30 days in a row, malaria, scorpion bites... So in a lot of ways, I feel, like, I have this mental strength because of that experience in the camp. [Life in a camp] is not ideal, but it’s also, you have community, you have love. When people don't have a lot, they give love. And I think in a lot of ways, i will never trade that up.”
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Thumbnail image c/o Myleskalus
