Meeting the Baby; I'm Nikita :)

Assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatulahi Wa Barakatu.

I really hope I spelt that right. My name is Nikita, a 17 year old "baby muslim," if you will, on account of my actual age and time I've been a muslim.  I took my Shahada August 18th 2012, right before the last maghrib of Eid ul Fitr. The first thing I usually get when people hear I converted is, "Masha'Allah! 17?!" I've never felt my age was an issue, to be honest. The truth is the truth, and regardless of age, recognition of the truth should be acted upon.

I'm growing up in a mixed race household. My mom was born and raised in India, while my dad is a mixture of most things European. I was raised exposed to both the Hindu and Catholic faiths of my family, never fully understanding either, always feeling out of place in both.
I'm far exposed, and proud more into my Desi (South Asian) heritage than my European heritage, and with that comes the religious aspects as well. For those who are also South Asian, I'm sure you can relate to the huge, close knit communities, and in that has come my fear of "coming out" about my faith.

I've been a muslim for almost 5 months, and not a single family member (or community member, Alhamdulillah) knows about it. I have a fear of them knowing; because I'm young, because of my extended family on BOTH sides, because my religious hindu family that raised me would be torn. For this reason, I am holding off on hijab, at least until I'm in college.

I live the diverse DMV area, thats DC, Maryland, Virginia for you, and we have a very large, welcoming community here. I sometimes think about my safety, I sometimes think about how my community would view me. Insha'Allah, with time, I will have the strength, and willpower to wear my hijab and keep it on.

I cant say I knew everything I was getting into when I took my shahada that day. The little things I used to love, (I was a nailpolish FIEND) suddenly became limited. There are days where I upset myself because I feel im not doing everything right, or that my actions are not pleasing my creator.

With time. It all comes with time.
Insha'Allah may you continue reading these blogs, whether a muslim or just a curious internet surfer, you can only learn, right? :)

Thank you for reading, and sorry for the grammatical errors; I love using commas.
Assalamualaikum,
      Nikita :)