My Story (Part 1)

It was around the time I was in either 2nd or 3rd grade. My teacher (or maybe it was a guest speaker. My memory is not 100% clear.) told us in class that the most popular name in the world is Muhammad. I thought this was strange as I never knew one person with that name.

I just turned 18 years old. Just graduated from high school and was going out to celebrate with all my friends. Living in Sicily at the time, my friends and I met up with some young Navy guys we recently met to go out with. I soon became very interested in one of them. His name was Muhammad.

After my brief moment with Muhammad, life went on as “normal.” Started college, made friends, dated various guys. . .you know, the “typical” life of a young college girl. At one point I started to become a lot more interested in my own religion at the time, Catholicism. My full inspiration (and even to this day for many things) was Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Subhan’Allah, what an amazing woman! It was even her that inspired me to start studying Social Work. Could there be any better Social Worker than one who literally helps others in the name of God? So at this time I was regularly going to church on Sundays, studying towards my degree in Social Work and dreaming of a future.
At one point my panic attacks started kicking in again (in high school I began the exhausting and terrifying journey of having panic disorder). These panic attacks got in my way of going to church and I even had to talk with all my teachers and work out a way for me to complete my courses without physically having to go into a classroom (my panic attacks got worse in such a setting). My heart felt so empty without the weekly services, but I continued to live as Christian-like as I possibly could without actually going to Church. I learned to pray my rosary and supplicated all the time.
New Years 2008 my family and I took a fun trip to Disney World. On this trip I met a man. He was working at Epcot in The World Showcase “Morocco.” He instantly became seriously interested in me. Even after two weeks of talking on the phone he was telling me he loved me and wanted to marry me. In my mind I was a little freaked out, but tried to calm my nerves by telling myself maybe this was just his culture. We also began talking about religion. He told me that God did not like my beliefs as a Catholic. Basically, he implied I would be going to Hell if I continued to believe Jesus was the son of God and God himself. Wait. . .hold on. . .Jesus is God? I never told him I believed that! Honestly, even after being in Church many times never once did I believe Jesus is God. Through reading the Bible this concept makes absolutely no sense. How could anyone believe this? Anyway, I told him I did believe Jesus was the son of God just as we are all the children of God, but never did I believe he was actually God himself.
Fast forward a month or two. This guy has other women on the side! Or maybe I was the side? I don’t know! Honestly, this didn’t surprise me. I had a deep feeling he was only trying to find a woman to marry for green card purposes only. Thank Allah I didn’t fall for this guy as if my life would end without him! Alhamdullilah! Life went on as “normal,” but I continued thinking about what he told me. God wasn’t happy with what I believed as a Christian. What exactly did he believe? What exactly is this Islam?

To be continued. . .

Coming Soon. . .

As most of us reverts/converts do, I will also be telling my story. The story of how I became Muslim. . .who wants to hear it?
I have the next 4 days off of work!! YAAAAY!! This gives me much more time to sit down and share my thoughts and experiences on this wonderful, and often times stressful, thing we call LIFE.

Elisa's Journey to the Truth Coming to Blogger World Soon!!

**As salamu alaykum**

The time has come lovies. . .

This blog has been developing in my mind for quite some time now. The chance has not come until this moment to actually start writing due to. . .well. . .not being able to get my thoughts together. I find writing to be incredibly therapeutic; therefore, it is essential I know how to express myself properly. After all, this is no secret diary to keep hidden under my mattress at night. Welcome. . .and let me introduce myself.

*Hey, guess what? I'm a MUSLIM!!!  ALHAMDULLILAH!!! Islam is, by far, the best thing to ever happen to me. It has saved me in so many ways, but mostly from myself. Saved me from the never ending questions in my head and the uncertainty of how to behave in such a world filled with little values and morals. How sad. May Allah guide us all on the straight path (Ameen).

*My name means "My God is a vow." Subhanallah! How can it get more powerful than that? My parents did good on that one. . .thanks Daddio and Mother Dear! Can you guess what my name could be? Try guessing before googling :-) Oh wait, I just realized my name shows up on my blog anyway. Wow. . .I'm a dork! HaHa

*I can officially say, as of June, I am in my mid-twenties, Alhamdullilah! Yoowza! When did this happen? Time goes by ever so quickly. . .which only means we are moving closer and closer to meeting our creator, Alhamdullilah.

*I have a few addictions. . .I feel it is better to be forward about our lack of control over certain things when they are present in our lives, so, it is my duty to let my readers know where I fall weak:

   -Daydreaming: Normally I daydream about a day when I will be wearing hijab. Sadly, I still do not feel strong enough to wear it. I long for it more than most people could imagine. When I see a fellow sister modestly dressed with a scarf around her head, my heart aches. Oh, how I wish I could be her! How I wish I could forget about what other people think of me and just put it on once and for all. It nearly brings me to tears thinking about it, but this is reality. Make dua for me. May Allah make it easy on me and all my dear sisters who long to wear hijab (Ameen).

  -Tea: Ok, so on a lighter note . . . I love me some tea! Coffee? Ew. No way! How could I ever turn my back on my darling, sweet, comforting tea? It relaxes me. It's my morning drug. I'm not discriminatory against any flavor. In fact, right now, I have three different loves in my kitchen. Red Label Orange Pekoe, Tulsi & Rose, and Himalayan Apple Spice. . .add a little honey and milk and you make one happy lady!

  -Kinder & McFlurry: Oh my! My knees go weak just thinking of my most beloved desserts. I felt almost as if a part of me went missing when I could no longer have Kinder to my disposal after moving back to America from Italy. Where, oh where has my darling gone? So, to alleviate the loss of my beloved Kinder, I began an affair with the delightful McFlurry. My favorite being a combo of Oreo and M&M's. Delish! Now guess what my lovies? I have recently moved to big city and have been reunited, once again, with my dear Kinder!!! Now I can have the best of both worlds!!

  -Blogs: I have diagnosed myself with extreme blog stalking. It's sad, but true. Whenever I can get my little fingers on a keyboard I'm in search for some blogger inspiration. Reading about so many other Muslimah's makes me feel less alone in this huge, crowded earth. Not only that, but I have learned so much from you beautiful ladies and you have all inspired me to be a better person. Alhamdullilah! May Allah reward you all greatly in this life and the hereafter (Ameen). I can only hope that maybe my own thoughts here will inspire someone else out there. Who knows. . .anything is possible, right?

*I grew up as a Navy brat. It's true. Perhaps one of the best aspects of my life (after Islam, of course). My family and I have traveled to many places and I have developed an undeniable love for the world. Travel is in my blood. When someone asks me where "home" is I simply say "The World." Have I seen the world? Well, not yet in its entirety. Insha'Allah, one day I will travel all over with my darling hubby. Who, by the way, is from Morocco!

This is all for now. I will use this blog as a means of communicating to the world my love for Islam and the world around me. One thing I learned nearly two years ago when I was beginning my journey into the most amazing religion and way of life is that you will never stop learning. It's simply amazing and my heart always yearns for more, alhamdullilah!

Salam<3