Mersalle's Story
Mersalle Khaliqi
Tell me about yourself
My name is Mersalle, I’m a senior in high school and I live in PA. Both my parents were born in Kabul, Afghanistan but I’ve lived in America my whole life. I love music, baking, driving, iced tea, and the season autumn. I plan to attend Penn State University for Industrial Engineering this fall.
How do you maintain your islamic values in the school environment?
The struggle of exhibiting Islamic traits while being surrounded by constant unislamic influences is something I have yet to master. My method to accomplishing this is the reminder that the only thing that truly matters is pleasing Allah. Shifting my mindset away from caring what my peers think and only being pleased with myself when I do something that pleases Allah is the only thing I really wanted to accomplish by the end of high school. When there are no Muslims at school, work, etc., it feels like no one is holding you accountable for the things you say/do. Do things and think things that will increase your taqwa so that you always feel like someone is holding you accountable. Nothing else matters when you are focused on pleasing Allah and having this mindset is truly freeing.
What does being an Afghan American mean to you?
The Afghan American identity is complicated in my opinion, especially as a 2nd gen, because from what our parents have shown us, the language is artful, the food is comforting, nature has a special value, and islam has an irreplaceable presence. From what our schools have shown us, it is a backwards country, especially for the poor women. We know the west does not accurately depict…anything. But as women, we have to be grateful for our access to education, jobs, healthcare, and uncensored media. Although I mourn the huge amounts of afghan culture and language I have lost by being raised in america, we were given these lives here for a reason and all I can say is alhamdulilah. To me, being an Afghan American means you can create your own identity integrating things from both American and Afghan culture, but ultimately being an individual because no nation is perfect and neither are the cultural norms they create.
What is one advice you would like to share?
Do not concern yourself with meeting any human’s expectations. There will always be opinions not in support of your choices, and you’ll experience feeling too western or too eastern to fit in. Fulfilling your Islamic obligations is the only thing that matters. After this, your character will not fail you and important people will never be upset by you. Also, get a cat.
