As a child surrounded by different cultures and religions, I never truly recognized the distance between my faith and the world around me. This distance was hard to recognize when I was a kid, as it never presented itself as overt or stereotypical discrimination. Instead, it surfaced in subtle moments–others automatically assuming I celebrate Hanukkah since I don’t celebrate Christmas, others asking if I can drink water during Ramadan, or others asking why my mom wears a scarf over her head. These moments were never meant to be unkind, but they gradually built up to this past year where I recognized how my Islamic beliefs and traditions were not fully understood, inciting myself and many others to take initiative for a well deserved cause. 

After years of complaints, arguments, and persistence, our community in Northern Valley has convinced the Board to include both Eid and Diwali in the school calendar as official holidays. Having spoken at the Board of Education meeting, I saw how the subtle hints of discrimination I had felt as a kid weren’t only mine, but shared by all of those who attended that meeting. 

The decision to include Eid as a school holiday means a lot to me as a student in NVOT. Every year on Eid, myself and many other Muslim students had to face a tough decision: we could skip school and celebrate the holiday, or skip our holiday and attend school. Skipping school meant we could enjoy the festivities of Eid with our community, but were then piled with double the work the day after. Our district originally had addressed this issue by creating policies that prevented homework on certain holidays, yet failed to address the key aspects in a student’s daily academic life. Policies like these seemed supportive on the surface, but still allowed for tests to be given the next day, projects to be due soon after, and additional classwork to be built up. 

Though making up missed work and studying on the holiday was a major inconvenience, it was not the largest issue us Muslim students faced. The deeper issue was the failure to recognize and acknowledge Eid as a significant holiday, one that holds just as much meaning for Muslim students as Christmas or Hanukkah does for others. In doing so, Northern Valley had allowed cultural ignorance and misrepresentation to grow, widening the gap not only between Islam and our community, but Islam and Muslim students. Lack of recognition created a subtle but noticeable disconnect, where Muslim students felt as though their faith and traditions weren’t properly valued or understood. 

Now that we have finally received a day off, a deeper sense of recognition and inclusion is apparent within our community. Acknowledging lesser represented holidays like Eid and Diwali has helped bridge the gap between different cultures and religions, allowing us to feel truly integrated in the community.

By recognizing these holidays, Northern Valley has fostered greater understanding and respect, not only among students, but within the entire community. This recognition not only enriches the educational experience, but also strengthens the bonds that bring everyone together, creating a school environment where diversity and unity are truly achieved. My hopes are that now, the next generation of students won’t have to experience the same distance and discrimination I felt as a kid, allowing them to thrive in an environment where their traditions are not only acknowledged, but respected and celebrated.