Noor Ahmed was a 13-year-old Folsom, Calif., seventh-grader when she decided to start wearing a hijab.
At an age when fitting in typically is the top priority, she decided honoring her Muslim faith was more important.
It was an emotional decision. Even at her age, the American-born daughter of Egyptian immigrants knew it would have consequences. Ahmed guessed she would lose friends in an increasingly anti-Muslim environment and relationship dynamics would change, and she was correct.
"Some people just said she's not one of us anymore," she said of those who turned their backs.
In her time of turmoil, the First Tee of Greater Sacramento and the golf community stepped up. The First Tee is a "youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people," according to their website. Before her initial First Tee outing after her decision to wear a hijab, Ahmed was nervous about the reaction her headscarf, and public covering of her arms and legs, might elicit.
"No one seemed to notice," she said. "No one seemed to care. I was just the same kid. I was just Noor. It was the best response."
It was so First Tee.
