Does My Head Look Big in This

The slide opened and I heard a gentle, kind voice:
'What is your confession, my child?'
I was stuffed. The priest would declare me a heretic;
my parents would call me a traitor...
The priest asked me again: 'What is your confession, my child?'
'I'm Muslim,' I whispered.

Welcome to my world. I'm Amal Abdel-Hakim, a sixteen-year-old Australian-Palestinian-Muslim still getting to grips with my various identity hyphens.

It's hard enough to be cool as a teenager, but try wearing a veil on your head and getting in the 'bums up' position at lunchtime and you know you're in for a tough time.

Luckily my friends support me, although they've got a few troubles of their own. Simone, blonde and gorgeous, has got serious image issues, and Leila's really intelligent but her parents are more interested in her getting a marriage certificate than her high school certificate.

And I thought I had problems...

A story of being true to yourself, standing up for your beliefs and finding your own way.