 |
| Follow Hani at @BabyKhosh on Twitter & Instagram |
I get along with most anyone. Living
at Loyola during the summer was always one of my greatest pleasures. I
enjoyed the summer schedule more than the regular semester, so during
the break between my Junior and Senior years, I had the pleasure of
living with Hanyeh Khoshnevisan, now known as Hani Hulu, Fashion specialist for JWWWD Magazine.
Religion is a weird topic. It's so heavy
that I sometimes feel it becomes burdensome. Now, I don't have any
particular feelings about religions other than my own (how can you judge
what you don't know), but it doesn't take long to realize Hanyeh is
Muslim - dope headwrap to match. If you take a moment to read her blog,
my favorite part is where she speaks on being a Muslim woman, "I like
to prove we are not oppressed or less than others just because we
are Muslim or because we cover. In reality, we are among the strongest
women around." Sometimes, when I see a girl who covers, I try to tell
them about Hani and give them our card. One girl I see on my commute to
work semi-ignores me now. I say "Hi" on purpose *shrugs* I don't care. I
don't have much real live conversation with Hani (or anyone else) so I
didn't want to butcher the word "hijab" & I'm afraid she might have
checked me off as an idiot. I know I'm fairly ignorant of the details
of that side of the world, but I do know we're human. As much as
we need to teach each other, we need to be willing to learn. Hani is
here just as much for girls like her as she is for those who have no
real knowledge of her culture. I'm honored to introduce Hani Hulu as JWWWD Magazine's official Fashion Specialist (I still hate the word blogger & Hani deserves a fancy title).
Not only do I believe Hani is an amazing individual, but her closet is dope. We didn't talk too much about fashion while we lived together, but I never felt any way about what she wore: Which is an amazing thing.
I remember her drawer full of scarves and how I wanted to dive in so
badly. Her style has both maintained and blossomed since that summer.
Hani has an amazing eye for detail, making each piece she puts on or picks up a masterpiece in its own. I love her style because it can be worn. On her site,
she posts outfits for going out with friends, family events and (which I
honestly don't see enough of) going to work. I've had many
conversations in the past about how fashion shouldn't be important at
work and how work outfits are "boring" but it really doesn't have to be that way. I love Hani's contributions to JWWWD because they're real life.
These are simple outfit ideas and inspirations that are easily
accessible and imitable (but I'd encourage you to put your own spin on
it).
While we lived together Hani and I spoke about music, TV, classes... regular roommate sh*t. The only thing that
sucks about summer roommates is you don't have much time, 2 and a half
months, to get to know that person. Especially when I was barely on campus. Hanyeh and I had one conversation
concerning religion at about 3pm on a weekday. I had run away from my
work study & brought friends over for delightful discussion. I
recall we spoke about the Koran but can't remember much else. The only
thing that truly stands out in my memory is how level-headed,
attentive and understanding Hani was throughout the conversation. I
never asked her much about her religious or cultural customs, as you can
only know someone's mannerisms by watching --and the only thing that
truly matters to me is the relationship between two people as
individuals aside from the private concerns we each may have. The other
thing that stood out about that conversation was that, before a man
would enter the house, Hani would always go to our room and wrap her
hair. "Can you have him wait?" she had asked. Of-f*cking-course, I had
thought.
In
my opinion, the most beautiful thing about the Muslim faith and way of
life are the distinctions between men and women as well as the
guidelines of their interaction. I'm not fully versed in the rules.
I know a woman should have her hair covered in front of men who are not
part of her family. I believe there's a similar caution for dancing.
But, as with many other things affected by time, people choose to abide
while others don't. I believe it is easier to quit your faith and live
"free" than it is to constantly concern yourself with the messages from
your higher power. The fact that Hani didn't hesitate to do what she had
to so was admirable. I respected her for that. Especially as a college
student, she could have opted to stay as she was and break rules. Who
would we have told? Still, the private conversations we have with
ourselves are the most testing. Little does Hani know, but that simple
action of wrapping her hair exuded the strength I aim for myself. I
believe it takes an unnoticed amount of strength to say "no" to someone
you're interested in. To save yourself for that person & to hold
back... even if it is "just" your hair. I enjoy being separate from men
and trying to understand what they truly means to me as well as
in the grand scale of things. I think there's incomparable beauty in the
ideas of womanhood, chastity and honor - ideas that should be
highlighted more in all societies. I don't know Hani's personal dealings, but I admire the thoughts that come to mind when I think of her.
Fashion scares me.
I've read through many "fashion blogs" and most times, I'm a bit
disappointed. I believe that the reason people look down on fashion is
because it has the tendency to lack depth and purpose. I enjoy Hani's
site because I see her shine through and the end product is brilliant.
Hani is a normal person. She's currently pursuing a career in
accounting & you can check her elevator pics to see what she wore to
work on any given day. She's gorgeous. Inside and out! She
highlights artists and people she knows and even does give-a-ways. At
the bottom of each of her posts are readers commenting on how much they
enjoy her site and her persona.
I love Hani's existence. I believe hers is a presence that should be experienced. She is extremely important here at JWWWD Mag
as well as to the rest of the world. People should be able to look at
one another without so much prejudice and hesitance. We should learn to
respect each other as individuals. If, by chance, there are ideas we
don't agree on, we should be willing to sit and listen to the other
person. To both teach and learn. We should embrace our differences
--that doesn't mean we have to adopt them. The choices we make in our
individual lives are those of our own. It takes so much strength to revel in the characteristics about yourself people judge the hardest --especially since it's usually those exact characteristics that make us most beautiful.
Thank
you, Hani for joining the team. We're grateful and honored to have you.
& sorry this post took forever. You have been and will continue to
be appreciated :)
To the rest of you: I hope you all enjoy Hani Hulu's contributions as much as I do. She just keeps getting doper :)
Blessings all.
ELLA
Please #follow Hani at @BabyKhosh
on Twitter & Instagram!
