According to conventional wisdom about hijab-wearing Muslim girls, I'm supposed to be soft and sweet. The name is Saleema Hussein and I'm a young woman hailing from the City of Red Deer, Alberta, with a story to share with you. I'm biracial, born to Imran Hussein, an immigrant father from Pakistan, and Salome Gutierrez, a Colombian-born Canadian author. I've lived in Alberta my whole life, and after graduating from the University of Calgary with a bachelor's degree in business, I decided to explore life outside the prairies. That's how I ended up in the City of Ottawa, Ontario.
Red Deer is a far cry from Ottawa in terms of size and diversity. Close to thirty percent of Ottawa's residents are people of non-European descent. I've seen a lot of Africans, Arabs, Chinese, Hindus and Hispanics in this town. In Red Deer, as a brown gal, I stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. In Ottawa, I can almost blend in. Walking around downtown, I see lots of people from all over the place. Man, I wish I'd grown up here instead of a small, redneck-style town in Alberta. I'm having fun in the Capital, a lot of people consider Ottawa the town that fun forgot but not me. Compared to Red Deer, it's like night and day.
Anyhow, I decided to have some fun in this new place since I didn't know anyone in town. I was raised in a Muslim household and my father was strict, so back in Red Deer, I didn't get out much. In Ottawa, I saw my chance to finally have some fun. I met some really cool people while visiting the Carleton University campus. I went there to inquire about their new MBA program, and met someone really cool after visiting the Sprott School of Business. A chance encounter destined to change my life, as it were.