when i was younger i was really conscious about what people thought. especially as a teen. i think i still am to this day. but it definitely doesn't concern the same issues. i used to worry about what people thought about me being a muslim. and after a while i stopped caring. not about being a muslim. but about what people thought about me being one. and i'm happier that way. at the end of the day nobody really cares what you are. as long as you're not a threat. so i go about my own business as others go about theirs. i just wish i had realized that sooner. it's so much easier once you've made that choice to not care about what others think and know that your words and actions are only to please Allah swt. because up until that point that's what you believe. that you have no choice but to care about what others think. or how others want you to be. and for a while i had myself fooled. telling myself i really don't care what people think. but knowing it and acting on it a 2 different steps. jummah mubarak friends