Willow

My name is Willow; my real name is undisclosed for security reasons. As a child, I grew up feeling like I never belonged. My older and younger brothers and I moved constantly with our parents and we now live in a lower-class area of a city in North Africa. I grew up in a turbulent household because of my parents' failing relationship due to my dad's alcoholism. This is a recurring issue in my home as my dad still struggles with addiction. Additionally, being the only girl in the family, there was always a lot of pressure for me to be religious (Islamic). This pressure even included the way I dressed; I was forced to wear a hijab until my junior year of high school. It was liberating to take off, but I still struggled with a lot of guilt for not being what my parents wanted in a daughter.

In high school, I went to my first Young Life club with my aunt. It was there that I met my DGL mentor, Abbey. She and I became very close, and we began to discuss religion and our beliefs. This was the first time I got the full picture of what a woman who follows Jesus looks like. I was no longer defensive about Islam like I was taught to be from birth, but instead I wanted to learn more about Jesus and I opened my mind that maybe what the Bible says is true. Throughout the first year of friendship and fellowship with Abbey, we spent time reading the Bible together and had many conversations about Jesus and what he did for me. There was no instant change for me, but over that year, I accepted Jesus into my heart. I decided along the way that I wanted to be a follower of Jesus and it was the best decision of my life.

I have a vision to become either a teacher, professor, or researcher. I’m currently studying English at a local university. I hope my education will help me achieve these goals and more. As a Developing Global Leader, I will be the first in my family to graduate from university. My leadership opportunities as a DGL student are so exciting and I am overjoyed to continue to volunteer with Young Life and help people just like me meet the Lord!