"grow From Within"

Smart strategies for pragmatic, science-based growth and sustainable achievement.

As a child, I struggled with low self-esteem and allowed other people's opinion of me to shape how I saw myself. I spoke with confidence at times, but deep down I always felt it was all talk. By the time I made it to high school, I was an expert at trying to fit in and hiding my self-doubt. I had finally figured out how to cope with low self-esteem, until my guidance counselor asked, "what are your plans when you leave here?" I told her I was going to college, but I could tell by the look on her face, she had serious doubts. It was at this time I learned my cumulative grade-point-average (GPA) was 1.973, and my class rank was 261 of 264. This was my wake-up call.

Interweaving my experiences as a Canadian Muslim woman, mother, (grand)daughter, educator, and scholar throughout this work, I write about living and narratively inquiring (Clandinin and Connelly, Narrative Inquiry; Clandinin) alongside three Muslim mothers and daughters during our daughters' transition into adolescence. I was interested in mother-and-daughter experiences during this time of life transition because my eldest daughter, Malak, was in the midst of transitioning into adolescence as I embarked upon my doctoral research.