Modestly - Modestly

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Epub ISBN: 9781473550766

Version 1.0

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Ebury Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,

20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,

London SW1V 2SA

Ebury Press is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

Text copyright Dina Torkia 2018
Cover photography by Claire Pepper
Cover design by Imagist London

Dina Torkia has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published by Ebury Press in 2018

www.eburypublishing.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Designer: Imagist

Publishing Director: Lizzy Gray

Project Editor: Louise McKeever

Production: Helen Everson

Photography: Claire Pepper

Alessia Gammarota

ISBN 9781785035272

This is a story about life. Well, my life so far. Its about a series of unpredictable turns. Its about me as a Muslim Brit embracing dual identities, surviving the turbulent teens and transitioning from self-doubt to self-belief.

There is a little bit of drama, we may even shed a few tears together, but more importantly there will be a lot of laughs (mainly me laughing at myself). And, of course, the inescapable shedload of bold statements. You cant get a Muslim woman in a hijab with no opinion, am I right?! Even if they are mainly fashion ones

This journey of mine, well, its still a wide-open road, and I want to take you with me. Some of you have already been walking with me even running like mad at times but now I want to take a moment to look back on all the craziness and take a deep breath.

Right, lets go.

Dina x

In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.

Coco Chanel

Let me introduce you to the term halfie. Halfie is a term used by me, my twin sister and my group of friends for someone who is half this and half that like me. Im half Egyptian, half English.

I was born in Egypt, Cairo, in 1989 to an Egyptian dad and an English mama. Some of my earliest childhood memories are filled with pyramids, dust and donkeys. Yep, Im feeding the stereotype there. While much of the city is indeed dust, its also crammed to the brim with the busiest streets and wildest traffic jams youll ever see. In short, Cairo is a load of fun, sun and a whole lotta character.

England was also very much part of my upbringing. We spent many holidays with my maternal grandparents and extended family, until eventually holidays became something more permanent my parents decided to move to England. I was six years old at the time.

Unlike most kids, I wasnt actually too worried about moving abroad and having to fit in. Having a mother who is English and having spent my childhood in Egypt meant my twin and I grew up in an environment infused with both Egyptian and British culture. And language wasnt a problem either, as we were fluent in Arabic and English. So moving to Britain never felt daunting, it felt exciting.

Although we would miss our Egyptian relatives dearly especially our cousins, who were the same age as us, we were also looking forward to starting a new school, a new life and spending more time with our maternal grandparents.

We joined in Year 2 at our new primary school in London. The school run was a big contrast to the long, exhaustingly hot car journeys that we were so used to. In London we got there in seconds, as we were literally neighbours with the school gates.

On my first day I waltzed through those gates in a bright orange, floral-printed summer dress a far cry from the baby blue pinstripe dresses all the other girls were wearing. My mum had yet to pick up our school uniforms, but it was fine! I chose what to wear myself that day and I had my sister by my side, so I really wasnt too worried.

Then the inevitable happened for the first time ever I was put in a separate class to my twin. I walked into the classroom alone, not knowing what to expect. But then I breathed a sigh of relief and surprise to see the diversity of my classmates. Its safe to say I fitted in there more than I ever did amongst the kids in our Cairo class, which was only filled with Egyptian kids. Yeah, I was half Egyptian, but because I was also half English, I spoke English differently to them, and so I never completely blended in. In the London school, there were lots of people like us: Indians, Arabs, white kids, black kids, eastern European, mixed-race kids, so we felt it was a much more natural fit.

I quickly made a best friend, as you do at that age. Her name was Nisha Chavda and we did everything together, both in school and out. With a new best friend by my side, a mix of kids from different backgrounds and not forgetting a quick school run primary school days flew past in a carefree roller coaster ride of friends, excitement and learning.

Amid all that, my two younger brothers also came on the scene during my primary years. The older one was born when I was six, and the younger when I was eight. So being a responsible older sister was also in full swing!

The four of us have always been close, even if we are different. My brothers are not alike at all, just like my sister and I we are like chalk and cheese! But we love hanging out together, and I think that our differences in character have meant that both my brothers and my sister have always been my friends as well as my siblings.