Two years ago, Sofia Bock found what she had been searching for her whole life. For her, a connection to Islam felt real and empowering from the moment she stepped into a mosque.

“I heard the call to prayer and I immediately … my eyes filled up with tears,” said Bock.

Born to a Lebanese father and an Italian mother, Sofia was raised Catholic. In high school, as she grew closer to her Lebanese grandparents, she began learning more about her Middle Eastern culture. Her decision to convert to Islam was not easy for her family; she is the only Muslim in her family.

“I wrote down maybe three pages in the document explaining like how it made me feel, what I wanted to do, what I wanted them to know. And from there, they were a lot more open minded and willing to really start listening,” Bock said.

This open communication has helped Sofia introduced many elements of Islam to her family, especially her head covering, the hijab. The article of faith, she said, provides peace in her life, so it saddens her to see it demonized and attacked through xenophobia, which she says has greatly increased against Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

From being called “a walking bomb” or asked to take her hijab off, Sofia shares that these incidents have become so common that she has become desensitized to them.

“We're not all terrorists and all these big, bad people who want to blow everything up. That's just not that's not what it is. That's a specific group. And extremists. Islam is such a beautiful religion. And I think that people don't actually see that,” said Bock.

During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Bock has been observing a fast and praying.

“It's like an out-of-body experience that really makes you grateful for what you have and to have the food that you have, and to have the water and the drinks that you have and also know that you'll survive without that for the day. But it really makes you focus on prayer," said Bock.