Al'hamdulilah, day 2 is done. I'm exhausted after Taraweeh, but my heart feels full of gratitude and happiness. Al'hamdulilah, I'm surrounded by an amazing community at the Harlem Islamic Center – a group of young men, ages 16 to 30, coming together for the sake of Allah.

During Ramadan, we work together to prepare, host, and run the masjid's iftar program. For the past three years, Ramadan has been the best time of year for me. Obviously, Ramadan itself is an incredible privilege, but being with these guys for 30 days straight has positively impacted my mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

The truth is that I really struggle with the way of life in America. Individuality is at the heart of everything here. Everyone for themselves, fighting for that American dream. I don’t see Family prioritized here, community isn’t valued as much, and everyone seems to be focused on their own plate. I struggle with this way of life and reality. I’ve learned to adapt, but it really takes a huge toll on my overall well-being.

This is not how I grew up. I grew up in the Ivory Coast where we didn’t have much but we had each other. We lived a community centric approach to everyday life. I was truly raised by a village. In school, we weren’t competing against each other but for each other. When my family didn’t have enough to eat, we shared a plate with the neighbors who were more than happy to share. Me, my friends, and cousins all had our own dreams, but our dreams were connected to each others’.

Life in America has always been pretty foreign to me in that way.

So, today, day 2 of Ramadan 2024, I sat in a circle with my brothers, breaking our fast, and felt a deep sense of peace that is usually associated with backhome for me. I see how invested we are in each other's lives. One of us made milk tea for the whole group because everyone loved it yesterday. We fill in for each other's weaknesses and rely on each other's strengths. For this month, I can escape the individualistic pressures of everyday American life. I'm so thankful for these brothers on this journey in the Dunya.

After Ramadan, we'll all get pulled back into the rhythm of America... but for the time being, I am really enjoying just being here and the opportunity to be part of something so much bigger than me.