Salaamualaikum friends!

At a meeting this week, we were looking at this phrase on our calendar where we keep track of all our different projects and work, and it said, “It’s still summer, dammit!” We all sat confused for a minute, trying to figure out what that meant, what it was referring to.

Then it hit me.

Our Marketing Manager Noor had dropped that in there as a reminder that although everyone seems to start talking “back to school” as SOON as August hits (if not earlier), it is still summer, and let’s not rush into the next season of our lives! We all felt her hard. No one wants to let summertime magic be rushed out the door. However …

It is August, and in many places around the U.S. and world, school is starting this month. It just can’t be ignored, haha! At my house, my youngest is the only one left in school, and he was remarking at dinner time how many weeks he has left until the 10th grade grind begins. (Three. He has three weeks left.) So yeah, as much as we want to hold on to summer, school and fall is fast approaching. And this means one very special thing around Haute Hijab – HH Academy is back!

We debuted HH Academy last year at The Haute Take and across all our platforms, bringing you content, products and giveaways to help you get ready for back-to-school and fall season. Whether you are headed back to school or have a loved one who is, OR even if you’re not – this time of year hits with all of us as that time to get our stuff straightened out, get organized and get ready for a recommitment to our work, goals, projects, school, home, or whatever is important to you.

And so, HH Academy is back in August to help you get ready for school and whatever else you want to get ready for! We’ve got an HH school supply list coming at you (with all the hijabs and products you need to be able to get your hijab on and styled quickly and have the best of hijab days) as well as other prep pieces to help you build confidence, get organized and renew your intentions for the best of outcomes in all your activities and endeavors.

This month on the blog we’re bringing you a special series focusing on building confidence across all stages of life as part of our body of work at HH Academy. We want to understand what are the deterrents in your life to feeling confident in yourself and how you build confidence at various stages in life. We hope to hear stories from young women still in school or college, women in earlier stages of adult life, women in middle and later acts of life and so on.

In doing so, we hope to gain a better understanding about what blocks our self confidence, what helps us build it, and how we rely on it in healthy ways to pursue our goals.

This all ties into the growing body of work we are developing for you at HH Academy, a sort of library of knowledge, support and educational content around all aspects of a Muslim woman’s life, including her relationship with her hijab.

Also, stay tuned for more of Melanie through “Mondays with Melanie” emails that are in the works and her new broadcast channel on Instagram, where she is sharing her musings and thoughts and engaging with you on various aspects of faith, fashion, lifestyle and current events. And, we’ve got a very special thing we are getting closer to launching to further help you build your hijab confidence and style game!

So, stick around and check out what’s going on at The Haute Take this month and across Haute Hijab at large! As always, keep us in your du’as, as you are in ours! Take care, make good decisions and always start with Bismillah!

Editorially yours,

Dilshad