Samira Abdellatif of Egypt

"Samira, you're a beautiful and strong woman, and nobody should be able to tell you who to love, or how to live your life," Jonathan said, looking into my eyes as he cupped my chin in his big hand. I looked up at him and nodded through the tears. We held each other like this, embracing gently. I felt at peace, and safe, in Jonathan's arms. For the life of me, I couldn't ever remember feeling so loved, so wanted and so at peace.

This was the moment when I began doubting so many things I'd once held deeply, like the rules of my Islamic faith, and male-female dynamics and roles in Arab society. I am an Egyptian woman, by birth, and yet, if I were to have sons and daughters by a non-Egyptian man, I couldn't give them citizenship. In the Arab world, one gains affiliation and citizenship through one's father. Everything is patrilineal around these parts.

For a long time, I agonized over my choices, and then one day, everything seemed perfectly clear to me. I had fallen in love with Jonathan Samson, and couldn't see myself with anyone else. I also wanted to make a life for myself in America. Oh, and although I still believed in the existence of a Supreme Being, I found the patriarchal, sexist and racist rules imposed by the male-dominated leadership of the Abrahamic religions too restrictive. I have faith, but no longer have any use for religion.

When I informed my aunt Fatima that I had fallen in love with Jonathan Samson and wanted to go to America with him, she was incensed, as you can imagined. She called me a traitor to my Islamic faith, and accused me of abandoning the tenets of Egyptian Arab culture, and of insulting the memory of my dearly departed parents. All of these insults and accusations I endured stoically.

"You've shamed our entire family," Aunt Fatima said to me, then she slapped me across the face and spat at my feet. With tears in my eyes, I walked away, trying to hold my head high. I left the lovely old house I'd called home for years and years, never to return. I went to Jonathan's place, and after taking one look at my face, he knew.

"Samira, I love and cherish you, and I promise you're going to be okay, I'm with you until the day I die," Jonathan whispered into my ear as he hugged me. I hugged him back, and leaned my head against his shoulder. Everything was happening so fast, and I felt so untethered...until he reassured me. I was about to graduate from university, and should be celebrating. Instead, my life was unraveling and changing in unexpected ways...

As it turns out, Jonathan Samson is a man of his word. Using his contacts with the U.S. Embassy, he helped me get a visa to travel to America. We boarded a flight to Europe, and then made our way to Washington D.C. I still missed Egypt, and my aunt Fatima, and my old friends, but I was determined to embrace my new life in America. With Jonathan by my side, I felt like I could do anything.

Jonathan Samson and I got married, a year after I first set foot in the United States of America. I am now a permanent resident of America and it has made my life a lot easier. We got a nice house in the wealthy Palisades area of Washington D.C. and Jonathan got a teaching position at Howard University, his alma mater. I began working at Northern Trust, a wealth management company that was looking to hire international talent. All in all, our new life was off to a nice start.

Right now, in this very moment, I'm working at my desk on the seventh floor of Northern Trust downtown office, preparing for a big meeting tomorrow. Pritam Incorporated, one of India's fastest-growing tech companies, is looking to expand into the North American market, and they need help from us at Northern Trust. As I'm a savvy businesswoman and quite good at dealing with people from diverse cultures, unlike most of my American co-workers, most of whom are a tad bit out of touch, I am looking to land this contract for Northern Trust.

Leaning back in my chair, I smile as I gaze at the sprawling metropolis that is Washington D.C. Life is good. I've really grown to love D.C. It's got President Obama, kick-ass restaurants, a vibrant culture, a rich art scene, great business centers, and so much more. Seriously, I've embraced D.C. and I cannot thank my dear Jonathan enough for bringing me here.

I've got thirty minutes left in my work day, but that's not the only reason why I'm smiling. Earlier, I went to the doctor at One Medical, a local clinic, to get checked up due to the weird fatigue I'd been feeling lately. I thought I was just overworked. The doctor, a tall and lovely, serious-looking Jamaican-American lady happily informed me that I'm pregnant. I feel thrilled and terrified by this new development, and can't wait to share the news with my husband Jonathan once I get home. Wish us luck on this new journey.