Last year’s election season was rough.
No matter who you wanted to win, political tensions rose to an all-time high. Suddenly, it became obvious that these differences would be hard to overcome. Where politics had once resulted in heated conversation, they were now causing much deeper rifts between family members, friends, and neighbors.
A year later, and things aren’t looking much different.
The divisive atmosphere seems stronger than ever, and it’s clear that this sort of attitude isn’t about to change anytime soon.
But it’s important to remember that we all have a lot more in common than what separates us. And that’s what best friends Yasmin Idris and Casey Pearlman can teach the world.
During a car ride the girls were taking together, they started talking about their respective religions.
Yasmin is Muslim, while Casey is Jewish. When they began discussing the tenants of their beliefs, they realized something magical – both of their religions shared a lot of the same ideas! Hence, their special word “Juslim” was formed, which is a term for the values the two religions shared.
Casey’s dad, Jeff Pearlman, coined the term, and it quickly caught on in the girls’ lives. But then, Halloween 2016 came along, and they wanted to find a costume that they could wear together.
Their solution? They turned their word “Juslim” into an idea for a costume: superheroes who fight intolerance and close-mindedness every step of the way.
They caused a sensation on the internet.
Casey’s dad is a best-selling author with thousands of followers online, and when he posted the picture of his daughter and her best friend in their costumes, it went viral almost immediately. People loved the duo’s gusty and clever costumes.
The rest of the internet had a similar reaction. Responses came from all over the world to tell the girls how inspiring their mindset was.
All over, people were warmed by the fact that young people were embracing their differences instead of using them as a platform for arguments and hate.
But to Casey and Yasmin, it didn’t really seem to be a big deal.
While they were certainly proud of their costumes, they definitely didn’t think that they were making any kind of statement. The fact that they are best friends despite their differences seemed normal to them – and that’s what’s most amazing about this story.
Casey’s mom, Catherine, said:
“To me, their biggest statement is that it wasn’t a statement to them. They don’t feel different to each other. They feel like eighth-grade girls.”
While describing their relationship, Yasmin told Buzzfeed, “We’re a super team. Like, friends forever.”
We can all learn from people like Yasmin and Casey.
They can see past each other’s differences because they are more aware of the fact that they are so similar. And that doesn’t change when you grow up. It’s just that our differences in beliefs and opinions become so much more obvious when thrown into relief by the shadow of adulthood. But by following the lead of such intelligent, kind, and thoughtful young women, maybe we can remember that we all, no matter our beliefs, just want a little happiness and friendship in our lives.
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