CNN PRODUCER NOTE     amandak41 posted this photo of her daughter, Harpreet, who is starting college this fall and wanted to send a message to the public. Harpreet posted the photo on Facebook and Twitter, and her mother sent it to CNN.

Harpreet told us: 'With this image I wanted to let my community know that, yes, my skin is brown and my hair is dark but that does not make me and my family Muslims or terrorists, and we are just as American as the people that immigrated here when America was first established.

'In this small community that I live in, most people are small-minded; they do not see anything further than the city limits, or the church on the corner. Most believe that there should be no other way other than the Christian way of living. I am not saying that they are wrong because, just like me, they have the right to believe in anything that satisfies them, but they do not need to say others are wrong for believing in other things.'

Hear Harpreet in her own words, and see other testimonials from Sikhs around the country.
- dsashin, CNN iReport producer