This may seem pretty cliché, and it is. But I’d like to share my perspective with you, one that I’ve gained through many moves around the US (and the world).

People are incredibly regional. This is part of why America is so awesome, its huuuuuuuuuuge and there’s so much room for cultural diversity. But, we are definitely products of our environment. Since I did most of my growing up in the midwest, I have a very ‘midwestern demeanor’. This is fine by me because midwesterners are super nice -they’re my favorite so far. I got to spend more time on the west coast, so by now I’ve sprinkled some west-coast attitude in, but I have to admit that I also am a product of where I was raised. Even if I’ve moved around a lot.

In my experience, there are even massive cultural differences in communities only an hours apart. Here are examples;

Peoria, IL is way different from Chicago (blue collar ‘if it plays in peoria’ vs way diverse liberals)

Bellevue, WA is way different from Bellingham, WA (Bougie capitalists vs Hippie sustainable economy and composting anarchists)

West Lafayette, Indiana is way different from Indianapolis and wherever IU is, I forget (thankfully).

Gainesville, FL is way way different from Miami (the South vs latinx culture)

You may be saying, okay well this is obvious. My point really is, you don’t need to go far to gain a different point of view. But, you do need to do it. Traveling, even just a few hours, is a means of gaining knowledge and perspective that you wouldn’t otherwise have had a chance to get. You are a product of your environment and its important to acknowledge that. Staying in a 100 mile radius of where you were born and raised is like living in an echo chamber. It promotes tunnel thinking and closed mindedness. Its becoming more dangerous as the internet exponentially divides us further into our own catered content.

Traveling internationally is a privilege, but it has taught me more than many a classroom did. Again, that’s probably obvious. But, my greatest example was my trip to India. You may know by now that I’m a fan of equal treatment for men and women, and India is not. Does that mean I went to India and hated them for it? NO! I wore my headscarf and covered my skin and I respected their culture and I learned from it.

Contrary to what I thought going in, I learned that typical young Indian women are excited about arranged marriages. I learned that domestic abuse isn’t even a crime in India, and I occasionally saw women beaten by their husbands. I learned that saris and headscarves aren’t a means of covering up, the colors and patterns make them glamorous and coveted in women’s fashion. I learned that India is incredibly tolerant of different religions with large populations of Hindus, Muslims, Sikh, Buddhists, and Christians. I learned that Indians do vegetarian cuisine the best, but Muslim food is the bomb. I also traumatically learned the Hindus love to sacrifice baby goats to the gods, but hey are vegetarians anyway. I learned about the history of colonialism and the duplicity of help and hurt the British provided with colonialism. I quickly learned that drinkable running water is a luxury that very very few enjoy (beside the West). I also learned that entire populations of the world are persecuted for no good reason. I met refugees from Tibet and in the mountains of Thailand who had simply been born in the wrong place and the wrong time. They grew up in refugee camps with 50,000 people, no education, rations, and limited drinking water. The products of civil war, innocent humans were born in captivity and they may have to stay their entire lives just to survive. Ultimately, I learned that India is everything it is not all at the same time, kinda like America. Beyond living without running water, using squat toilets, and avoiding ice and uncooked food, I learned about a culture that was different that mine. Those stories and that knowledge changed my worldview and my perspectives forever.

A final thought, if you’ve never traveled, your opinions on international relations are invalid. Really, don’t bother to advise me on anything if you don’t have a passport.