Embrace

by Justice Beverley

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”

There is a quote that goes "travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." It's something I carry in my back pocket everywhere I go. Any interaction can completely shift your perspective because of palpable experiences and it falls on you to define those moments. Whether it's a conversation, a simple gesture or even a smile, I am reminded that, regardless of language, look or location, we are all one people that see the same stars at night.

Equally, you will encounter seemingly negative experiences, but these are even more powerful than the former.

I have had my hair pet, my skin touched and some of my features pointed at. It's too easy for us to lean into certain thoughts and feelings we are predisposed to react with given deep rooted correlations shared from our own upbringings, semantics, insecurities, so on and so forth. And that's the challenge of traveling. Breaking through those moments of indignation and asking questions that remove you from the framework your entire life has been built off of. 

You are at the mercy of new rules.

It's a dangerous and simultaneously freeing thought. Looking right before left doesn't guarantee a safe crossing, your preferred utensils might not be offered at a restaurant and our version of freedom is non-transferable between some borders. None of these are good or bad, just new. And we find out more about us and our identities because of this. And hopefully by sharing, they do too.

Make a decision before you go, are you a tourist or traveler? Travel isn't a place you go to show, it's a space you go to be shown. 

Justice Beverley

Trip Mentor

‘Futurism and Sustainability in the UAE’

Spring Break 2025