“Follow your dreams, they know the way.”

Kobe Yamada

I dream of living in a world less divided. I dream of being able to build bridges across canyons of misunderstanding. I dream of gardening in refugee camps.

The “Grand Canyon” of misunderstandings is found in the Middle East, which has been painted as a chaotic & violent place. Although these elements have been part of their recent history, it has also had its place in ours. I refuse to believe that political circumstance would erase what makes us all human; the desire to connect, to share time, to be kind. I aim to look behind the curtain of a canvas tent & see our commonalities, rather than our differences.

I’ve been incredibly privileged to grow up in stability & peace. To get a university education & know that my family’s future is protected by their right to pursue happiness. To have friends and family able to uplift me and support me through my travels and my work. I can’t think of a more unfortunately opposite situation than a person displaced from war. A refugee, in my mind, is a person removed from their dreams for the future because of their uncertain present.

I’m under a spell to follow my dream, to connect to those they say are disconnected. Despite past travels, this new journey feels scary & uncertain. My only certainty is that I want to try. Through my experiences in the next few months, I want to give back & remove a veil of prejudice instilled around me. I’m ready to get a solid dose of reality, I’m willing to fail, & I am trying to learn. And I want to have fun(: