I have decided that the only way we can get rid of the hatred in the world now is to escalate physical human interactions between people of various backgrounds. It sounds simplistic, and in theory perhaps I always knew this. But the last two years has brought it into sharp focus for me.
In these two years, I have met a thousand different people, from all sorts of walks of life. I met, and fell absolutely in love with: Peruvians who mothered me; American Jews who messaged me their support every time something went wrong back home and truly cared; Christian's from a variety of countries who are among the most pious people I know; Atheists who showered me with respect and were phenomenal friends; Indians who took me for ice cream when I was down, and stayed at the hospital with me over night when I burnt my hand, even with a final the next morning; Australians who became among my most valued friends.
People, whose backgrounds and religions I don't even know, who sent me boxes full of everything brand new that they thought I would need when I first came to the US, without ever meeting me, and drove many miles to come welcome me at the Boston airport; Chinese, Thai, Colombian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Canadian; People from Iceland, Russia, Greece, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, South Korea, Italy, Guatemala, Kenya, and so many more.
I found that Latin American culture is very like my own in terms of gender roles, and that Jewish mothers are as involved in their kids' lives as Pakistani mothers, and every person I met was a Good Person.
I met an infinite combination of religion, country of origin, orientation, and socioeconomic background, and every single one of them was a Good Person.
More than the places I went, the food I ate or the adventures I experienced, I am thankful for these people that I met, for it has taken away any excuse for racism that I could ever have had in my life.
In these two years, I have met a thousand different people, from all sorts of walks of life. I met, and fell absolutely in love with: Peruvians who mothered me; American Jews who messaged me their support every time something went wrong back home and truly cared; Christian's from a variety of countries who are among the most pious people I know; Atheists who showered me with respect and were phenomenal friends; Indians who took me for ice cream when I was down, and stayed at the hospital with me over night when I burnt my hand, even with a final the next morning; Australians who became among my most valued friends.
People, whose backgrounds and religions I don't even know, who sent me boxes full of everything brand new that they thought I would need when I first came to the US, without ever meeting me, and drove many miles to come welcome me at the Boston airport; Chinese, Thai, Colombian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Canadian; People from Iceland, Russia, Greece, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, South Korea, Italy, Guatemala, Kenya, and so many more.
I found that Latin American culture is very like my own in terms of gender roles, and that Jewish mothers are as involved in their kids' lives as Pakistani mothers, and every person I met was a Good Person.
I met an infinite combination of religion, country of origin, orientation, and socioeconomic background, and every single one of them was a Good Person.
More than the places I went, the food I ate or the adventures I experienced, I am thankful for these people that I met, for it has taken away any excuse for racism that I could ever have had in my life.
- Boston, 2015
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