where
you are.
is not
who
you are.


-- circumstances




by: nayyirah waheed, salt.
nayyirahwaheed.com
@nayyirahwaheed

She is a Diamond

I recently traveled to Abu Dhabi with family and friends. The purpose of the trip was almost exclusively vacation-based, but I was hoping for some type of spiritually reflective experience as well. In the days leading up to the trip, I was not feeling as excited as I should have. I could not quell the nervous feeling I had about traveling to the Middle East. It's not as if I have only traveled to cozy, Western nations, engaging in comfy Western amenities, and feeling completely socially accepted. In fact, I have never been to Western Europe, or even Canada. I have almost exclusively traveled to non-Western, homogenous nations, but something was making me feel uneasy.