It is easy to stay in your bubble.

When everything in your neck of the woods is coming up rosy, it becomes easy to neglect the news and brush off international topics for the simple reason that they do not apply to you. Many of us fall victim to this blissful ignorance for the simple reason that it is easier and less stressful. When epidemics break out in developing countries it is simpler to go on with your life and believe that it does not affect you.

When you think about the day to day, perhaps foreign policies simply do not affect your life.

I suppose it was the environment that originally forced my mind into thinking of the world as a collective organization rather than divided by states, countries, or even political parties. Regardless, I came to the realization that we are all fighting the war to survive and once the resources of this planet are depleted (not taking into account the possibility of figuratively running to mars) that's it.

Whether it is through different regions, customs, colors or ethnicities, the vastness of this world is consistently being divided making it increasingly difficult for people to feel that they can relate to their fellow neighbor.

This leads to my point. The importance of traveling.

I find that the more people travel, the less they see countries as simply places on a 2-D map. The less they see different cultures as scary and otherworldly. It is the very inability to meet and see the cultures in action that I feel leads to a divide led by fearing what you don't know. There are also the assumptions that follow the lack of personal experience. President Trump referred to African countries as "s***hole countries" and this is a common assumption.

What you might not know is that these pictures were also taken in Africa.

Lagos, Nigeriahttps://africa-facts.org/10-highly-populated-afric...

Nairobi, Kenyahttps://africa-facts.org/10-highly-populated-afric...

MAPP Africa works to spread a different, more updated view of Africa through their photography. It is their hope to share the beauty and end the stigma against African countries. Build Abroad also works to bring countries and people together across borders.

Overall, travel is humbling.

It makes you feel small and part of something greater than yourself. Think of how united this world could be if each and every individual felt that they owed something to the world that they live in.