For 18 years, I lived a sheltered life on an island. Rather than the traditional sense of being sheltered, where one is kept from outside influences, I was not afforded the opportunity to experience anything outside of my small community. I grew up with only 27 channels on my TV, half of which were infomercial channels or PBS stations. My mom was fairly religious also, only letting us listen to country music when I was young, always calling Facebook “the devil,” and often finding ways to relate her religious views to our everyday life. Traveling wise, I had been to a few states in the U.S. but never experienced these places in a meaningful way, and I had never been outside of the United States. However, in the summer of 2016 I was given an amazing opportunity; a trip to Argentina through a program partnered with my school called the Experiment in International Living.

    The trip to Argentina had a focus on photojournalism and social change, and my initial reaction was indifference. I had hoped to go somewhere exotic, like Morocco or Thailand. I had no real connection to the program’s focus and Argentina seemed bland, too similar to the United States, but I would later realize how mistaken I was in that assumption.
    When I arrived in Argentina with 16 strangers, I was anxious about what I would experience in the next month abroad. I spoke no Spanish, compared to the strangers who all seemed to be fluent and prepared, and the phrase “out of my element” took on an entirely new meaning.
    For context, I lived on a chain of islands for my entire life, the Florida Keys. Before going abroad I had never considered what my culture or morals were composed of, even though I had been exposed to various cultures within the Keys and raised where LGBTQ+ acceptance is the norm (Key West gay pride is strong). My parents often avoided talking about “heavy topics” like rape culture or racism for example, so I had no knowledge of the many issues we faced in our world. We also grew up in a very diverse area, so I never saw the prejudice, only community acceptance of one another. My parents believed in the innocence of childhood, trying to keep my siblings and I from having a negative world view, so as a family we rarely discussed issues unless they directly impacted us.  Due to this upbringing, it made it difficult for me to understand that topics often had several viewpoints, and often when introduced to a new issue I was told of only one viewpoint, so there was never anything further to consider.  I didn’t realize that so much controversy could arise from personal choices, but this trip opened my eyes to so much I had been blind to previously.
What I found in Argentina was not what I expected. The atmosphere was alive and thriving, beautiful Buenos Aires had culture splashed all over the walls with fantastic street art and lively street performances. The darker sides of their history were displayed just as much as their positive accomplishments. Previously under a terrible dictatorship, they did not hide the misdoings of the corrupt government, as they had museums educating on the horrors that occurred and grandmothers held marches in the town center to get children taken under the dictatorship returned to their rightful families. I was amazed to find so much history and culture, but also astonished to find that people of color in Argentina make up very little of their demographics. In fact, the two black girls in our group were almost seen as a novelty, as many of the people we met were fascinated by their hair and skin color, and they were often blatantly stared at as we explored Argentina.  I found that though their culture was amazing and rich, it was also limited in demographics and religion.
    As I was immersed in more of their country and culture I began to learn more about myself and my culture or lack thereof. I had never identified with a culture as I had no strong ties to any one community or identity. The only “white” culture I knew was one of domination and oppression, not something with which I wished to identify. I realized that my viewpoints, though leaning liberal and being open by most standards, had been limited by lack of knowledge of the outside world. I was uneducated about anything outside of my white-washed and white-centric school lessons, and I realized how self centered my life had been. I became painfully aware of how little I knew outside my immediate surroundings back home, and I decided I wanted to see everything the world had to offer.
    The turning point for this understanding occurred when we were asked to choose a photo we had taken to present in an exhibition as part of our program’s focus. Guidelines for the project were to find a photo that spoke on Argentina’s culture, highlighting a social change movement, but also reflected our own culture or beliefs. I had photos of the cities and the people, but no clue which to choose, while everyone else immediately honed in on their topics, ranging from cultural norms of makeup in the United States vs. Argentina or the treatment of animals here vs. there. As I scrolled through my photos, a group leader pointed out one she found very insightful that I hadn’t even realized I had taken. The photo illuminated the two sides to a world-wide debate: the legality of abortion. (For background, Argentina’s official religion is catholicism, and their religion is heavily tied to their politics and culture, creating very conservative views within the majority of the population).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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    Abortion was not something I had ever dwelled on much, but I considered it a deeply personal choice and something I had no right to decide for others. I did not realize the roots of religion within the debate, as an atheist, and I did not understand the many reasons that a woman might seek an abortion, as this was a largely undiscussed topic in my home town. I realized how much I had to learn about the issue before I could feel comfortable commenting on it, and decided to take on the challenge and educate myself on the issue.
    I ended up choosing this picture for my project and as I learned more about both sides of the issue within the U.S. and Argentina I could see how limited my worldview had been. I tried to make the project unbiased, not advocating for either side, just laying out the issue for others to judge. This experience instilled a desire to learn more about issues outside of my own world, race, and culture. I wanted to understand what made others have the views they held and what influences were integral for their opinions.
    My project didn’t get much interest in the exhibition we held to show our pieces, and I understood why, as it was an uncomfortable topic. The photo meant much more to me than a means to praise anyways, because it allowed me to see beyond my own camera lens and get a much broader view.