Illustration by Megan Eloise/The Gazelle

With my perceptions of life already fused inside me, and my daily life contained inside its comfort zone, I revolted and decided to spend this Eid al-Adha break traveling with five people from across the globe. A pang of uneasiness accompanied the decision, but as I looked sideways and saw faces very different from mine reflecting similar emotions, I knew it was going to be alright. We would be just fine.

There were some hesitations in pairing up with completely different people for Eid break. We’d known each other for, what, three weeks? That did not seem like enough time to travel together, but those of us who did transcend those boundaries of reluctance found happiness in the most vivid of ways. In those moments of excitement, we discovered, perhaps by accident, the beauty of the people who surrounded us.

As I strolled down the busy streets of Sharjah looking for directions, I noticed the extreme diversity of our group. From the hot springs of Hungary to the Himalayas of South Asia, our members spanned the world. We were five individuals, representing not only five countries but many rich experiences, perceptions and worldviews.

While traveling, we engaged in conversations about everything from religion to music; maybe it was not so surprising to find that, beyond differences of appearance, we were all peers on the brink of adulthood, trying hard to make sense of a world around us. Maybe this was just the assurance we needed to prove that our cultural differences did not set us apart, but rather united us in the most subtle of ways on a path we could all agree on.

We are young, and our ideals about this university are big. We talk a lot about things like global leadership, cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism, but when the sun rose for Eid, we had been wondering whom we would like to explore the world with. Was it the people who shared our backgrounds, or those who added new colors to the palette? During my time in Sharjah, it was a trip to the Islamic History Museum that helped me realize the value of my own knowledge and experience. I saw the shine in my friends’ eyes, affirming that they looked upon me as a source of guidance, and I knew what I had accumulated over the years was significant. It mattered. There was no better satisfaction than knowing each one of us, without trying, provided insight from our own worlds.

Eid break gave us a new sense of appreciation for our differences, and lent meaning to what we have at NYU Abu Dhabi. There is a strange pride in being a part of something bigger. It makes no apparent sense, but there comes a moment when all the blocks fall into place, and we discover ourselves through lenses not our own. Those of us who ventured on our first journeys with people we never saw in our part of the world might have experienced a small glimpse of this moment. But there is a long path ahead. I know now that our four years in this place may never be describable to someone not a part of this university.