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In the darkest corners of despair, sometimes a single lightning bolt can illuminate the path to unimaginable possibilities. I'd like to talk about a story of this pharmacy student whose dream was to make it to the United States of America.

After retaining his United States visa, that lightning bolt flicked for the first time, his aspirations were much more than a simple visit he wanted to pave the way for a future full-time stay in the United States by obtaining an internship.

He would later find himself accepted  into an exchange program, the second flicker of that lightning bolt but with no option to choose the state he would go to. This bundle of passion would you wind up with this “give or take” opportunity to fly into Mississippi, a state known to be the redhead hub, a state of racism with a long hefty history of slavery. The lightning bolt is no longer flickering.

How can he, as an exchange student go to the most dangerous state, being a person of color and a citizen of a Third World country ? The excitement turned to terror to what may happen to him, in a country, rooted in gun violence, and hate crimes.

Despite the horror of the thought, and the discouraging counseling from loved ones, this kid would certainly end up, taking the leap into a dark space of a map with no one to fall back on but a young pharmacy student from Mississippi, named Tanner, a proud Mississippi native, had seen his community unfairly labeled and was determined to change that narrative.

He would comfort and ease his worries in the most southern accent he said “look man I know what you saw on the news, but I promise nothing will happen to you man” “I’ll be with you bro it’ll be gas”. his first night was pretty terrifying, a friendly conversation between him and Tanner’s friends brought up a topic of gun possession.

Closing the door shut, he felt the weight of stereotypes, unsure if the people inside liked him. But when dawn broke, the fears melted away, leaving a rested and reassured soul. He would spend the best weeks of his life with the nicest, most generous, and most chatty people he had ever met.

He felt shame for his thoughts, and having fell victim to a narrative that focuses on the bad and never the good. He had a conversation with a pharmacist during his stay who asked “so what did you think of Mississippi”, he answered candidly, as the pharmacist Rob would reply back to him “I know. I would never leave this place. And most people who say this, and its a lot of em, have never visited here”.

This small town was not so small after all, it had the memories of all these people who belong, who love, and who would never forget where they’re from. There’s a feeling of patriotism and love of belonging that you can smell in the air, and that sets the tone for our conversations.

My story aims to invite you to dive into cultures and to experience things for yourselves and to challenge the narrative. The antidote to stereotypes is perhaps a journey to the unknown. That lightning bolt is now as bright as the sun.