PASSPORTS ARE THE MOST NORMALIZED FORM OF RACISM

Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to travel without having to prove myself first.

I've lost count of how many times I've stood at immigration watching people around me get through in a minutes, while I'm taken aside, questioned, asked for additional documents, and made to explain myself simply because of the passport I carry.

I understand that visas exist. I understand border controls. understand that countries have their own rules. That isn't what bothers me.

What hurts is knowing that, before anyone knows anything about me, my nationality can already determine how much suspicion, paperwork, time, and scrutiny I have to endure.

I've spent most of my life outside the country of my citizenship. I was born, raised, educated and lived in different countries. I've travelled to more than 30+ countries and have built a life that is, in many ways, more international than national.

Yet at a border, none of that matters.

The passport comes first and sometimes that feels incredibly unfair.

I chose to keep my citizenship because I still feel a sense of responsibility toward where I come from, they don't allow dual passports. Somewhere in me, there has always been a hope that I can eventually return and use everything I've learned and experienced abroad to contribute to my country and to the people there.

I just wish the world didn't make someone's birthplace such a powerful determinant of their freedom.

A passport is supposed to establish your nationality. It shouldn't define your worth, your intentions, or how much dignity you're afforded when you cross a border.

To those born with passports that open doors almost everywhere: genuinely, I'm happy for you. You were given a privilege you may not even realize you have.

You can't always appreciate the weight of a passport until you've carried one that makes you explain yourself.