From Bias to Bond: How Openness Changed My Trip

On a National Millennial and Gen Z Community field trip to San Francisco, I was faced with the reflection that bias and judgment are the greatest barriers to understanding. This was my second trip with NMGZ, and my experience was vastly different because of one key factor. On my first trip, I was accompanied by someone I knew from my school, but on the second, I was by myself.

Having someone to go with felt like having a built-in buddy from the start, which sounds nice in theory, but it meant I had little incentive to take risks and meet new people. During activities, bus rides, or small moments, I naturally gravitated toward the person I already knew. Comfort and familiarity took priority, so I spent most of my time with my friend.

This time, going on the trip alone felt daunting at first. I worried I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to or that it would be awkward, and I wouldn’t make connections. But from the moment I landed and met the first group of people at the airport, everything felt different. People were welcoming and excited to be there. Most of us didn’t know many others on the trip, so everyone was eager to share new experiences.

At the end of the first day, I noticed I was spending time with the people I had first met at the airport and during our initial group activities. So, for the rest of the trip, I made a dedicated effort to spend meaningful time with every single person in the group.

While I try to approach everyone as openly as possible, like everyone else, I have a subconscious bias about who I might or might not connect with, so it is easy to hesitate or hold back. However, the more time I spent just listening and talking mindfully without projecting my fears or biases onto them, the more I realized how much we had in common. Not just surface-level things like favorite colors, but deeper connections through upbringing, values, goals, aspirations, and struggles. I was blown away by how uniquely I bonded with everyone.

This trip reinforced that openness is so much more valuable than the fear of being wrong or putting yourself out there. What I love about this community is that it allows me to learn from people with wildly different perspectives and backgrounds while approaching every conversation with curiosity and neutrality.