Citizen of the World — Eli Harris
The unknown is where it began. The unknown thoughts surrounding my identity, sexuality, personal views, career choices, and life choices had me in a constant state of tug-of-war between my heart and my mind. It’s exhausting. After receiving the call from the co-founder of WYCO, Nathan Yates, offering me my dream job to co-lead the Lyra trip around the world, I immediately started to study the itinerary. I would be going to amazing places across Southeast Asia, Oceania, Australia, South America and Europe for 12 months. As many would be, I was very excited, but the unknown started to creep up and my stomach began to knot. Every new beginning, for me, is starting the process of ‘coming out’ all over again. It gets easier, but the uneasiness never settles. This time I’m joining a startup with a new team and traveling to places with different cultures and views that may not be ‘accepting’ of who I am at my core — a gay man.
I’m going to ask you to put yourself in my shoes for a minute (currently, a pair black Nike trainers). The thought of traveling to different cities and cultures around the world is exciting and it gives most people an adrenaline rush. After the excitement wore off, I experienced a mix of anxiety and angst. Which if you know me, might seem surprising as I live to travel and put myself in unfamiliar situations. But behind the scenes, I’m researching “What does X think of gays?” or “Are gays accepted in X country?” Many times there will be discussion boards relating to gay culture such as clubs, recent riots, ‘safe’ areas to be more open and such. It’s a constant reminder that the rest of the world might not be accepting of who I am. I’m constantly thinking — “Do they know? Should I tell them I’m gay? Do they accept or tolerate gays or worse — hate me for who I am?” It’s an interesting binary because I stand in a position of privilege as a white male from the USA. From an outsider perspective, I am untouchable. I appear as someone who is a part of the most-privileged and powerful category in the world. But to embrace who I fully am, and go beyond my exterior armor, I have many factors to consider when I approach the day-to-day, and go out into the world.
I still remember my interview process with the WYCO team and thinking of ways to nonchalantly bring up this core part of me without making it weird or awkward. But the moment to casually bring it up never happened, and I started to get a bit anxious. At the end of the interview with Sean Harvey, the founder of WYCO, he asked if I had any questions or if something else I wanted to share. It was right then that I went for it. I left everything on the table — “So, I would be the perfect hire as I have the startup experience, worked in the travel sector, have sales and recruiting experience… I’m debt free.. AND I’m gay.” This means I check all the boxes including the diversity box, which is an added bonus for WYCO.” To my relief Sean not only welcomed me, but did so with open arms.
As I continued conversations with Nathan, Sean, and the rest of the team, I started to feel at ease. Hiring me wasn’t about checking a box. Not only would I be welcomed within the WYCO community, but I would also be empowered to have a voice for the LGBT community. I’d work alongside the company leads to scout locations and research cultural norms and biases within those locations, all to ensure the experience of co-working and traveling around the world with WYCO is an inclusive and welcoming experience for all members of the LGBT community.
Travel should be a positive, life-changing, eye-opening experience for anyone who is willing to say YES to the adventure of it. No one should have to take a pass because of fear, uncertainty, or sensory. We have a long way to go in changing the ways of the world, but I’m proud to do my part in creating a safe space for Roamers all while building widespread support for LGBT individuals everywhere.
Want to talk more on this topic? Send me an email at — eli@thewyco.com
And if you’re interested in becoming a Roamer, submit an application here. One of our team members will be in touch!
