When a frazzled couple asked me and my friend to witness their wedding, I forgot my training in suspicion and began reconsidering my instincts

Growing up in a family of refugees, I was raised to approach strangers with caution. After experiencing displacement, my parents instilled in me the idea that trust had to be earned; they had seen the risks that come with being vulnerable in a new environment. Being wary of the unfamiliar was their way of ensuring we stayed safe in a world that wasn’t always welcoming.

As I got older, their anxieties became my own. I would automatically assume, for example, that someone asking for directions might run off with my phone, or that someone asking for money might scam me.