I fidgeted anxiously in a metal chair, practicing my breathing. In a moment’s time, I would be addressing a crowd of nearly 1,000 people at a high school graduation in Cape Town, South Africa. The graduating students took up the first 10 rows, their parents the remaining 50. Multi-colored headscarves dotted the auditorium of the predominantly Muslim student body. They all watched with interest as the only white person in the room approached the podium. I took another forced breath, remembering the journey that had brought me here.