I just watched the TED talk from Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie and in one word, it was awesome.
Chimamanda Adichie talks of how she learned that there is no one story for any one, any place or any thing. As I listened to her experiences of misunderstanding because of only knowing one story, I thought of my own assumptions, my own beliefs about people, places and events. I thought about how easy it is to read or hear a story and believe it to be the only story. I don't think that we intentionally set out to only know one story, but rather I think in many ways it is easier to only know one story. It's comfortable to read "our" newspaper, watch "our" news and read "our" books. Change is difficult. Changing how we see each others, how we view the world around us I think might be the most difficult kind of change. I know from personal experience that I find myself completely thrown for a loop when I have to change my view or perception of a person because I have learned more about them or they have done something that I believe is out of character. I have to stop and look at myself. Look at how I came to my understanding of that person and I am forced to change how I view that person. Because of Chimamanda AdichieI, I hope that in the future I strive to find the other stories.