Adrian Corbin
A Single Story
The danger of a single story is a lecture by Chimamanda Adichie reflecting on her
life growing up being an African woman. Her lecture in a gist talks about how individuals
judge people off their first encounter with one another. Chimamanda goes onto explain in
her lecture how when she moved into her college dorm, her roommate asked if she could
hear some of the tribal music she listened to from her country. When Chimamanda
showed her roommate her collection of Mariah Carey music her roommate was in
disbelief.
Chimamanda in her lecture is showing to us how we all have our own perception
of an individual when we first meet them. I can one hundred percent agree with
Chimamanda statement that we all perceive a certain individual a certain way when we
first meet them. An example of this in my life is when I met my roommate Yingchao
Huang. He is an international student from China and this is his first time being in the
United States. Off our first encounter I assumed he didn’t know a lot about things related
to the United States but as time went by I was deeply mistaken.
One day when I walked into the room I heard him listening to music and I was
shocked by the music he was listening too. When I walked in all I heard was “Do you
ever feel, like a plastic bag…” I instantly asked him, “How do you know this song?” He
goes onto tell me when he was back home he listens to a lot of American pop music. We
then continue to speak more in depth about the music we like and how both of us really
like the song is “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys. Off our first encounter I
would have never perceived Yingchao and I to have a very similar taste in music.
I believe that uncontrollably we all make presumptions about individuals that are
sometimes never true about an individual. No matter how hard we try it’s a habit that is
very hard. As a future resident assistant I must take the time to get to know the residents
on my floor and hall. Also, to never make a presumption of any individual and to see and
view everyone with an open mind.