Response: The Danger of a single story

Storytelling has always been a passion and skill of mine. Born from a love of books and movies, storytelling started as a gateway to new worlds and became a way for me to let others cross the threshold over into my own truths. The point Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie makes in her talk The Danger of A Single Story significantly reflects the main reason I hunger to tell and learn new stories. Stories hold immense power. They facilitate communication and record-keeping; they act as tools of persuasion; they inspire and inform. With so many capabilities the story is a tool/resource. Just like any other tool/resource, there has been a long-waged battle over who gets to wield it and who does not. I belong to several groups whose powers to story tell have been intentionally undermined, and yet we have still crafted beautiful tapestries of identity, experience, and narrative. Unfortunately, as discussed in The Danger of A Single Story, because these stories are intentionally blocked from mainstream platforms an inaccurate picture of us dominates and because of it our true needs often go unmet. Harnessing the power of storytelling to help other people carve out their own stories of the future is a big reason why I am pursuing creative and tech-based work.