CODE 123<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DR. SMITH<\/p>\n\n\n\n
REFLECTION #1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALEJANDRA BELTRAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This video addresses the “danger of a single story” and how narratives influence<\/p>\n\n\n\n
our perception of the world. Adichie shares her experiences of growing up in Nigeria,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
being an early reader and writer, but influenced by foreign books that did not reflect her<\/p>\n\n\n\n
reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story highlights how her exposure to different types of stories, especially<\/p>\n\n\n\n
those by African authors such as Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye, changed her<\/p>\n\n\n\n
perspective and allowed her to identify with characters closer to her own experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The impact of unique stories and how they contribute to stereotypes is explored,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
such as the case of the new servant Fide, whose family was reduced to the only<\/p>\n\n\n\n
narrative of poverty. Adichie reflects on how living in the United States also confronted<\/p>\n\n\n\n
her with stereotypes about Africa and how these unique stories are fueled by Western<\/p>\n\n\n\n
literature and economic and cultural power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Personally, I highly relate to this story because I have been through the same<\/p>\n\n\n\n
since I came here around two years ago. The idea that I had about living the American<\/p>\n\n\n\n
dream was different than the perception that I had before. When I came here and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
started making friends, they would ask me questions about my culture and often would<\/p>\n\n\n\n
be surprised that what they thought about it was not like that at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The text highlights the importance of having a “balance of stories” to truly<\/p>\n\n\n\n
understand people and places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She recognizes her complicity in believing in stereotypes, such as the case of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mexicans, highlighting how unique stories can lead to misunderstandings and personal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
shame. I love talking about this too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, the analysis reveals how our perceptions and understandings of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
world are shaped by the stories we consume and how these unique stories can distort<\/p>\n\n\n\n
reality and perpetuate stereotypes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I consider that we can use her idea that \u201cmany stories matter\u201d to guide us in our<\/p>\n\n\n\n
thinking about research by listening to different experiences and testimonies. There<\/p>\n\n\n\n
might be stories that would point to the obvious, which might not be visible to us based<\/p>\n\n\n\n
on our story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once we give each story the importance that it deserves we are going to be able<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to realize that these might broaden our vision and help us to grow in many aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is hard for me to describe myself right now without telling my story from the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
beginning cause my story is what has me in this position right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m Alejandra Beltran, currently attending SIUE pursuing a political science major<\/p>\n\n\n\n
with the goal of pursuing corporate law at a law school once I\u2019m done with my grad<\/p>\n\n\n\n
school. I moved to USA 2 years ago hoping to find better educational opportunities as<\/p>\n\n\n\n
well as wanting to meet people from around the world. With a naive and innocent<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mindset, I always thought moving to USA would be as easy as finding a place to stay,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
working, and going to school. I think the main reason of this perspective was the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
influence that these American TV shows had on me. Once I moved down here, I<\/p>\n\n\n\n
realized that some of the things that we hear or think we know about US are not true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, free healthcare, free college, and school system, just to mention some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I love listening to what others think about me no matter if it\u2019s positive or negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I enjoy learning how people perceive me before knowing my story and who I really am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve met many people that perceive a wounding and bitchy person by only seeing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
me. I agree that I usually have a serious posture, a non-friendly resting face, and might<\/p>\n\n\n\n
seem judgmental at first. Surprisingly this is what my closest friend right now thought<\/p>\n\n\n\n
about me when she first saw me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve also met people who perceive me as resilient, nice, kind and a positive<\/p>\n\n\n\n
person. People\u2019s perceptions of what a resilient, nice, kind, and positive person looks<\/p>\n\n\n\n
like may vary so that is something that influences that a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would like my own story, my personality, my positivity, and my character to<\/p>\n\n\n\n
define who I am. I would like people to perceive me as a person who has been<\/p>\n\n\n\n
constantly fighting for what she wants through hard and good times. I would like my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
value as a person to be based on that and not on my culture, my traditions, my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
nationality, my looks, my voice, my hair, or any superficial feature of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SOURCES:<\/p>\n\n\n\n