Something that I was given as a child that I always took for granted was an education. I have been in school for over 19 years. And yes, as a child, I wasn’t a fan of school. That is, until I realized that the difference between being educated and uneducated is incomparable. You are much more likely to succeed with an education. Reading is another skill that I believe is incredibly underappreciated by many people. Given that, getting a proper education and reading not only opens doors, but it guarantees a better life.

Today, one of the most pressing issues is ignorance. Of course, everyone is a little ignorant, no one truly knows everything. But, it is so important to be continuously learning, reading, and taking every opportunity you can to try something new. In a Ted Talk in 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discussed the danger of a single story, a single perspective. More importantly, she told the stories of how she experienced ignorance first hand with many students and teachers when she went off to college. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is Nigerian.

She grew up in a primarily wealthy family where she was educated and learned how to read and write. When she first came to college in the United States, many people were surprised to find that she listened to “American” music. She didn’t represent what these people had pictured of when they thought of “Africa." She spoke English, wrote stories where the characters were all white, and listened to Mariah Carey.

In a more recent example, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was being interviewed by Caroline Broué, a French journalist, when the journalist asked her - I kid you not:

If they had bookstores in Nigeria.

Not only is this terrible journalism, because the journalist should have completed prior research on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to see that she is one of the most popular novelists in Nigeria, which means that they sure as hell have bookstores, but is also incredibly ignorant. In the end, why would that have even crossed her mind while interviewing the celebrated novelist? There are obviously millions of people with great knowledge in Nigeria who would want to buy a book like any other human. Her response was sarcastic, passive-aggressive (you can’t blame her though), and brilliant: “We do, shockingly.”

My dear friend sent me this video, knowing I’m a journalism major. As I watched and read it, I was extraordinarily uncomfortable. But, I also thought back to her Ted Talk from several years ago, where I remembered the power that a single story has.

If you are taught to see a person or place one way, never learning anything different, obviously you are going to assume nothing different. That is the power of reading and education. The power of having a diverse nation, where different cultures, ethnicities, and religions are celebrated, not “walled” out. There is so much to learn and that is precisely why we shouldn’t rely on a single story.

Now, does this excuse the journalist's question, no. It’s incredibly embarrassing and represents the power that ignorance can have over people.

Never just listen to one single story about a person or place. Because that story has most likely come from many others and has gathered their bias and so on. It sets you up to have an inaccurate presentation of the world. We are all guilty of ignorance at some point in our lives, but please always be open to learning more. And always understand the power of reading and education.