NiaMarie Jackson

Life for me began as a single story, until I pushed myself to read more, write more, listen more and ask questions. Coming from a family with screwed views and dysfunction, I struggled with my identity, relationships and my future. I took a stance within myself to rise above the negativity, and dysfunction in my family and to not let it rub off on me. Being the only child that decided to allow their struggles to be motivation rather than fuel to go down the wrong path, I’ve always stood by myself. Being a miracle child to my Mother who had HIV while pregnant with me and still going strong 25 years now, and a role model to my older brother who gave up his books for the street life, has always been a challenge. Growing in a predominantly white town and finishing strong throughout a school system that was designed to focus on certain individuals rather the people as a whole. I made a name for myself, becoming iconic to those that were more like me. What I was taught in my household was different than what was in the outside world. It always starts at home is what I believed in, but I needed more than street smarts. I needed more than what my family knew and believed in. My education was the only thing that pushed me to do better and gave me the opportunity to see more. Through all trials and tribulations, I persevered. I may have fallen, but I fell forward.

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The conflict with identity, I believe, is the lack of knowledge and the lack of teachings that is given about identity. Lacking knowledge can give an individual a very narrow or one sided point of view on different aspects of life. When it comes to teaching, for one, all aspects of what is being taught should be taught and recognized so that the information will not be one-sided or bias. The benefit of doing this, is the learners will have a chance to know multiple views and then be able to create their own thinking based off of learned facts and myths. Teaching starts from the beginning, the start of preschool, and continues to college and education honestly never ends. Learning doesn’t always have to be in an educational institution setting. When teaching, there should be multiple aspects of a lesson taught. By that, I mean, the history, the positive and negative, the goals, and the information up to the present time should be explored. The purpose of this is that learners will know what they are learning, and where it comes from. Current knowledge is just as important as background knowledge and being well rounded in all that you know allows for greater thinking and better understanding. Instant communication does not mean greater knowledge. This issue is something that has to be taught from the start, installed in the minds of people and what is preached should be practiced.

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In a speech called The Danger of a Single Story, by Chimamanda Adichie, presented the conflicted views that individuals of a different ethnic group had on Africa because of the skewed views and untold truths they knew. Chimamanda Adichie discussed her views on white culture and what she thought was to be true, based off of literature she read growing up and what was taught to her. She also discussed how white culture viewed her and her African culture. They both were at fault of not knowing more than what information was given to them. Yet, I cannot fully say they are at fault because the true blame goes to those who has taught them their prior knowledge. They are telling what they know from what they have learned from literature and other sources that did not tell the whole truths. Africa is more than a name, it is linked to indigenous rights and issues of sovereignty. Africa is not just where slaves were captured and all the negative stories that are told.  Africans are the natural people of Africa: The diverse hair textures, the diverse skin tones, are all specific adaptations to living in the diverse African continent.

I am an African American young adult and I refuse to be another statistic of the negative side of the minority population. I want to be someone in life. I want be difference in my generation and a difference in my community. I want to make my family proud, but most important I want to make myself proud. I’ve had a lot of people count on me, but never anyone else to count on. I am a leading role in my experience. Attending an HBCU was the best decision I’ve made thus far. Falling in love with science all over again, exploring areas of knowledge, always critically thinking and analyzing, I have fell in love with just studying and I am anticipating the work alongside career. I have grown in areas that I once struggled with, I have made long lasting connections with my professors and peers, and I have figured out who I am and who I aspire to be. My knowledge that I have gained, not just personally, but educationally allows me to educated and care for others in appropriate and proper manner. And to do so is more than finishing my degree and owning my title, but a moment for me to expand my knowledge, my experiences and stray away from a single story.