Skid Row.. The Dangers of "The Single Story"

I chose to write about Skid Row for many reasons. One particularly because I was fascinated by the fact that people chose to live there instead of finding a new life. Many people look down on the impoverished lifestyles of the homeless who lives in Skid Row. Skid Row provides a home for many people. The things that people only understand, is that one "single story", how the civilians of Skid Row were all unsuccessful, crazy and uneducated. However, behind the curtains, there were much meaning behind the poverty of Skid Row. Also, learning that some people enjoyed living in Skid Row and rather not move to elsewhere shocked me. I realized that people around the world were all different, that they sought for different dreams and knew how to sacrifice other necessary possessions.

In the movie, it introduces eight characters and the documentary displays their lifestyle. It pained me to see the ill-treatment they received. As if the people considered them as not equal, they were discriminated and threatened to the point of fatal injuries and sometimes death. As a viewer of this documentary I realized that only judging by the exterior is very wrong. Just like this documentary, I learned to always try to read between the lines, question the different perspectives and understand the story in every level.

That "Single Story" About Africa

The first week of our second semester, we watched a TED talk by Adichie about understanding a story from an extremely narrowed point of view. As typical human beings, we automatically imbue the information that is only give to us.

By reading "Things Fall Apart", I'm starting to understand that there are so many things that people assume without knowing the whole story, including me. Ever since I was in elementary school, I thought of Africa as a poverty stricken country, full of misery, constant hunger and crime. The things I've heard about Africa were only depressing stories about children having no place to sleep, having nothing to eat or dying from severe sickness. "Things Fall Apart" showed me a whole new perspective of Africa. I never realized that Africa had so much culture and color. It was a cultural shock for me. Also, the fact that many parts of Africa was extremely wealthy and that it was occupied by Caucasians blew me away.

The social media's object is to address the problems in society. As people, it's easy for us to misunderstand that what is being portrayed in the media is the only story. Instead of having a narrow perspective, trying to understand every situation as a whole is very important to us. Even in our daily lives, looking at the situations in different levels will help us connect with more people and understand how to address the problem more easily.

TED Talks: Never, ever give up

The TEDtalk that I watched was Diana Nyad's "Never, ever give up". At the age of 64, Nyad was inspired to swim all the way from Cuba to Florida, a 100-mile swim that requires massive amount of courage, perseverance and determination. During her lecture, Nyad explains the dangers of the waters of the Gulf, venomous jellyfishes, sharks, and capricious ocean currents and strong winds. At the age 64, she had every excuse NOT to challenge herself. However, despite her physical impediments, she found the reasons to try her abilities. "Find a dream... believe... finding a way.." Those were her reasons to swim the ocean. Nyad realized that everyone will eventually follow the same path; death. She believed that doing that she was passionate about was her way to live to the fullest extent. Nyad described her experience of swimming in the pitch black water. While she was swimming, she sang to herself to temporarily forget about the discomfort. Vomiting, abrasion and hypothermia were only some of the obstacles she had to forget and overcome to achieve her aspiration. When she was nearly to her breaking point, she saw the gleaming white lights and noticed that she was fifteen hours away from Florida. With her last efforts, she swam until she reached the sure of Florida. Nyad explained that the first thing she said when she reached Florida was, "Never, ever give up." In the age of 64, Diana Nyad had accomplished something that no one would ever have the courage to do. Nyad's lecture inspired me to look at life at a different perspective. Even if there is failure, there is always success that follows. To always enjoy the journey towards my goal even if I don't achieve it. "You can chase your dreams, you're never too old." Those were Diana's motto. Diana Nyad said that she was at her prime of her life today, at the age of 64. I think Nyad's speech can relate to everyone that there is nothing that could stop you from doing what you want to do.