Hindered by a Good Thing: The Single Story

How many times have people told you

What they think is best for you

Friends and family try to steer you

In one direction

While often proclaiming loudly,”We know what’s best for you”

That is the girl with long legs. 6 feet tall and pretty face

She must be a model, THEY say

This is what’s best for her.

And here is the boy who loves to cook

He spends all his time in the kitchen making elaborate meals

He must be a chef, THEY say

This is what’s best for him

Over here, is the brilliant boy in class

He must of course be a doctor, or lawyer or engineer, THEY say

His parents know what’s best for him

And right here, we have the girl that loves to read

Spending her last dime for the new Chimamanda novel

She must become a writer, THEY say

Because, of course, that’s what’s best for her

Did you know the long-legged girl would rather play basketball?

Did you know the kitchen wonder would rather be an accountant?

Or did you know the smart little boy wants to play football?

And did you know the nerdy girl wants her own fashion line?

We have hindered them in our mind and our perception of them

By the thing that that we see them excel in

The single story

We expect them to fulfil our expectations of them

And hindered them by a good thing.

Depends on who you speak to

I should be in showbiz or a professional speaker or a teacher or a writer

STOP!

I do not aspire to your single story of me

If I choose the dancer, what happens to the speaker?

If I choose the teacher, who tells the stories of the writer?

I am selfish and thirsty

I want the whole experience

I am hungry for all of it

I want to be empty when I die

Use each talent to touch someone in a unique way

I am scared, so scared

Of being hindered by a good thing

My people say, “Udaba aji ichi okete iche no”

The river, they say, does not have only one crossing

Why spend all my time trying to cross at just one point

When I have so many options to explore

Facets make up the whole

I strive to be who I am happiest with

Seeking to develop each facet

Thus strengthening the whole

It might take a year, or two or ten

But I will be what I expect of me then

In 5 years, THEY might be gone

But my reflection stares back at me from the mirror

With a solemn face, will she say...I wish

Or with a radiant smile, will she say...I did!

Hindered by a Good Thing: The Single Story is written by Zainab Haruna O.