Chimamanda Adichie : The Danger Of A Single Story

When I first heard about "impact 360" about a year ago, I will admit that I was fairly opposed to the entire idea of a "Gap Year". From what I had seen, it seemed like an idea someone had come up with, in order to delay the start of the responsibilities of college and life. I ignored the many attempts from my mother and her friend Renee Hernandez, (who is involved with the program), to get me to just look into what it was all about. I wrongly perceived that every gap year program was essentially the same. And from the program's I had looked at they all seemed to be about taking a year off of life's responsibilities, and relaxing with other people your age. That didn't interest me in the slightest, I wanted to graduate high school, and go and conquer college and eventually the world.

I am an immigrant born in the state of Puebla, Mexico. I arrived in the United States at the age of three; I started kindergarten without knowing anything but the words, "Hello, how are you?" in English. I honestly cannot say I was able to fully understand English until third grade, but from then on I was able to thrive in school. As soon as I was able to manage the English language, I achieved high honors in school, and my love for reading and writing came to be. My parents had always stressed the importance of college and how I was an example for my brother and younger cousins. Even before senior year I knew I was going straight to college, a gap year was not in my

The intended audience of this essay will be my course instructor, Professor Julia Brinson as well as my classmates. I am writing this essay for my ENG 111 online course I am taking through Ivy Tech. I will be writing about a story that my classmates not only have access to but might also write about, giving them a chance to be familiar with the topic. However, if they are not familiar with the specific story, the are familiar with the message or concept expressed. This topic is relevant in a time like right now, but also almost any time because it’s always a social difficulty somewhere in the world. What I want to accomplish with my essay includes showing the underlying message of a story that some people might miss. I also think it is an important message that people who are much more fortunate than others, should learn. I am using a formal academic manuscript as my medium.

College-bound understudies who are considering taking a year off before proceeding with their training after secondary school is an entrenched custom in numerous European nations. In the U.S., on the other hand, the practice has been less basic up to this point. Since taking one year gap has picked up in notoriety, understudies the nation over are voyaging and/or working abroad, doing entry level positions, volunteering or landing positions in imminent fields. Taking a year off before coming back to class will bear the cost of you the chance to approach the following period of your training with a new beginning and reestablished energy while fighting off scholarly. Try not to stress; college will at present arrive when you return, simply ensure you set everything up.

Before I start I would like to give you a little background on Gap Year.

Viewing the single story by Chimamanda Adichie was very interesting and enlightening. My interpretation of this story is, making an assumption about ones story or a group of people. Some may think that this can create stereotypes about certain people. When the story is told, it makes one story seem to be the only story. You can think that they are not complete stories, just making assumptions about people you do not know.

In some countries it is a common occurrence for students to take a gap year in between high school and higher education-some do this to just have a break from school, others use this as an opportunity to see the world and expand their horizons. Of course there are financial issues involved with this, for if the person were to travel at all they would need to save a substantial amount of money in order to do so. In my opinion it would be a large but extremely beneficial investment. However, with no issues financially, I would most definitely use this opportunity as a way to further myself and expand my worldview. In the year I would travel to several countries; the first and last country I would visit would be England.

This site is a reliable source yet does hold some bias. The site gives strong, credible statistics and examples. Additionally, it is from a reputable news source and

Their placements represented a broad spectrum ranging from a remote village in Guyana to downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. O’Shea identifies change as the overarching theme that characterizes both participants’ rationale(s) for taking a gap year as well as their experiences during their gap year. In his empirical chapters entitled “Changes in Themselves,” “Changes in Relationships,” “Changes in Civic and Religious Perspectives,” and “Changes in Ways of Thinking and Future Plans,” participants report “wanting to experience poverty rather than watching it on TV” (p. 17) and through this experience “question [their] beliefs--why we are the way we are; why we do the things we do” (p. 81). Some report feeling changed “because I lived as a local. I saw the world from a villager’s perspective” (p. 37). Others express skepticism about the authenticity of “seeing as a local,” stating, “You try to be like common people here, but it’s not the same if you have a return ticket; you can press the escape button and rewind” (p. 110). O’Shea particularly highlights students who had negative, or alternately, very

Various disadvantages, moreover dangers, have to be taken into consideration about the gap year. The notion of going against the social norm and/ or breaking tradition, to a higher degree in the US, can be difficult for adolescents to overcome. As Killen notes

I began looking for what positive outcomes could come from taking a gap year. While researching, I was able to uncover several sources that discussed not only statistics on how gap years have positively influenced people, but also personal anecdotes from people who actually took a gap year to travel. However, I realized that none of my sources, even the personal stories, explored any disadvantages or challenges that came along with taking time off from school. Coming to this realization made me curious as to why gap years have become such a negative term to people around me, and wonder where they got that notion from? While I can think of more than a few reasons as to why one might not want to take a gap year, I found it extremely difficult to find any source that argued against taking a gap year, let alone one from somebody who has taken one themselves. I looked specifically for financial, academic, and professional deterrents. The only deterrent I was able to find that actually followed through from my sources was financial issues, and it showed that the biggest reason why people today choose not to take gap years is due to the amount of money it costs to

This is a reliable source because the link for this website contains “.edu” which proves that this is an academic website and it is used in schools, making it reliable because it is used by many students and was created as part of a school’s curriculum.

In an interview with Mrs. Darcy, a psychology teacher, she explained the negative side effects for taking a Gap Year. In the interview she described some psychological issues that would occur if taking a Gap Year, such as, “When in school or an academic surrounding you’re constantly developing at the same rate. When you return back to school after a Gap Year your brain is prune.” she also explained “Cognitive issues would be that your brain is pruning. Pruning means that your brain takes stock of what you use and what you don’t use. When taking a Gap Year your brain continues developing in what you use and what you don’t use. This limits neural connections if you don’t continue learning and using all your skills” (Darcy). A Gap Year can be fatal if not used wisely. Going a year without math, reading, and science and coming back to school whereas everyone else’s brains are more focused on academics than someone who took a resting year. Mrs. Darcy’s point was that since the brain is still developing it is important to continue ones school and challenge one's brain, so that it maintains using all skills. The loss of momentum in education is proven to be shown with loss of study skills, lower grades, and less attentiveness. In a Journal called “Gap Year Takers: Uptake, Trends, and Long Term Outcomes.” by Claire Crawford and Jonathan Cribb, members of the Department of Education, explain how a Gap Year

Living in the unstructured world, outside of the predictible environment education defines students to for twelve years, can be a bit of a culture shock. This could make students reluctant to go back to a strict schedule after experiencing a new independence. Cheung Hiu Ling brings up the point that, “You have to accept the changes in the education system and the foundation you built before” (Advantages and Disadvantages), in reference to going back to college after a gap year. This is a very insightful quote as the “foundation” of ones educational life can become altered over time spent in a non educational environment. Students may start to take on a new perspective of education as a whole during their gap year. This time in young people’s lives can be very mentally transformative, and to ask someone who has found a new independance to go back into the educational system could be futile.

Though, to have a Gap Year have so many benefits, it still has disadvantages, and some of the disadvantages cannot be avoided. To have a gap year, with no doubt, you will lose about one year studying in school or working at a workplace. When you go to college, you will one year older than your classmates. Also, gap year is not free. When you go on vacation in the gap year, you need to spend money on plane tickets, on hotel, on meal and a lot of stuffs. If you do not have a good plan. Run out of money could be the result; it could be the most embarrassed experience you have in your