The social issue of child abuse has occurred since the beginning of time. The National Statistics on Child Abuse states that nearly 700,000 children are abused annually in the united States. Statistics from the article 11 Facts About Child Abuse from dosomething.org also show that:

•  the United States, more than 4 children die from child abuse and neglect on a daily basis. Over 70% of these children are below the age of 3
• 9 million cases of child abuse are reported every year in the United States
• Children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violence crime
• About 80% of 21-year-olds who were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder
• 1 out of 3 girls and 1 out of 5 boys will be sexually abused before they reach age 18

These statistics show how dangerous home life can be for a child. Over time, child abuse has become more of a hidden issue and is less talked about. More people should become aware of the issue and advocate. Children cannot speak for themselves most of the time and are also unaware that child abuse is an issue. 70% of children that die on a daily basis are under the age of three which means they are not even mentally or physically developed enough to stop the abuse or report it; children also believe what happens to them is normal as they are too young or scared to compare their home lives to others. Children need more people to care for them, advocate them, and support them.

You can help!

From an individual level, volunteering can be an easy way to make a difference. Organizations such as CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, of New Jersey offers a program for individuals over the age of 21 who is a CASA volunteer to become a court appointed special advocate. This program advocates for children removed from their families due to abuse or neglect and allows CASA members to be a voice for these children in court. CASA members speak for the children when the children cannot do so for themselves. They also provide a support system for these child victims and a friend during tough times. CASA is organized in 49 US States, as well as the District of Columbia. CASA is just one of thousands of child abuse organizations that provide volunteer options and ways to help.

From a community/college level, getting professions such as nurses and social workers to present at events can be a big help to helping future students in these majors identify signs of child abuse and neglect. Forming other events to educate and advocate for children can also be a big movement for this audience. Some events may consist of creating support groups for survivors, or an anti-stigma event that stops the stigma and informs the audience.

From a national level, laws can be supported and passed in favor of ending child abuse. The H.R.2480- Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was introduced in May of 2019 and pushed to reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, CAPTA. While all parties have been shown to want to end child abuse, Democrats typically have more votes of putting an end to it.

Child abuse is an age-old social issue but many things can be done to help put an end to it. Bringing awareness to the issue is an essential way to help stop child abuse from occuring.

You can help!

“Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Jersey.” Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Jersey, www.casaofnj.org/.

“Let’s Do This!” Let’s Do This! | DoSomething.org, www.dosomething.org/.

“Our Response.” National, www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/.

As COVID-19, also referred to as the coronavirus, has spread across the world, about ninety percent of Americans are now home and social distancing according to ChangingAmerica. While being home and staying away from physical contact with others is vital to flattening the curve and overcoming the virus, being home for this long period of time can be dangerous for children and families that experience child abuse.

The article Why child welfare experts fear a spike of abuse during COVID-19  explains that Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth Texas has experienced seven children severely abused in five consecutive days whereas the hospital typically only sees fewer than ten crucial child abuse cases per year. This statistic raises red flags in the child abuse community as children may be placed in a higher risk environment for longer periods of time now that most Americans are home.

With having such a substancial life alteration due to COVID-19, many Americans have experienced anxiety, tensions, and irritability from being contained for so long. We are so used to being busy, going out, and interacting that being enclosed in our homes has caused us to panic and act abnormally. Many factors can contribute to the extra frustration experienced by parents/guardians during this time. Initially, routines are being disrupted. While children had previously been enrolled in school for most of their day, they are now extra factors in their parents/caregivers lives. Being in close quarters for longer periods of time with children can lead to annoyance and frustration. Additionally, the rise in unemployment rates has left approximately 6.6 million Americans without jobs; being unemployed can have negative effects on an individuals such as stress and irritation. These added factors into an individuals life can have negative effects on the people and children around them during this time.

For children, especially those who are victims of child abuse already, this pandemic can be mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. Initially, if a child has already been experiencing child abuse in their home, it is more likely that the child has been abused to a much larger extent since the quarantine has begun as they are stuck home with their abusers. Children who often use school or other places as their safe space no longer have that freedom or support. Because children are missing their social interaction, they can be mentally drained in their home environment and further their emotional abuse. Missing the social aspect of life also prevents outsiders from identifying signs of child abuse on a child. Typically a teacher or fellow student could notice a bruise or mark, however, now that the child is locked in their home, there is no one to identify those signs and help them.

When life is disrupted by natural disasters, war, or pandemics, cases and incidents of abuse have been shown to increase. Being home is dangerous for victims of child abuse and abusers may feel as though they hold more power now as they have control of the child 24/7. The societal shutdown caused by COVID-19 raises many red flags as child abuse cases are more likely to rise in numbers and children are placed in dangerous situations.

Guzman, Joseph. “90 Percent of Americans Now Staying Home to Prevent Coronavirus Spread.” TheHill, 27 Mar. 2020, thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/489813-majority-of-americans-staying-home-as-much-as.

Santhanam, Laura. “Why Child Welfare Experts Fear a Spike of Abuse during COVID-19.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 6 Apr. 2020, www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-child-welfare-experts-fear-a-spike-of-abuse-during-covid-19.

Creating a full website may seem simple with the ample time a full semester provides you, but truthfully, time flies. For my website on child abuse, my research has okay. I have found a few sites that provide me with good information but I have not been able to get enough information from one source for a whole section. I have found multiple sources for my statistics page that provide me with all different data sets which is very helpful, however, finding coherent information on the history of child abuse is a little harder. I have used various sources and am still fine tuning them to be able to grab the exact points I want my website to show and inform about. So far I have not reached any dead ends, just time-consuming obstacles. I have additionally not had time to find a book source yet and plan to do so within the upcoming week. 

When it came to organizing my time, I was very goal-oriented at the beginning and had set dates. This soon became a slight issue for me. Since being home from school during this pandemic, I have lost my motivation to be honest. I am used to having set study and work spaces, or even a desk, but now I have my bedroom as my family is working in the other rooms of my house. I am working on the project almost everyday, but I do get distracted from everything else going on in my house. I have revised my website schedule to give myself more time on the 2000 word deadlines, and less on making the website look pretty, as I find myself making it look good when I am supposed to be writing. 

I have only worked on my Tableau tool so far on my project. I used the tool to compare the number of reported cases of child abuse in New Jersey to the number of reported cases in the
United States. After playing with Tableau and Google Sheets for a while, I was able to create a pie chart showing the two values. Although I was hoping for more of a statistical chart, I do think the pie chart works. I copied the embed code from the Tableau website into my project but the graphic does not come up properly. I can see the image but it shows a triangle, almost like a “play” button and does not allow me to scroll over the image to see the statistics and number values. Additionally, I have not put too much effort into finding images for my website yet, but I do think a sad image on my homepage would grasp the reader’s attention and make a point that this is a serious social issue. 

Despite minor obstacles and time rescheduling, I think my website is going somewhat smoothly. I have copied some of my writing into the actual WordPress website, but I am still writing more on my google document, which has helped me keep track of my sections and word count.

The topic of child abuse has been a social issue for almost all of time. Finding research on this issue can be somewhat tricky. When child abuse became more of a prevalent issue in history, many newspapers reported the issue and how towns and states would handle the situations. Eventually, and over time, child abuse began to receive a negative connotation and the issue became hidden and less talked about publicly. For my research, with the help of my lovely professor, I was able to find research and statistics about child abuse and child abuse cases in new Jersey.  

Using data from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families allowed me to gain quantitative results about child abuse. The Child Abuse and Neglect in New Jersey Statistical Report shows data for the year 2004 in New Jersey. This file provides a clearly defined definition of child abuse as well as detailed statistics. With this data in particular, I am able to find the number of abuse and neglect referrals received by DYFS, which counties reported the most or least cases of child abuse per year, and where the highest number of allegations or referrals came from- school staff. This pdf file allows me to use its statistical data to fulfill my website, as well as compare the statistics of New Jersey to the statistics of the United States. The one concern I have with this file of information is that it is from 2004, approximately 16 years old. Times are constantly changing in regards to social issues and while I can use this data, I can also compare it to data from more recent years to see how child abuse has either increased or decreased over the years. 

Additionally being found from nj.gov, the file Supporting Strong Families and Communities in New Jersey: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect, 2014-2017 provides valuable information about child abuse. Initially, I can use this source for information about risk factors, protective factors, as well as more statistics. There is a particular chart, Figure 1, that shows the breakup of types of child abuse and neglect in 2012. Again while this data is a little out-dated, it is a good reference for basic information on the topic. 

One of my other sources for statistical data is the New Jersey Department of Children and Families’ Commissioner’s Monthly Report for March 2020. This Data is up to date and relevant. It shows statistics for children in out-of-home placement, number of referrals compared to past years, response times to the reports, how often workers visit the children, and medical statistics for children who are victims or have ongoing and pending cases. This information will help the statistics aspect of my website a lot. 

These three sources will help me analyze my topic over time, specifically the past 16 years. They also provide very clear data that is easy to work with. This data can also be typed into a google sheets file and put into Tableau. I can use this to show the ratio of number of cases in New Jersey to the number of cases in the USA.

“DCF: Commissioner’s Monthly Reports.” DCF | Commissioner’s Monthly Reports, www.nj.gov/dcf/childdata/continuous/.

“DCF: Families.” DCF | Families, www.nj.gov/dcf/families/.

At the American Humane Association Convention on November 14th of 1906, Jane Addams gave a speech arguing that child labor is the greatest social issue of the time. Miss Jane Addams presented “Child Labor and Other Dangers of Childhood“, which she wrote herself this article consisted of her opinion on child labor, including examples she has seen and reasons on how labor negatively affects children. The American Humane Association focuses on the topics of children and animals. Individuals interested in the protection of these topics were allowed to attend the American Humane Association conventions and meetings, according to the New York Daily Tribune. Within her presentation, Jane Addams stated, “It is always difficult to see the moral dangers which threatened our generation, and to awaken the public interest in them

sufficiently to accomplish their removal,” as she emphasized the importance of the underlying issue of child endangerment. Beginning to touch on the topic, Addams explains how it is society’s job to protect children through the process of discovery, investigation, and mediating and helping. Society soon began to push this issue backwards and use children for labor by the age of twelve.

Having children so young work so intensely for so long, caused developmental issues for these children according to Jane Addams. Often children would work full days and lack the time necessary to complete their education; other times, children would work half day and be in school the other half. Addams made points that children who attend a full day of school develop further as they have the opportunity to play and develop their mind and bodies. Being forced into work so prematurely deprives the child’s ability to do such things. Physical strain, starvation, and lack of sleep often occurred in full-time working children and most were found to be abnormal.

As her speech continued, Addams gave an example a boy’s situation while she worked in the Hull House. This twelve year old boy was the man of his family. he worked full time to provide for his mother and his grandmother by bringing home weekly wages.  After turning eighteen, this boy got mixed up in the wrong crowd and eventually broke; the boy had bottled up all of the pain, work, and weight that he had carried the past six years. He was unable to develop naturally because he was forced to grow up so fast.

Child labor often seems cheap and easy, but in reality it is seen as child cruelty as it drains the children physically and mentally. Owners of the business often see the situation in a light that makes them seem like a good guy. Addams explains one story of a girl who worked all day and slept in the factory as the workers rotated shifts. The manager viewed this as him helping by allowing them to rest, but virtually, he was endangering their wellbeing. Child labor can be viewed as child cruelty in many cases.

This paper by Jane Addams touches on the wellbeing of children and their treatment. It was written to inform and explain how these situations happen in real life. Being given at the American Humane Association Convention allowed Addams to reach an audience that shared the interest and compassion for helping protect children. 1906 was a progressive year for child labor and child abuse as the Children’s Prevention Society was formed and other groups brought the issue to attention. Child abuse has been a social issue for all of time and Jane Addams was one women who took a stand for the treatment of children.

Child abuse can be defined as physical, mental, or sexual abuse or harm, neglect, and/or abandonment of a child by their parent or guardian and has occurred since the beginning of time. While it has been around forever, the topic of child abuse has recently been hidden from society as its actions are deemed unacceptable; the topic is easier to hide than it is to deal with the response from the community. Through different sociological theories, different perspectives give different explanations and opinions on the topic of child abuse. The functionalist perspective and the feminist perspective give two opposing views on the topic of child abuse.

Functionalist Perspective

The functionalist perspective sees all parts of society put together to form a larger picture. The good and bad aspects of society are all important to a functionalist perspective as society cannot function properly without them. While child abuse is an important social issue that most view needs to be resolved, functionalist theorists try to see the give and take aspect of it; with having cases of child abuse, more jobs opportunities are available. Across the world, organizations and businesses have been constructed to help prevent child abuse, educate on the topic of child abuse, and help victims of child abuse cope and recover. Child Protective Services is perhaps one of the largest businesses in this field that helps children and victims who may be at risk with their given guardian. Without the social issue of child abuse, Child Protective Services may not be needed and thousands of workers would lose their jobs. The functionalist perspective sees the issue in the bigger picture as it analyzes how society would function without the issue; in this case, unemployment rates would grow.

Feminist Perspective

The feminist theory often analyzes a social issue in relation to gender and power. The topic of child abuse occurs in victims of both genders and child abusers have been reported of both genders, however, feminist perspectives place blame predominantly on the male gender because they fall under the patriarchal family system where men make the family decisions and have the ultimate power. In past times, children were often viewed as property of their fathers, as were women and wives; this gave power to the male gender. When children were seen as property rather than people, men often took more advantage of their children. Research has additionally found that most child abusers are of the male gender.  While times and gender roles are changing, the feminist theory still accounts men for the issue of child abuse. Men are deemed to be more physical and have more agression; men are typically in control of the family. In addition, men also get blamed for the abandonment of their children after leaving the family dynamic more than women do. Feminist theorists often fight for the end and prevention of child abuse as their focus tends to defend smaller groups, in this case children and female children in particular as sexual abuse has been a prevailing topic. Feminist theorists fight for the end of child abuse and view the topic through a gender power dispute.

Sociological theories each provide a distinct perspective on social issues. Functionalists view an issues place in society and how society would be affected from it. In this case, unemployment rates would grow as organizations and business would go out of business. On the opposite end, the feminist perspective views how child abuse should end and focuses on how the male gender can be attributed to child abuse cases. While both make valid points, they touch on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of opinion. Sociological theories allow society to view topics from different perspectives.

Sweatshops are referred to as a place of work, typically a factory or clothing production company, that abuses their workers by placing them in inhuman working conditions for very long hours with very little pay. While sweatshops were typically more common in less developed countries many years ago, suspicion has led to the investigation of big companies today, such as Nike, for making their factories into sweatshops. Being that Nike operates their production in about 41 countries, some being less developed countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, Nike has been accused of operating sweatshops in these smaller regions. Research from

WHO shows that Nike workers in Cambodia, since the year 2000, have complained of working in small buildings in which temperatures went as high as 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and earned wages of approximately fourteen cents and hour.  While Nike has covered its tracks in recent years and have begun to include sustainability and women’s/LBGTQ+/minority group empowerment in their campaigns, it is unsure if the working conditions have entirely approved as Nike claims that they are not all responsible because those factories are subcontracted.

Sweatshops have been historically shown to provide employment for foreign immigrants and individuals expected not to work, such as women. In the years 1880-1940, the United States population grew by approximately 26 million people through immigration according to Smithsonian records. Being that so many immigrants traveled to the United Sates to start a new life with new opportunities, it was often hard to find employment. Sweatshops would become rather popular in the US at this time as they allowed a countless number of employees as the work environment was often overcrowded and it was cheap labor. Often, sweatshops were located in larger factory buildings to ensure the most amount of labor could be fit and used, however, sweatshops were also found in many tenement apartments.

Tenement apartments were typically three room apartments that would house families with any number of members; in this time period, families sizes were around five to nine members. The first room would be a bedroom in which the bed took up predominantly the entire room; some families would fit a much smaller futon-like piece of furniture in this room to maximize sleeping space. The second room in the apartment also contained at least one other bed while the rest of the space was the kitchen. Most apartments contained a stove and sink area although running water was not always running throughout the building, rather it was just outside and families would fill buckets up and bring them to their rooms. The third room was the sweatshop/factory space. This room, unless your family worked in a factory located outside of your home, would consist of sewing machines and fabrics as the father, possibly other families members, and outside workers would work long days constructing clothing. Many workers would fit in the rather tight space to complete their work tasks and pay levels were never that high.

Sweatshops were very commonly linked to immigration as they were the easiest form of employment to obtain and their were always open positions. While conditions were not always the best, immigrants would take these jobs because it was better than being unemployed and gave them a chance to provide income to the family. Containing a factory setup in a tenement apartment also allowed families to work longer hours and be in the environment of their own home and family. Sweatshops were very common at this time, however, they quickly grew out of business once labor laws begun to be implemented and workers were provided better working conditions.

The risk of emotional, mental, or physical harm to a child by a parent or caregiver, known as child abuse, is a global, social issue and is an unfortunately relevant problem in the United States. Child abuse has immediate effects on the individual, as well as long-term effects. The most common effects of child abuse occur within the individual’s mental and emotional health. The effects that an individual who has experienced child abuse can vary based on variables such as the age that the trauma occurred, the extensiveness of the trauma, and the way the individual copes with stress. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and difficulty concentrating and connecting with others are all possible and frequent effects of child abuse. While occasionally perpetrators are careful not to leave physical marks on a case of child abuse, often victims of child abuse have bruises, swelling, sprains, burns, pain, difficulty walking or sitting, and some experience sexually transmitted infections or diseases. The immediate and long-term effects of child abuse have serious impact on the victim. While child abuse does have a direct effect on the individual, the results of child abuse can also affect the community. The family or friends of the victim often experience a loss of connection and feel pushed away from the victim.

Victims of child abuse are amongst various ages but research from the American Society for the Positive Care of Children shows that there is a higher concentration of child abuse in children under the age of one and then decreases slightly from the age of one to the age of seventeen. Child abuse has been recorded for most, if not all of history. Dating back to the 16^th and 17^th centuries, children were viewed as property of their fathers, which can be argued as classifying as child abuse. Many organizations, such as the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children works to help children and families affected by this social issue. Child abuse has been a big issue, and remains a big issue that needs to have more attention brought to it.

Gun control, police actions and brutality, and aggression are common topics linked to crime and violence, especially in the United States. Research from “Violent Crime: The US and Abroad” shows that the US has more guns per capita than anywhere else in the world. While gun ownerships is not the lone contributor to crime and violence, citizens of the United States feel as though gun possession needs to be more controlled. While some research has shown that US violence and crime rates are decreasing, violence is still a concern as the National Violent Death Reporting System has done research that states that more than seven people die a violent death per hour. Violence can change a community’s way of living and value but it is interesting that under President Donald Trump’s rule, it has been reported that crime rates have decreased. Larceny and theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, aggravated assault, and robbery are the top five type of crime in the United States. Larceny and theft are the most common and more than 7 million cases of it are reported each year, making up sixty percent of all reported crimes. When comparing crime rate in the US to crime rates in other countries, articles have shown disputing results as some say the US is the most violent, and other say we are average. The US Department of Justice’s article displays crime rates across the years and answers many questions about crime and violence in the US. Crime and violence will always be seen as an issue and what will stop it?

Poverty, financial deficit of developing countries, and the lack of materials and necessities are all common reasons that education has become a global issue. According to the article, “Right to Education: Situation around the world”, more than 72 million children are unschooled around the world. It is also shown that more girls and women are unschooled than boys and men. Cultural and traditional custom hinder women from obtaining equal or any education. The lack of funding, specifically in undeveloped countries, is a main reason that the world struggles in the topic of education. Without proper funding, schools cannot access materials such as desks or textbooks, they cannot afford teachers who are properly schooled or trained, and they become stuck in an environment unsuitable to educate in. Countries may also experience foreign conflicts or war that hinders the ability to make it to a school safely. Distance itself is an issue in education as some countries have a rare amount of schools that may just be too far away for some potential students or they are in an unsafe neighborhood or environment. In many of these underdeveloped or smaller nations and countries, hunger and poor nutrition also contribute to the lack of education. Without the proper diet, an individual’s brain does not fully develop which can lead to poor grades, and the lack of ability to achieve the full learning potential. Education all around is expensive and various countries cannot provide a good quality of education because of it.

In other areas of the world, different circumstances can explain the topic of education. While in the US almost all students receive an education, the continuing of schooling into college has become an almost necessary element to a good future and job. College is too expensive for most and this either ends with students not attending college at all, attending a two-year facility, or tons of money in loans and debt. Education is very different in all parts of the world but each country shares a common social issue and that is the topic of education.

Surveys and questionnaires have become a useful tool in marketing and research. Surveys can be used for a variety of reasons and the structure of the survey can direct it in a particular direction. The anonymousness that surveys can allow brings a larger pool of participants to the survey group. Allowing the answers to remain anonymous allows participants to answer questions more truthfully, whereas if their name was attached to an answer, they may hesitate and choose a more socially correct answer in the fear of judgement or disapproval. Although anonymous, surveys can still ask questions in order to define a particular age group, race, or subject pool which can help infer the data of the results. The ability to be anonymous in a survey separates surveys from other research methods such as interviews because it is easier to obtain data from a larger, more honest pool of participants.

Surveys allow participants to tell the truth on their opinions and views of the world. While designing a survey, I may have my own personal distinct view on a topic and I may construct the questions in a way that lead participants to answer how I want them to by using certain wording techniques and placing the questions in a certain order. If conducting a survey, I would not expect any of my participants to share the same world views with me although I may be able to word the questions in a way to persuade the participants to answer the same way I did; surveys can be manipulative.

Being in a society such as we are now, every can have their own, distinct views on the world and problems occurring within it. Race, ethnicity, and social class have a clear impact on an individual’s world view. New Jersey and states bordering us, such as New York, problems with police brutality have been rising in the communities. Although unjust for everyone, black or African American individuals are more likely to be concerned on this issue than other races. An article from nj.com explains how the black community feels that they are more likely to be punched by a cop. This issue would be of a greater significance to certain races than other and answers may vary about the severity of the situation and the importance of it. Black individuals see the world differently than let’s say non-Hispanic white individuals. Ethnicity has also separated society into groups based on their culture such as their traits, language, religion, or diet. With this separation comes different world views as each group has different values. Social class is another distinction that can alter the way that individuals view world topics. Unemployment in the US and in the world are a concern to all, but primarily a concern to the poor and lower social classes. The rich, wealthy class can rely on their trust funds and money to support them, while the homeless get fired from their job for no specific reason and can no longer afford items such as food. If asked, lower social classes would be more concerned about unemployment rates because it personally affects them. Race, ethnicity, and social class are three socioeconomic statuses that can affect an individual’s world view.

Being that each individual can have their own opinions on which worldly topic is most important, or least important, surveys would be able to reflect that. Surveys speak for the people and show how they feel. You can provide ten people that a very similar with the same ten questions and still come out with ten different results because every individual has their own values and opinion. Surveys are a very useful method to conduct research and analyze data.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells her single story through her TED talk and how she was not as everyone had thought; Adichie was an African attending University in America and her roommate, for example, expected her to have tribal music and not know how to use a stove because media portrays Africans so poorly. As she continues to present, Adichie explains that everyone can have their own single story and there are many that are not about catastrophes and still just s important. Adichie’s story was one of people believing she was less than she actually was; my single story makes me more generic than I am. People look at me and see a white, blonde, female with blue eyes. I am middle class and my parents have been together for twenty-seven years and people know that. I was a varsity athlete for four years and everyone assumed I was popular and not the smartest. While yes, I do fit a definition of white girl as I dress a certain way, wear scrunchies, and carry my hydroflask around, I am more than people think.

I have been in honors classes my whole life, including college currently, and care a lot about my education. I also wasn’t that popular and actually had no real friends for a while. I had attending therapy in high school and felt very alone.  People also can’t see in their single story of me that I am a type 1 diabetic. Being a diabetic has changed my life and alters certain situations for me that a lot of people will never know about. For this assignment, I asked my friends what they first thought of me and I do fit their single story of me in many ways but there are many other details that impact who I am. I am by no means less than what people see me but I am less generic- to them I am a basic white girl, while in reality, I am deeper.

While people may not see the real me, but rather the single story of me that they have created, I cannot blame them as I too see people as their single story. Moving into my dorm, the first semester of freshman year here at Ramapo College, I had a single story of my roommate already laid out in my head. My roommate and I had met once prior to moving in and all I got from her was that she was too nice; she said no to nothing, she was open to everything, and she was spoiled her whole life. I was aware that she lived in a gated community in Kinnelon, New Jersey, a rather rich area. She told me about her huge house and how she had traveled the world when we first met and for some reason that bothered me. In my mind, I had a single story of her: a rich, spoiled girl who was used to getting whatever she had wanted. While moving in, her mother took complete control and I had no say in where I wanted my bed or dressers because it was her way or no way. They began hanging paintings all over our dorm, quite expensive ones actually, while I attempted to put up my printed photos of my friends. I saw my roommate as materialistic. As we began living together, I will admit that for a long time I only saw her as this single story that I had formed but in reality she was much more. My roommate is a very smart person; she came into college with over forty college credits from AP classes in high school. She is also super friendly and not materialistic at all but rather she can be very down to earth. We all question why everyone sees us in one light but we too are to blame as we see others in one way as well. The world will always have judgement but we as individuals need to dig a little deeper to discover the truth. Single stories are single for a reason; they maintain one plot with no depth or truth.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, “The Danger of a Single Story,” October 7, 2009. TED video,