1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,600 I think people enjoy reading books because it's not about their lives. I 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:08,530 personally like memoirs because I like reading the story of other people's 3 00:00:08,530 --> 00:00:12,789 lives and seeing what they went through how they lived and kind of applying that 4 00:00:12,789 --> 00:00:16,420 to my own life. We can learn from books, the power of education is something 5 00:00:16,420 --> 00:00:20,680 that's so incredible and we see that at the Human Library. The Human Library is 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,640 an international organization, a few students last year decided to start a 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,590 local chapter, if you will, at UVA. People can come together and serve as books and 8 00:00:29,590 --> 00:00:34,239 people can hear their story. The readers will visit each book that they've signed 9 00:00:34,239 --> 00:00:37,899 up for, sit at their table and just essentially listen to their story. It's 10 00:00:37,899 --> 00:00:42,519 about making sure that we don't have a single story of any one individual, what 11 00:00:42,519 --> 00:00:45,699 you see on the surface isn't always what you get. We get to know one another 12 00:00:45,699 --> 00:00:51,489 better, we get beyond stereotypes and engage in discourse. A lot of times 13 00:00:51,489 --> 00:00:55,569 people don't really ask questions because they're unsure if they can or if 14 00:00:55,569 --> 00:00:59,170 it's going to be offensive, so the Human Library gives a chance for people to just learn more. 15 00:00:59,170 --> 00:01:04,899 What UVA was meant to be is an academical village where 16 00:01:04,899 --> 00:01:09,189 professors and students are learning together and the Human Library helps 17 00:01:09,189 --> 00:01:13,479 achieve that. Through the Human Library I've seen this collective UVA 18 00:01:13,479 --> 00:01:17,469 personality of curiosity and of seeking knowledge about other cultures and other 19 00:01:17,469 --> 00:01:21,610 backgrounds. I thought I was the only person at this university with my type 20 00:01:21,610 --> 00:01:25,030 of story, after participating in the Human Library I was given such a great 21 00:01:25,030 --> 00:01:27,380 sense of comfort because I know I'm not alone. 22 00:01:27,380 --> 00:01:32,659 I didn't think anyone would care about my story, so it's actually incredible to 23 00:01:32,659 --> 00:01:36,439 see people coming and being interested and they're actively trying to widen 24 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,140 their horizons and that's incredible to me. 25 00:01:39,140 --> 00:01:40,400 [Music]