I think people enjoy reading books because it's not about their lives. I
personally like memoirs because I like reading the story of other people's
lives and seeing what they went through how they lived and kind of applying that
to my own life. We can learn from books, the power of education is something
that's so incredible and we see that at the Human Library. The Human Library is
an international organization, a few students last year decided to start a
local chapter, if you will, at UVA. People can come together and serve as books and
people can hear their story. The readers will visit each book that they've signed
up for, sit at their table and just essentially listen to their story. It's
about making sure that we don't have a single story of any one individual, what
you see on the surface isn't always what you get. We get to know one another
better, we get beyond stereotypes and engage in discourse. A lot of times
people don't really ask questions because they're unsure if they can or if
it's going to be offensive, so the Human Library gives a chance for people to just learn more.
What UVA was meant to be is an academical village where
professors and students are learning together and the Human Library helps
achieve that. Through the Human Library I've seen this collective UVA
personality of curiosity and of seeking knowledge about other cultures and other
backgrounds. I thought I was the only person at this university with my type
of story, after participating in the Human Library I was given such a great
sense of comfort because I know I'm not alone.
I didn't think anyone would care about my story, so it's actually incredible to
see people coming and being interested and they're actively trying to widen
their horizons and that's incredible to me.
[Music]