Jul 4, 20193 min read

EXPERIENCING A HUMAN LIBRARY

Updated: Jul 11, 2023

Human Library. This is a concept that I had heard of before but never really understood clearly. Today, in one of my lectures at college, we practically experienced it.

We were divided into groups of 6-7 people and were asked to mix with people we didn’t know. As college started just a few days ago, this wasn’t a very hard task to complete. Once we were divided into groups, we were expected to each act as a human book and share our story with the other people in the group. At first, all of us were nervous and shy, but as the process unfolded, it became easier and easier to understand and relate to not only each other but also the concept.

I would like to call the first human story, “Call to the Roots” because it was about how the person’s name is related to her religion and culture and how that made her feel more connected to her roots and encouraged her to learn more about her ancestors no matter what others thought. Her story inspired me to never be shameful of who I am and be proud of my roots, if that’s what I want.

The next one would be “An Illusion of Marks” because it was a story about how, in the past, the person’s academic interests were neglected because of his high score and the norms around it and it continued to the recent past. This led him to work less hard and score less in an exam so as to study what he really wanted to. This led me to the conclusion that sometimes, it’s good to be selfish and think about what would be good for yourself than others.

The third one could be “Connections with Many but None’. It dealt with the person’s feelings of unspoken disconnection or distance from her friends although she had many which made her closer to her family who is her first priority in life. Though, the fourth story was similar to the previous one, it still had a uniqueness of a kind. The fact that she was never really lucky with making friends led her to be closer to family who also encourage and nudge her to be the person that she is today, which she currently thinks she needs to move forward. So, I would like to call it “A Nudge to Excellence”. These two stories taught me that it is absolutely fine to be more of a family and home person than a friends one. Also, that it’s okay to feel the need for support or a little nudge to encourage us and to be patient too.

The last and fifth one could be called “A Bumpy Road to Self” as it was about the person’s journey to self-discovery through a bumpy road filled with potholes of bad company and at times, loneliness. The silver lining for him had always been his inclination to sports, without which he felt empty and alone. He taught me to embrace my flaws as well as strive to improve them at my own pace. In brief, to develop a never giving-up kind of attitude.

Those were the five amazing human stories or books I experienced today. The aim to do this was to gain human values and understand how every value has a good and bad side; how selfishness could be both a bad and good value.

So, this was how I tried to learn a new concept and in the process, met not only a lot of new people but also took on a new perspective on several human values in a very enriching manner.

Have you done something related to this concept or this concept itself? How was your experience with it? Please do feel free to share your experiences with me in the comment box below. If you liked this article, please do give it a like, share it with your family and friends and also do not forget to follow my blog and Instagram handle https://www.instagram.com/helzeeblog/ for any further blog updates. See you next time! Till then, always remember, Be brave. Be strong. Be great.