As we wind down this portion of the course and prepare for the Soliya intercultural dialogues, I have been reflecting on my journey through the lenses of cognitive learning, intrapersonal growth, and interpersonal connections. Intellectually, this course has profoundly shifted how I view stereotypes, biases, and the impact of our actions. A piece that resonated with me deeply was “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Just as Adichie refused to be reduced to a single “African” identity, I find myself constantly fighting the assumptions people project onto me. People often see me solely as a “wheelchair user” or are shocked that I am a female mechanical engineering student and a competitive swimmer. In TV interviews, I’m frequently asked, “How do you do this as a girl?” but I never approach life thinking, “I am a girl entering mechanical engineering.” I just think of myself as a student. Similarly, on campus, people sometimes treat me differently—like always asking me if I need any kind of help, even when there is no clear reason for it—simply because I use a wheelchair. While I appreciate the intent, I enter spaces as a student first, and I only truly feel like a wheelchair user when faced with stairs and no ramp. Adichie’s talk validated my frustration with being boxed into a single narrative.

This shift in perspective continued when we watched the video on microaggressions involving the Asian-American woman being repeatedly asked about her origins. Initially, I relied on my own “common sense” and thought she was reacting too aggressively, as asking where someone is from feels normal in a place like Egypt. However, Dr. Maha explained that being treated like an outsider in your own country every single day is exhausting. It made me realize that my “common sense” was flawed in an international context like the US, teaching me the crucial difference between curiosity and microaggressions. We also explored the difference between good intentions and ethical impact through the Orphanage game. The idea that an orphanage might subject children to constant, exhausting visits from strangers just to secure donor funding made me re-evaluate how “help” is given. It taught me to look past rosy exteriors and realize that prioritizing financial gain over the psychological well-being of vulnerable people is deeply harmful. Finally, the Blindfolded Cube-Building Game taught me about respecting boundaries. I was part of the first pair building the cubes, and when it was the second pair’s turn, I desperately wanted to jump in and “help.” But the rules dictated I had to step back. I learned that my role isn’t always to ensure the perfect final product by taking over; sometimes, the most helpful thing I can do is trust the process and let others complete their tasks. Heading into Soliya, my main question is how I can quickly identify and dismantle my own remaining implicit biases during real-time conversations.

On a personal level, one of the biggest realizations I’ve had about myself came from our daily class activities where we had to describe our feelings in different situations. Naturally, I am a very task-oriented person who doesn’t usually dwell on emotions; I keep my feelings quite neutral, even with my family. Initially, I disliked these emotional check-in games. However, I made a point to participate fully and answer every question out of respect for my peers. I realized that even if an activity isn’t my favorite, my participation might be exactly what a classmate needs to feel encouraged and safe to open up. This taught me that I can step outside my emotional comfort zone to support the people around me. Going into Soliya, I expect my identity to play a role, but I plan to present myself simply as a student eager to learn, and I want to see how my natural task-driven, problem-solving personality adapts to a purely dialogue-driven, emotional space.

In terms of interpersonal connections, I interact with so many foreigners, and every time I gain a new perspective, just like during our field trip to the AUC Tahrir campus, where we spoke with foreigners learning Arabic. Before this, I had a lingering stereotype that foreigners were almost like “aliens”—that our senses of humor would be too different, or that we simply wouldn’t understand each other. But every interaction proved me wrong. I learned that, fundamentally, we are all human. We laugh at the same things, share a baseline of common sense, and can connect deeply, even if it requires a bit of sign language to bridge the gap. My goal for Soliya is to become a better “global digital citizen” by applying this lesson, dropping any expectations that culturally different people are unapproachable, and practicing finding our shared humanity.

Finally, because of my deep interest in politics, the issue of Palestine has been an integral part of my awareness since childhood. I have always made an effort to educate myself on different perspectives and understand the realities of the region. If the topic of Palestine, Iran, or the broader Middle East comes up in Soliya, I expect to feel entirely comfortable. Global awareness of the Palestinian cause has grown massively; it is no longer acceptable to be ignorant of the reality on the ground or to only know a single, one-sided perspective. If I am in a position to direct the discussion, I would calmly share the historical context and the realities we understand living in this region. Given my lifelong education on this topic, I feel confident in my ability to engage in these discussions respectfully and factually without needing additional external support.

References

“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: https://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg?si=E7II2MDZpGw8lM_3

The Orphanage Game: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1To5rlSOTbt9-oqV9dBAEYJ76NvT–YpEFiK9dzzdmi4/edit?usp=sharing

https://gemini.google.com/share/89e675136c88