On Wednesday, October 22nd, at precisely 7pm, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai appeared in an online seminar open to Ursinus students to talk about her newest memoir, Finding My Way. Part of an Author’s Talk Series hosted by the Library Speakers Consortium, Yousafzai came online for an hour with host and moderator Brandon Adler to answer questions about herself and her book.
The Library Speakers Consortium, “is a partnership of more than 500 library systems across the US, Canada, and New Zealand, with the goal of making author talks more accessible to communities of all sizes,” explained Adler as the event kicked off. With a compilation of both pre-submitted questions and live questions dropped in the seminar chat, listeners were able to both ask and listen to thoughtful responses on the best-selling author’s life, and what challenges came along her way, particularly in her college experience.
Finding My Way differs from her first memoir, I Am Malala, in its personal and candid manner. “This memoir is the most personal reflection I have ever shared,” Yousafzai explained. “This is me reintroducing myself for who I am and the most important thing for me in all of these years has been to be true to myself. This is not to show myself as a symbol or as a hero but to show myself for who I am. This is the most personal story, and I have been very honest and open in talking about everything just to ensure that it’s the true side that people can learn more about.” Being open and vulnerable within her story is central to this memoir, and Yousafzai was eager to share that.
While known for her activism in support of girls’ education, that is not all Yousafzai is defined by. “You know, I would still be introduced by people as ’The Malala who was attacked by the Taliban’ and it was still the story of the 15 year old girl, but I knew that there has been so much more to my life and that is definitely part of the reason why I just could not wait to share more about my life experiences, you know,” Yousafzai shared. She still makes it a mission to fight for every girl’s right to an education, but also now aims to share more on her journey about growing into the young woman she has become. “I want to share more about this journey of growing into young women and you know, making friends and learning more about love, mental health, and all of these things,” Youfaszai detailed.
Being from Pakistan, Yousafzai was asked during the talk on how she explores and embraces cultural differences in meeting new people. She answered, remarking, “I see it in two ways. I love meeting people from different cultures and different communities because there is so much beauty in the world and when you meet people from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, you learn more about the real world out there.” She further explained how grateful she is for her opportunities to travel around the world and meet new and exciting people. “It’s just like you watch a movie or you see a documentary, or you read an article, and you hear these stories or even on social media – like we are connecting with people from around the world. It shows us how much is in common,” Yousafzai added.
On a less serious note, one of the questions Yousafzai received was about her alleged crush on WWE wrestler John Cena. Adler brought up the topic, asking, “Didn’t you say your crush was John Cena?” Yousafzai was eager to confirm, sharing her love for both Cena and WWE throughout her childhood. “When I was in Pakistan, I thought [WWE] was all real. I did not know it was scripted – it broke my heart! When I was told that it’s not real – I found out many years later – I said that can’t be scripted.” She confirmed her crush on Cena as well, sharing how she “was always rooting for John Cena.”
With a handful of more questions asked, listeners were able to hear from an incredible woman on her journey throughout childhood, college, and beyond. If interested in hearing more, a recording of the online seminar with Malala Yousafzai can be found under the Ursinus College Library Webinars and Online Events page at https://libraryc.org/ursinus.