These by words by Adichie have a more profound meaning for me, because I am a journalist.

South Africa is a diverse country, with unique and incredibly beautiful cultures and languages.

There is often a vast difference in how certain issues are understood.

As journalists we have a very privileged position in society, we are storytellers, reporters and informers.

As writers we can also affect how stories are interpreted and understood, it is important that we do not impose stereotypes in our reporting.

It’s my job to write stories about different people, events and organisations.

That is why I feel a greater need to not only portray just one aspect of a person, but the many different faces of that person, especially when writing profile or feature stories.

And I think we should all be doing just that, no matter what profession we are in or who we are.

When you meet someone try not assume you know who they are and immediately place them in a box.

Instead get to know them and their multiple stories.

When we often think our lives are disturbing enough, when we take time to listen to others, we can realise that there’s so much wisdom and stories behind every human being.

And that will make you realise that we all have multiple facets that make up our own identity.

Let us all go on to tell multi-dimensional stories and stop robbing people of their identities. ZM