“Finding My Way” covers author’s time as a student
By Vanessa Andrick,
KidScoop Media Mentor
On October 14, 2025, youth journalists from KidScoop Media had the opportunity to sit down with education activist Malala Yousafzai over Zoom to discuss her new memoir Finding My Way. Finding My Way covers Malala’s time as a student at Oxford and all the joys and challenges of this period of her life; from balancing her education advocacy work with her coursework to her evolving relationship to mental health and self-care to falling in love, her memoir is an insightful glimpse into her life and point of view and a shining addition to the genre.
Both in the memoir and in our interview, Malala reflected on the effects of coming of age under such intense public scrutiny as a girls’ education activist: “I have come against criticism, comments my whole life. And you know, I have now grown through it… You know, I try to take any positive um, you know, good recommendation that can be helpful, but then there’s a lot that is not helpful at all and doesn’t add anything to the mission that I am focused on. So, sometimes, the best way is to avoid it.” While social media isn’t all bad, it has certainly added another very large, very public forum for vitriol about her perceived personal failings. Malala recounted her memory of her first time trying to interrogate these sentiments by making an anonymous Instagram account to DM a critic during her school days. With the rise of social media and a culture of surveillance on private figures the next generation is coming of age under, Malala’s insight provides both answers and questions about the dangers of this new normal for young people.
Finding My Way covers vulnerable, untrodden ground about Malala’s personal life, responses to hate, and mental health journey. On writing the book, she said “I’ll be honest. Yes, I was very, very careful in how I was writing this book because I know that, you know, people will take a sentence out of context. But then, I reflected on it and I said—I reflected on it and I realized that no matter what it is, those who are trying to vilify women and objectify them will find a way to do that anyway. It should not stop you from being true to yourself in how you share your story. Because some of the stories that I have shared in the book as well, you know, I shared them because I wanted to tell people how ridiculous some of these criticisms have been.” She reflected on the public outcry from her home country of Pakistan to a photo that leaked of her wearing skinny jeans after her first rowing club meeting at Oxford: “It was a whole trend called ‘Shame on Malala.’ Shame on Malala for wearing jeans. And people also don’t understand that [] even in the Muslim countries, not all women dress the same way. Um, in Islam, there are guidelines for dressing, but it does not say that the Pakistani dress is the right one and the Moroccan one is the wrong one, or the Arab one is the wrong one, or the Indonesian one is the wrong one. I think in Islam, there are guidelines, but the rest is up to a person to decide for themselves. You can never be compelled, or forced, to what you wear and how you live your life.”
KidScoop reporters also had the opportunity to ask Malala unique, personal interest questions characteristic of KidScoop interviews.
On her sense of style: “Wow. Fashion for me is a work in progress. I am still figuring it out. And I remember when I was applying to college, I was looking up on Google all of these trendy, casual, Western clothes I could wear. And my first search was ‘Selena Gomez causal outfit’.” She revealed she still has the screenshots of these initial forays into personal style. Later on, she said “Of course, my sense of fashion has evolved. I think, you know, it’s—it’s when you start looking around and you see more people your age and you’re like, it’s okay to try outfits just like them. But at the same time, I know that somebody’s outfit can also be a representation of their culture or their identity. And that is the case for me as well. So I try to connect to my culture through my headscarf and I think about the girls whose education we are supporting in my village, and I want to see a bit of themselves in me, and know that an empowered woman can look like them, can dress like them. But in the end, it’s about women making these choices for themselves. I think people just need to, like, mind their own business and let women wear what they want, allow them to try different things.”
On her social media presence: “You know, what shocked me was how the new generation, like, the Gen Alpha or the younger Gen Z, had no idea that I was alive and that I was still in my 20s. So, I was shocked to see comments on TikTok, and now, even on Instagram, [] the younger people saying that they read about me in their school and they thought I was, like, from the 1800s and I was maybe, like, 80 years old, or something. So it’s fun. It’s fun. But I really enjoy engaging young people to learn more about girls’ education. [] You know, I admire the commitment of young people to making a difference, and I constantly remind them that you can do it. I started as a young activist, and I believe any young person can do it.” On the subject of young activists, she later said: “And what is important is that, you know, we do not limit this to one or two names who actually become known widely. It is the many millions of names that we may not know who are driving real change. So, do not underestimate the collective power of the activism [] that we can all do together.”
On hypothetically hosting SNL: “Yes I would and the musical accompaniment… I have to think about it. It’s really hard to answer. [] You know what? I have to think about a lot. We have amazing Pakistani singers, Bollywood singers, a lot of young singers. So many. The list is so long. That’s a tough one.”
On whether or not she met her favorite wrestler as a child, John Cena, yet: “No, I have not. And like, in my case, he’s been true to his legacy when he says, ‘You can’t see me.’ So, I haven’t. I can’t see him. [] Well, it’s my dream to see him.”
Malala Yousafzai’s Finding My Way was published on October 21st, 2025. She will appear live at The Ebell of Los Angeles on November 13th, 2025. The full interview is available on KidScoop Media’s YouTube channel.
