I grew up in a very homogenous town. It is pretty much the epitome of suburbia with its white picket fences and big back yards. The majority of its inhabitants are white, middle class families. When you spend 18 years of your life surrounded by people of similar financial background, political ideology, and race as you, it is so easy to assume that everyone else in other parts of the country have had similar experiences. Your way of life is the only way you have ever known. Sure, you hear about all of the people in poverty or with extreme wealth but you assume those aren't the vast minority and that most Americans lead a life that is comparable to yours. I am completely and totally guilty of this belief.

Until about a year ago, I had spent my life under this false notion that my way of living and my beliefs were the norm in this country. I completely understood that there were people with different experiences than mine but I just thought my family and my town was this middle-ground where most Americans stood. It was not until moving to the city for college that I realized the vast spectrum of experiences my classmates had which were far different from my own and my open mindedness was tested.

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Personally, I will never understand those who cling to their beliefs without even listening to the explanations of others. I guess it is probably a lot easier to keep following what you’ve believed your whole life and to assume anyone who dares to think something different is wrong, but why? What good does that do for anyone? How does that help you grow as a person? I would much rather be someone who has learned through my experiences as well as the experiences of others and formed my opinions that way than the person who pigeon-holed themselves in something that made sense at 18 when they had no real independent life experience as background.

If more people actually took the time to listen to the other’s side of the story instead of jumping down their throat every time they hear something they disagree with, they will probably realize that each and every person has grown up seeing, hearing and living different things. These contextual differences might make you understand their side more. Of course there will always be those people who have no real reason for their beliefs and have just taken for granted what they’ve been told their whole lives, but those are typically the people who don’t bother to listen to the experiences of others in the first place.

I truly believe that if we all just took the time to actually ask people why they think the way they do, we would understand the other side better and be able to make more reasonable decisions as to what we do and don’t advocate for. I cannot stress enough the importance of going out into the world and leaving the sheltered bubble you have been living in behind and talking to people from all different backgrounds about their experiences. You will learn so much more than you ever would from reading some biased news article on Facebook. Open mindedness is such a valuable life skill that so few people truly posses. I urge you to take the time and actually try to listen to and try to learn from the other person’s side next time you are having a debate. You might gain more than you thought you would.