It’s no secret that some of my best friends are conservative republicans, whereas I consider myself a liberal democrat. I really don’t try to hide that. In fact, I’m so proud that I have such a wide array of friends that I’ll do anything to maintain the integrity of my friendship pool. Meaning that I’m not allowed to discriminate, hate, or judge anyone based on their political affiliation, because it’s just as much a part of themselves as the color of their skin, the God, gods, or nothing they believe in, and the person they choose to love.
I’ve always tried to be as open to new ideas that are completely different to mine as possible, especially conservative ones. There is a reason why people truly believe what they do and there are so many wonderful insights we can learn and discover from everyone around us when we’re open to it. This is not saying we have to change, alter, or modify our beliefs, we can merely enhance, develop or even strengthen our own political opinions by empathetically understanding those of others. So, I’d like to share a little story with you...
It was the summer after my senior year of high school, and the one before my freshman year at JMU. I remember the day vividly - the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and I was about to find out who my freshman year roommate would be. Opting to find a roommate based on random selection is always a little nerve-wracking, because you never know who you’re gonna get.
Well, after I found out my future roomie’s identity, I immediately went to Facebook and browsed her page. (Okay, let’s be serious - I stalked every corner of her cyber life...). Anyway, I immediately fell in love! I thought she was absolutely gorgeous, hilarious, and an overall great person. I knew that she was the type of person I could talk about my boy problems with, borrow clothes from, and even do makeup and hair for (One of my many passions...). She was amazing and I felt so lucky.
The only concern I had was the fact that our political beliefs could not have been more opposite, but I thought to myself: don’t look at this as a problem unless one arises. And, amazingly enough, one never did. Of course we still had some issues as roomies do, primarily revolving around my inability to pick up after myself and other, various mini-differences, but absolutely nothing fractured our incredible friendship.
She taught me so much, as I did for her and we still pick up wherever we left off whenever we speak!! If I didn’t view our time together with an open mind, I would’ve missed out on a fantastic friendship, great memories, and so much fun!
