Who I was two years ago is completely different from who I am today. If you could peek into my mind from when I was 15 and then into my mind now, you would not believe I was the same person. And here's why.
My parents are die-hard liberals. Everything they believed was 100% democratic, and politics were (and still are) extremely important to them. And what they believed, they expected me to believe as well.
They shut out all other possible ways of thinking, going as far as calling other people's opinions "wrong" or "crazy.” My parents are as close-minded as it gets.
I was sucked into it all. I believed everything they believed without even stopping to think for myself. The way they put it, since I was young, is that what they said was right, and all things Republican were evil.
After months of trying to convince other people that Obama was always right, I met a certain someone who saved me from a lifetime of close-mindedness.
He and his parents were conservative-Republicans. Everything I preached to him about what I believed was the opposite of what he thought. He found counterpoints to all of my blind arguments and convinced me to open my mind a little.
Now, I didn't care for what he said at first. At all. But after awhile, I began to see how misguided my parents were in thinking they were right and everybody else was wrong.
I didn't start to suddenly agree with him just because he was my boyfriend. Instead, I simply started to see things from both sides. From health care to guns, to things other than politics, I saw both sides. Then, and only then, did I make my decision on what I thought.
Turns out I have more Republican views than Democratic. And there’s nothing wrong with that!
So, what does it exactly mean to open your mind? It means to be able to see issues from all possible sides and to open your mind to beliefs other than your own. It doesn't mean to completely change your opinions. It doesn't mean to go along with what anyone else says just because he or she is your parent, sibling, significant other, etc. Just think for yourself. Look at the facts, not the opinions, to form your own thoughts.