FRESHLY SQUEEZED EVENT REFLECTION

I had conflicting feelings on the discussions that were had during Freshly Squeezed.  The speakers had a great discussion about the opinions we place with people before we even talk to them.  There were great points made about how people rarely take a chance to sit down and discuss a problem, even if they have to agree to disagree.  I really agreed with the idea that we need to start putting ourselves in other people's’ shoes more often and taking a chance to look at things from their perspectives.  We often frame ourselves in the standpoint of winners and losers, while it might be simpler and more productive to put ourselves on a completely set playing field all the time and make decisions that way.  I also agreed with the points that were made about the Kavanaugh case and a woman’s place in the world. It is true that women have been taught to be the mediators and the peacemakers, and now we are at a point where women need to fight back, and do something against common fact.  Finally, I agreed with the idea that conflict can take such a vast turn from perfectly civil to out of control in a matter of minutes. People fear causing problems or uprising, but maybe it isn’t such a bad thing to be forced into an uncomfortable situation in order to produce a great future.  
Although nothing said during Freshly Squeezed really changed my opinions on the topics, I realized that I had never really thought about where I stood in those situations and what my opinions were.  It was an interesting experience to finally look into how I feel about the interactions between humans.
I saw a lot of connections between Simon Hart’s class discussion and the article we read.  The main connection I have noticed, though, is that we often make judgements about people before we actually get to know them and understand their opinions.  For example, when you see someone with a presidential sticker or logo on their car, you automatically associate that person with those particular views, while they may not agree with every single thing that the politician says.  Simon’s idea that it’s either all or nothing in politics is very true and makes things harder in life, as we are so quick to judge other people's beliefs.
I’m not sure if there is anything that I would critique about the event.  I was told a couple of times, though, to stop taking notes on my laptop by another person who thought that my typing was too distracting.  Of course that kind of stuff is bound to happen, I was just surprised to find her constantly nagging me about it. Besides that, I thought the event had a great turn out and was very interesting.