I believe challenging my theories is an important part of my growth. If I meet someone with a somewhat differing opinion, I will question them until I understand their point of view. I have come to an understanding in life that everyone sees things differently. Things we see as normal are only normal because they are of our personal experience, culture and habits. Some normalities of mine are completely out of bounds to some. My perspective has come from my personal life experiences as are everyone else's. Many of these cultural differences cause major conflicts locally and internationally which I believe could all be solved with a simple state of mind, openness. One personal lesson I have had in this field was that I grew up in a “normal” meat devouring family. We ate roast chickens and minced beef spaghetti bolognese for dinner almost every night. Now my friend, XXXXXX (won’t quote his name in fear for his dignity and masculinity), grew up eating rice, vegetables and beans for dinner almost every night. My friend and I both thought we were normal, yet had two contrasting ideas of what normal was when it came to food. We used to argue about what was right and what was wrong every time we ate. In my youthful ignorance I would nastily snarl at his spinach and feta roll whilst devouring my tomato sauce saturated mince and cheese pie. “Oh my god, why are you doing that to yourself, this mince pie is AMAAAAZIIINNGGGG?!!!!” I would say. I was definitely the enforcer of righteousness on most occasions and this naturally created a wall between us when it came to discussions on anything to do with food. 10 years on and with a bit of life experience under my belt, I took the earplugs out and finally heard him speak. I understood his point of view and finally accepted that he was allowed to have an opinion different to mine. Once I confronted myself with the new information, I found his opinion actually made a lot of sense and I trialled it for myself. I became the biggest hypocrite in the central north island when I decided to trade my signature mince and cheese pies for salad greens and beans, for good. Who does that? The moral of my little story? Don’t be afraid of different opinions. No matter how stupid it may sound at first, sometimes they may have a point. I also found this cool quote I thought I'd share. It said Leonardo Di Vinci spoke the words but who knows with the internet these days, either way I like it, "The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions". CHURR!!!!