During the interview with my subject, who went by the pseudonym “David” for the purposes of my interview and essay, there was a key difference that influenced me to approach him differently: race. David is white and I am black. I did not want him to feel that I was an angry or offended person, so I was very careful in how I worded my questions in the interview and how I said them. I’m usually mindful of how I say things to other people, but during the interview I was especially mindful. I did not want to make him any more uncomfortable than he probably would be. To acknowledge these differences, I related to him on certain things. For example, I related with him on the discomfort that accompanies having discussions about race.  He said that he finds these discussions uncomfortable because you may not be familiar with people included in the discussion and that people can be oblivious of the intentions of others. I said that these talks made me uncomfortable because I don’t know if the person I am talking to is being fully transparent due to their discomfort. Although, over time the interactions between David and I were more positive. As I conveyed my understanding to his views and related with him over certain things, he eased up a bit. There was even smiling and laughter involved. I was glad to have some of that tension gone because people open up more when they do not feel as tense or fear that they’re being judged for what they’re saying, which was really important for my task at hand, the interview. Overall, we went from being somewhat reserved to being more open with our experiences and views, which is what humanity needs a lot more of for its progression.

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