An Open Letter to My Family on the 2016 Presidential Election
Dear Immediate Family, A few weeks ago, a friend confronted me about a situation in which they felt disrespected by something I did at their house when I was a guest. I apologized, accepting 100% of the blame, avoided conflict, and brushed under the rug. But as I thought more about it, I really felt was that there were two perspectives; if the shoe had been on the other foot, and I had been the host, I would've felt completely differently about that particular action. We were operating on different assumed host/guest rules, but in order to remain liked, and to be "the nice one" I took all the blame. I made myself small and apologized for something that I didn’t really believe was wrong, rather than open up a conversation that would’ve helped both of us learn more about each other and our friendship. As I discussed this situation with a friend who is a coach, he introduced me to a model of Conflict Management, and I was able to identify my behavior in