I’ve heard it said that changing your mind is like changing your clothes. It only takes a couple of minutes… but it’s something you’d rather do in private.
I think about that when I work with my undergraduate students during their final year internships.
As a professor at Northern Illinois University, I place students in community-facing internships — family social service agencies, youth programs, support organizations.
Toward the end of the semester, I visit each site and before I leave, ask the student one simple question: What is your greatest takeaway?
Their answers are often similar to one another.
Students talk about learning to see beyond first impressions. They describe recognizing that people’s stories are complicated, that choices are often shaped by difficult circumstances. They talk about validating emotions, listening without judgment, and discovering empathy they didn’t know they had.
In other words… they changed their minds.
And they did it publicly — in conversations, in relationships, in moments that mattered.
We often hear complaints about “kids these days,” usually followed by a shake of the head. But I work with these students every day, and I see something different. I see thoughtfulness and compassion. I see a generation willing to learn, grow, and yes — even change their minds.
Maybe that’s something we could all practice a little more.
Because sometimes the most meaningful change doesn’t happen in private.
Sometimes it happens when we listen — and let ourselves see the world differently.
