Alex Clunan and Allie Prescott

00:01 Hi, my name is Alex. I'm 19 years old, and I live in Virginia beach. Today's day is April 27, 2023, and my conversations partner's name is Ali

00:13 Hi, my name is Ali I am 31 years old. I live in Charlottesville. Today's date is April 27, 2023, and my conversation partner's name is Alex.

00:24 Awesome.

00:25 So thank you guys both for being here. And the first question I want to.

00:29 Ask is, why did you decide to sent to Freedman Small step.

00:34 So I used to work for NPR, National Public Radio, and I actually did a project with one small step previously. So I did an event in Alabama with one small step and with the corporation for public broadcasting, and I kind of saw how powerful these types of conversations could be and just kind of wanted to see for myself what it would be like to be a part of one. And, yeah, I think it's. I also, like, have had some just kind of tricky friendships and relationships that have been a little bit torn apart by politics and by things where we disagree. So as I kind of come around to the different nuances of that, I feel like these one on one conversations can, like, really work to bring people together, find common ground.

01:20 Yeah, well, I chose to do this because I just saw it for the run with Jim on his instagram, and I thought it would just be something cool to kind of, like, discuss kind of my views because I don't really get to do that with friends I currently have and just kind of just something new to do in my first year of college.

01:43 So my last question before handed them off to you guys.

01:47 And again, you'll see a copy of what you're partnered with for their bio. So I'm going to ask each of.

01:53 You to take a moment and read.

01:55 Out loud what your partner has written.

01:57 And then once you've each read out your partner's bio, if there are any.

02:00 Immediate questions that come to mind, feel free to ask it, and then we'll kind of move into, like, the more formative.

02:06 So I'll let you know.

02:11 Ali hi, my name is Ali and I'm a second year MBA student at Darden. I grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia, and in the DC area and have spent most of my adult life in DC and New York. I'm passionate about music and grew up playing violin, but now I'm just a music fan. I think I was most shaped by the dynamics of my parents huge families and more recently by the death of my grandmother during COVID.

02:37 Alex's bio says, I grew up in a fairly wealthy family in Virginia beach and went to a magnet school for math and science. I had back surgery for scoliosis in 9th grade and want to become a doctor.

02:52 So, for your music, what kind of, like, got you interested and, like, kind of. You said that you don't really play violin anymore. I'm kind of a musician myself. I started a couple years playing guitar, so.

03:07 Yeah, awesome. Yeah, I don't know. I played violin since I was starting when I was six, and then till I was 18 pretty intensely, and then studied music in college in kind of like, a less performance way. I don't know. I honestly just heard classical music on the radio one night, and I was like, mom, I want to do that. She was like, okay. But it was, like, my main thing, my main kind of activity. Like, most kids played sports. I did music all through elementary and high school. And. Yeah, I don't know. It was just something that was very consistent. I also did the Suzuki method of, like, music education, which is very, like, for young kids. It basically involves the parent very heavily in teaching and practicing. And so it was. I don't think I knew it at the time, but it was also a way to kind of connect with my mom. Cause we did that together. And then I do think I kind of burnt out on all of that. Cause I was just doing it so intensely for so many years. And so, yeah, after probably, like, half or three quarters of the way through undergrad, I was just sort of, like, done with it. And it's been hard in some ways to, like, have something that's so big in your life and then have it either, like, change form or not be big anymore. But I think I'm, like, pretty content with it now. Like, I can honor the part of me that really put a lot of work into that and just know. Okay. Like, it looks different now. I want to hear about your bass guitar journey, though. How's that going?

04:45 Well, I started with acoustic guitar, what, two years ago, or actually two and a half now. I just saw my. A couple of my friends just play acoustic guitar together. I think the song was wish you were here. It's a great song, but I saw that and kind of was inspired by that. And my dad had an old broken nylon guitar, and, you know, just, like, I had to start by putting my finger, forcing it onto the frets with my right hand, which. It was pretty humbling.

05:24 Yeah, it's a very. Yeah, it's really hard, like, to. It's such an unnatural movement. Like, I also played guitar a little bit, and, yeah, if you haven't done it before. It's like, what am I. What are you trying to make your body do?

05:36 But I just kind of stuck with it. And I've just been kind of slowly, like, ramping up how much I play, and now I'm, like, spending a lot of time on it. It's one of my main hobbies, and it's a lot of fun.

05:51 That's awesome. In your bio, I was curious about the last part, about the back surgery and wanting to become a doctor. I was wondering if those two things were connected, like, if you want to become a doctor because of that experience and how that kind of shaped you and everything.

06:08 Yeah, I think it's kind of somewhat connected. It's not the main reason why, for me, I think becoming a doctor is just kind of combining the academic aspect of becoming a doctor. Like, kind of using your brain to kind of figure out the problems with someone and how to help them the best, and also kind of bringing together the more caring aspect. I wouldn't call myself someone who's always like, oh, how are you doing? Like, that kind of person. Always trying to be kind, but more of, like, if I really enjoy something, doing something, I will do a lot through that to just kind of help people. And bringing that into the medical profession, I think, is one of the reasons why I'm trying to do it. And also the academic aspect.

07:04 That's awesome. My parents and my sister are all doctors. So grown up in that world.

07:11 And then also the back surgery. Kind of just knowing what it's like to kind of go through something big like that. It gives perspective, I think.

07:21 Yeah, I can imagine. Okay, do we move on? Okay, great. All right, so who has been the most influential person in your life, and what did they teach you?

07:37 Probably, I don't really have a single most influential person, but I think some really influential people in my life are my grandparents, especially my male grandparents on my mom's side, her parents divorced, and I became really close with my biological grandfather and my step grandfather and the biological grandfather. He is a businessman, and so he kind of provides kind of more of a business perspective on life and how to kind of be fiscally responsible and among other things, and just. He also kind of helps provide me opportunities. And we would have dinner every month during high school, maybe even more than a month, and just kind of the conversations. He's more on the kind of conservative side of the political spectrum, and my parents are more on the liberal side. So it's kind of nice getting both perspectives and then the step grandfather. He is a very caring man. He would drive me to some of my tutoring sessions, and we just always have really interesting and thoughtful conversations, and his kind of love of reading and literature. And also he does pro bono immigration work, which is really kind of just cool. He's a really caring person. Just kind of bringing those two not necessarily opposing, but different perspectives, has kind of really influenced me.

09:43 That's awesome to have, like, kind of. It sounds like two pretty different but equally, like, kind of present, like, role models or people, like, bounce off ideas in your life. That's. That's awesome.

09:55 What idea?

09:56 I think for me, it was my violin teacher who taught me from when I was six to 16, and then I moved to cities, so I grew up in West Virginia, then we moved to northern Virginia, and, you know, I got a different violin teacher, but her name's Mary. She's, like, we stayed very close for a very long time, and she was kind of a brutal disciplinarian in some ways. Like, when my mom first signed me up for lessons, she was, like, just so you know, like, your kid's gonna cry. Like, it's not gonna be easy, and. But I think after a while, like. Like, I would, like, talk at her. Like, I would. We just, like, had this, like, sort of, like, weird, funny dynamic that, like, she could push me, and I knew it was out of wanting the best for me and not out of any kind of, like, malice and, like, I could give it to her, too, and it was, like, funny. And I think there was also a dynamic there that, like, she had sons and, like, even though, like, the age difference wouldn't have made sense for this, like, I think in some ways, like, she viewed me as a bit of, like, a daughter, and her is, like, a mother, a grandmother figure, and I think it was just kind of a different role that I maybe didn't have elsewhere in my life. So, yeah, I think it was just someone seeing, like, possibility in me and really trying to cultivate that from a young age and, like, for a long time. And also, like, I had, like, a pretty hard time in middle school and high school, as I think, like, a lot of young girls do. And she, like, that was just, like, totally absent. When I went into her classroom and we were practicing and stuff, it was just, like, only about my skill or what I needed to work on and less about how I looked or what I was into or whatever else. So I think it was just sort of, like, really helpful to have that sort of, like, relationship with someone.

12:08 Would you say that kind of you growing up in a large family, it was kind of like having someone outside of that that kind of really cared about you, affected you a lot, kind of.

12:19 So, like, I was only one of three, but my parents, like, my mom is one of 16, my dad's one of seven. So, like, I think they. And this is no fault of them, but I think they were just used to sort of, like, you know, you fend for yourself. And in some ways, I think they modeled that with my. Me and my siblings. And so I think there are just some parts of the, like, I don't know, like, parental relationship that they just maybe, like, not that anything was missing, but I think it was just helpful to have, like, sort of an adult figure. Like, it sounds like your grandfather were sort of similar, just, like, having an additional perspective outside of your parents you see every day. So I don't know if the large family dynamic really tied in there, but maybe it's an interesting point. Okay, switching gears, can you recall your earliest memory of politics?

13:24 There's plenty different ones I could choose from, but we would always have dinner table discussions with our family. My sister, she is a fierce negotiator. She is really good at proving her point. And then kind of that kind of played into our family dynamic, where we kind of just discuss kind of what's going on in the world. I know you kind of mentioned before that you worked with NPR. We were also in NPR family.

14:05 Nice.

14:07 Yeah. My dad would, whenever we would drive to soccer practice, we always had all things considered turned on the radio. And so that was kind of, like, I guess my earliest, like, actual exposure to news and kind of figuring that out. And then another thing is, also in 8th grade, we did this, like, little mock election, and we were kind of split into the conservative, moderate, and liberal. And I just remember that it was just like, middle schoolers and politics don't really mix well.

14:49 We did something like that, too. I remember they had, like, I went to a catholic school, and they had us debating abortion when we were, like, 13. And I'm like, guys, no one knows what any of this means. But, yeah, anyway, yeah, kind of. I think somewhat similarly, although a big one for me was 911. I do not think you were alive yet, which is wild. But, you know, I was in fourth grade at the time, and I just remember, like, they came on, like, the intercom and my elementary school, and, like, said something had happened, and we were like, what? Like, to, like a ten year old? It just doesn't make sense. But I think the, like, fallout and fear from that. Washington, like, even in West Virginia, which was pretty geographically removed from where a lot of this happened, it still had just, like, such a big impact. And then I remember, like, in the year two or three after that, like, green Day came out with this album called American Idiot. And, like, you know, it was just. It just became very in vogue as I became more of a music fan to be against things like George Bush and just see these very kind of anti war and anti, and I guess, just more pro liberal viewpoints in pop culture and in the media. So that's sort of my earliest kind of memory.

16:27 All right, moving on. Could you briefly describe your personal political beliefs?

16:36 Yes, I would say I am very socially liberal, fiscally moderate. I kind of predictably, like, I've been in an MBA program for the past couple years, and, like, some people are financially motivated. I think that's an okay thing. And I do think that, you know, if you earn money sometimes, I wouldn't like it to be super taxed. At the same time, like, I haven't engaged with that part of. I would say that part of my political beliefs is not as developed as my, like, kind of social feelings, but on, like, the social policy side, I'm, like, very pro choice, very, like, anti gun, very, like, I'm very pro, like, social services, that sort of thing. So that's kind of where I stand. What about you?

17:36 For me, if I were to put myself in a category, I'd probably put myself as fairly moderate in both social and fiscal policies. I like to kind of ideas are my thing. I don't really like labeling myself in kind of different areas. One of the things I'm probably most passionate about is the healthcare. I don't think there should be a profit motivation to kind of serve people and give their. Make them pay for having something that they need to have done. That's kind of one of the big things I find wrong with our current system. And then economically, it's a balance I don't really have. My beliefs aren't super specific, unless you ask me, like, a specific question. But I think balance is kind of one of the main things we should strive for, making sure we can fund these things that bring up people in a responsible way without kind of hurting our ability to fund future projects.

19:04 Yeah.

19:05 And socially, I agree with Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade. I think if a fetus is not viable, then you should be able to abort it, but if it is, then you should not. Yeah, I think that's kind of generally what my beliefs are. Got it.

19:31 Um. Was there a moment or experience in your life that helped shape your beliefs?

19:39 Kind of going back to the grandfathers, just our conversations. I remember a conversation with my biological grandfather, and I was talking about the 2016 presidential race with him, and he voted for Trump. And during our dinner table conversation, I was like, yeah, I think Elizabeth Warren should be run for president, or that should be it. And he was like, what? And that was kind of when I realized that I was kind of, I just heard what my dad said and kind of just copied it. And it wasn't necessarily my own idea. And that kind of, I guess, made me realize that maybe I can kind of think more for myself and make my own decisions rather than relying on the people around me.

20:43 That's a big moment to have to really realize that. And, yeah, that seems really powerful, definitive. I feel like, for me, I feel like this is topical because we just did the run. And I know President Ryan just ran Boston, but I was in college in training for a half marathon when the Boston marathon bombings happened. And that, I don't know, maybe I'm misremembering. I feel like that guy also shot people. I could be wrong. I don't know. In my mind, like, that just made me very, like, I think, focused on, like, safety and just, like, the fact that it just brought to mind that people should have the right to go about their lives and live safely. Obviously, that was, like, a terrorist attack, but I kind of consider mass shootings to be terrorism in their own way as well. And obviously, like, in my view, I think, like, the availability of guns, especially, like, semi automatic rifles and all the ammo needed for those, like, enables people to go out and do that. And so for me, like, I was. I think I was just so kind of unexpectedly, frankly, like, traumatized by that event. I loved to run. I was really getting into it for the first time at that time in my life. And just to see someone, like, a bunch of people who were doing one of the biggest events of their lives, like, have that be put at risk or die or be injured, was just, like, so horrible to me. And that's happening constantly in this country. And so I think my kind of, like, anti gun views sort of took shape then. I think in terms of, like, the, like, just politics as a whole. I grew up in West Virginia, which is just a very corrupt state. Like, there's this whole, like, the government is tied to the coal industry, is tied to the big employers in the state, and I won't get into it, but it did have, like, a direct impact on my family. And so I think separate from individual issues, that just made me a little bit skeptical and, like, jaded by, like, politics as a whole. So, yeah, that's kind of a tangent, but I feel like those are two kind of, like, definitive moments for me. Do you ever feel misunderstood by people with different beliefs than you and how so?

23:37 I don't really talk about my beliefs very much with people other than close friends. So whenever we kind of have a conversation, we kind of tend to go pretty deep and try and figure out what the other person is actually thinking. I go on car rides sometimes with one of my pretty close friends, and half the car ride is just me chatting with him, and the other half is politics. He's very conservative, and I'm more on the kind of moderate side. So it's fun kind of, like, hashing out our ideas and kind of figuring out what's best.

24:17 Do you feel like there's ever, like, a limit or, like, tension there when the politics stuff comes up, or is it sort of like, we know we can have this conversation and come out and be civil and, like, you know, still be friends with each other at the end?

24:34 Yeah. Yeah, we. We can definitely. We're not really. We don't really care what each other thinks. We do, but we don't. Yeah. Like, for all my friendships, politics have never been really a sticking point, like, unless you're crazy, which people can kind of view as being crazy in different ways. But none of my friends have ever been politically crazy in my viewpoint, so I haven't really had that. I kind of like to go back talking about my general beliefs.

25:15 Yeah.

25:18 I think firearms. I don't think people should be able to go in with a 60 round magazine fire on a whole school. I think that's kind of excessive. However, I think that people should be able to hunt and get their own food.

25:42 Yeah, I totally agree with that. Yeah.

25:45 I think, really the gray area for me is I know that there's people that kind of hunt coyotes, for instance, and they use AR 15s, which are also used in the school shootings. So that is kind of where do we kind of draw the line on that? And so that's kind of where I stand on that. And then on the kind of diversity equity inclusion aspect of things. I find that to be a really tricky subject because I want to be compassionate to these groups, but I don't want to have the burden on me to kind of be like, I'm the oppressor I wronged you, because I didn't. It was people in the past, 100 years ago or 70 years ago that were kind of. Were they hurt? Kind of groups of people. But it's hard to kind of promote fairness while trying to bring a different group of people up that have been marginalized in the past. And I also kind of, like, not necessarily being told, you have to believe this. I think one of the things in our college is, like, they're promoting is you have to be anti racist. And I don't think I have to be. I think I can just be a respectful person, everyone I meet. And yes, I may have bias towards that, but I want to live a life where I'm not wearing, oh, am I not anti racist enough? Am I doing enough to respect my fellow people that are marginalized?

27:47 Do you feel like there's, like, keep us honest if we're going too far off script here, but do you feel like there's difference between, like, do you feel, like, how you categorize it or how you name it, like, is what trips you up? Because I kind of agree where I think that there's. I remember, like, after, like, the George Floyd thing happened and everything, there were talks about, like, how to be an ally and what that looks like. And I just remember hearing about this concept of non optical allyship, where you're basically, optical allyship would be going out of your way to be like, look at me, I'm so inclusive. I'm so whatever. Whereas non optical allyship is maybe, like, as you said, just being respectful and kind to everyone, regardless, it's, you know, donating to organizations without raising a flag and being, like, I donated. You know, like, it's something that's a little bit, I think, more internally motivated and internally facing. Like, do you feel like that resonates with you? Like, if you don't have to outwardly, like, name what you're doing and you just do it? Or is it. Does that make sense?

29:16 Kind of, yeah, I think kind of. If you're just doing it just to show that, oh, I donated to this organization, or, hey, I'm cool, I support this thing, and you're just doing it for show. You don't actually. It's not really a big part of who you are. I don't think that's really genuine and authentic, and I think that's what we should strive for is being kind of genuine and authentic with each other and kind of sometimes if I'm, like, self censoring myself to kind of follow, I guess, being anti racist, I guess, is it just makes me or not me necessarily, but people less genuine about who they are. And I. When people are kind of less genuine, it takes a toll and it makes them more tired. It's a kind of mental drain, and I don't think that's really great for our society. And also I think it reduces kind of the ability to kind of talk about topics when it's expected that you're gonna act a certain way even if you don't believe it.

30:35 Yeah, no, I get that. I think I agree with some of what you're saying. Like, I. I'm very private about most of my beliefs. I. Yeah, I think part of it is because I can, despite what I believe, I can usually see other sides and other perspectives for most issues. So, like, I don't. Yeah, I'm not going to be the one, like, out there, like, protesting, really, for anything or whatever else. Like, it's just I can always. Not always, 80% of the time, I can see the other side. So I agree that when there's this sort of group expectation of what? Like, there only being one way to present yourself or one way to be inclusive or one way to, you know, engage with a certain issue or belief, I think that's really limiting. So, yeah, I think, as you said, it can be inauthentic, like, and that can be damaging. I feel like we kind of got to the fourth question, you know, feeling troubled by people with the same beliefs as you. Have you ever experienced doubt in your political beliefs?

32:02 No, plenty. Yeah, I doubt them all the time. Yeah, I'm constantly kind of, okay, is this actually, like, kind of the best idea and kind of preparing that? And it's hard sometimes because, like, sometimes I want to stay strong with the belief, and there's kind of evidence that kind of goes against it, and it's kind of figuring out, okay, what are my actual beliefs versus this kind of competing evidence? Because if I go conversation to conversation, I'll maybe change my wording slightly to kind of be more agreeable with the person I'm talking to. And so kind of just figuring out, okay, what do I actually believe?

32:50 Yeah, I get that. I think I've also. I would say I haven't experienced much doubt with particular issues. Like, I've been very, you know, pro choice. I've been pretty anti, like, big gun, you know, for a while. But, like, on the economic, like, fiscal side, I'm definitely constantly, like. Again, I just don't know enough about it. I haven't engaged enough with that side of my beliefs to have a formed opinion. So I do feel like I doubt things a lot on that side. And then, like, one of my really close friends is super conservative, and we've gotten to a point where we don't really engage in talking about politics, but I do feel like there are some things where she'll say something. I'm like, oh, oh. Like, I haven't thought of it that way. Like, you know, it makes me think and kind of similar to you. It's like, when I, like, question that, I'm like, do I not actually know, like, how I feel? Like, what's wrong with me? But I had this professor in undergrad who said something, like, you question something because you care. And I thought that was kind of, like, a really powerful reminder of, like, oh, like, I don't need to be steadfast in what I believe. Like, as you have more conversations like this or, like, just live in the world, like, your views might change and, like, that's okay. And I think, like, with social media and just, like, how quickly people are expected to, like, have an opinion on things, it's like, it can feel. I feel like there's a lot of pressure to be like, this is what I believe, and I'm standing right by it. And if you scroll back in my feed and see that I believed something different a year ago, like, people are gonna come after you, but it's like, it. We're all human and, like, yeah. Living life and things can, like, subject to change.

34:44 Yeah. Social media is a really interesting topic because I think it's one of the kind of causes of decreased mental health in teenagers because there's so much comparison going on, it's kind of hard to live a life where if you're active on social media, where you're not kind of, like, posing for a photo or trying to look your best and you're just not really being authentic. It's not really an authentic platform, and I really like authenticity. And it's kind of just sad to see a lot of people just, even if it's not necessarily the direct cause. But, I mean, I've had people in my life that have had a lot of struggles mentally, and just having a much larger prevalence of that in our teenage population, I don't think is really great.

35:50 Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, in my day, I'm aging myself. I was, like, on MySpace and stuff, and that was, like, damaging enough. And if I had a phone when I was, like, 1112, I would have been in a dark place. So, no, I agree with you.

36:08 Yeah. Especially during puberty when everyone's comparing themselves.

36:11 Oh, horrible.

36:16 Sorry, I just don't know anything here. Ali, I know you mentioned a graduate.

36:22 School and you think a lot about your fiscal sort of opinions.

36:28 I was wondering, have you experienced any change in your social beliefs?

36:35 Like, has being in the graduate school.

36:38 Changed anything from your perspective?

36:42 Yeah, I would say my social beliefs. My social beliefs haven't changed at their core, very much. I think what's changed is how I think about business's role in shaping society. Basically. Like, I think one thing we talk about a lot is whether businesses have a responsibility or a role, or even if it's appropriate to speak out on social issues and what social issues and why. I think even bigger picture, I think a lot about nonprofits versus for profit corporations and their roles in just doing stuff that's good for people. I used to work for a nonprofit and got a little jaded. I think about how limited of an impact they could have, because the business model is fundamentally rooted. And you're just constantly thinking, like, where's the next dollar coming from? And this is even at a fairly large one, whereas at a for profit corporation, like, obviously there's downsides to that, too, but you have the possibility to just, like, there's so much less red tape. Usually you can just, like, go out there and do stuff. So I think, for me, my opinion on social issues hasn't changed, but my curiosity about how different, how business can play a role in shaping society has that's sort of increased.

38:30 Um, like, I know you've said yourself.

38:35 To be moderate, classic social and physical aspects, and now that you're, like, in.

38:40 The university states, and now universities are able to be, like, more liberal. So I was wondering, like, how you tackled that.

38:48 Like, how have you, like, stood by.

38:50 Your beliefs and communicated that with others.

38:53 Or, you know, worked through that dynamic.

38:59 Generally? I would say that I kind of just think a lot. A lot of my beliefs are kind of based on kind of reading the news, thinking about, okay, what's kind of the best way to approach this? I recently, I got a subscription to the New York Times, the university, and I bought a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. And kind of, those are my two main news sources. So it's kind of like competing New York Times is more liberal, Wall Street Journal is more fiscally conservative, and just generally conservative. And so kind of just getting a constant stream of different viewpoints is kind of the main way I do that. So we are getting close to the 40 minutes part.

39:53 So I just wanted to make sure.

39:55 You guys have some time with us. Some of our last questions in part four just sort of reflecting on the.

40:00 Conversation that we're having and what kind.

40:02 Of things that we learned.

40:04 So I'll give you guys a few.

40:05 Minutes to ask each other those questions and have asked.

40:07 Cool. I'm going to kind of combine them, I guess. Is there anything. Yeah. That you maybe don't agree with but respect and like what do you feel like you've learned overall? Like in the conversation?

40:28 There isn't really er. Let me think. Kind of agree with a lot of things in principle but maybe execution a little bit differently. You kind of share similar beliefs that I kind of grew up around. So it's pretty easy to respect what you believe. Yeah, that's kind of generally my answer to that question.

40:58 Yeah, I feel overall pretty similar. I'm glad you brought up the sort of nuance to your beliefs around guns. I mean, I agree. I grew up in a state where it's like we had a whole week off in the fall because people wanted to go and hunt and whatever and like that. I feel like that's very much fine. So I'm glad you sort of like brought up that nuance. I think the one small thing I noticed that like we don't agree on like I'm very pro choice. I'm like I just, I think until, you know, women have more like just full access to like birth control and that sort of thing, especially like abortion just needs to be an option. But I do respect your beliefs, especially given your sort of caveat that like if the fetus isn't viable like that, that's sort of an exception that you believe in. So and I feel like I personally, like my orbit of people is very similar to me in that it's like pro choice like in almost a radical way. So it's just helpful to like have a conversation like even if we agree on a lot of other things but have that difference there. And it's just helpful, I think for me to be exposed to that. And then is there anything that surprised you?

42:18 I want to add to what you were saying. I think nuance is really important and something that we really lack these days. We get a lot of like headline news. There was recently the Dominion voting Fox News settlement and if you read some of those Fox News headlines, those are very divisive and they don't really show the full picture and same on the other side of the spectrum and they really lack nuance and kind of the the nuance of the things is kind of really what matters and kind of really what makes it like a good idea.

43:03 Totally.

43:11 Do you have anything more that you'd like to add?

43:14 Honestly? No. I mean, this was cool. Like, I'm not out here talking to undergrads pretty much ever, so. No, it was a really cool experience. Yeah. What about you?

43:28 I mean, what, you're twelve years older?

43:30 Yeah.

43:31 What's it like being older?

43:35 Oh God. You'll learn a lot in your twenties, I think. But also I still don't know what I'm doing. So I think I learned. I remember I had a moment at my first job where I was like all adults are just big kids and no one knows what they're doing. And I think once you. That's my only advice is once you accept that, that no one really.