Thanksgiving Interview - Essay Example

The interview process was a great experience for me. My recording partner was also very thrilled to answer the different questions I asked. It was especially thrilling for me because I aspire to become a television presenter and I took this act as though it was an actual television interview. Thanksgiving is a day when we give thanks for the blessings we have had throughout the year together with our families and friends.

My partner felt that although she went through a little bit of turmoil at the beginning of the year, she was still blessed and therefore had a lot to be thankful for. Among other things she was happy that her academic performance had improved considerably as compared to the previous years performance and she was glad that the heath of her ailing grandmother had significantly improved.

I felt that I was in control of the answers I received as an interviewer, and I probed into matters that I wanted my partner to expound on. I encountered the challenge of biasness where some questions directed the interviewee to provide a particular answer. To overcome this, I decided to rephrase the questions and ensure that they were neutral and not biased in any way. Some surprises that I encountered were based on the answers I received which I did not know about before the interview with my partner. Incidentally, I learned that she always celebrates Thanksgiving with her grandparents by traveling the world together.

From my interview, historians will learn about Hurricane Harvey which happened in Dallas. This was relevant because my partner had family members who were directly affected by the hurricane. Most of them lost all lost all their belongings to the hurricane but she was very thankful that none of them was seriously injured or lost their lives in the hurricane. This shows that material things are not that important since they can be lost in an instant. I, therefore, learned that the most important thing is the relationships we cultivate with other people.

During this interview, I learned from my partner that I should be thankful every day despite how hard life may seem at times. She taught me there is still a lot for me to be grateful for no matter what happens and that being thankful is a trait that enables someone to attract great things and always be happy. Additionally, I learned that I should not complain about different issues, but instead, I should strive to change the situation.

An interview is different from a text as a historical reference in that it gives the exact answers that were provided by the interviewee while a text contains paraphrased information. Therefore, the text contains information that is subject to the understanding and interpretation of the writer and may contain bias or wrong interpretation. Thus, it is better to use an interview as opposed to a text since it provides information as said by the interviewee without any alterations.

Differing historical perspectives are seen on the same matter because of various reasons; First, in the past, only a few people had literacy skills. Therefore, some of the written historical texts were written by people who were biased about the issues that they wrote about. This thus brings in a subjective as opposed to an objective point of view from the different writers. Second, some people have tried to fill the gaps for periods that are not recorded in history, therefore, providing information that may be untrue. Finally, the words used in different historical literature have also changed in definitions and meanings over time. Consequently, people understand this literature in various ways some that were not intended by the author.

If I were to conduct another interview, I would ensure that I prepare in advance by going over the questions in due time to ensure that they are neutral and not biased in any way. I would also make use of both open-ended and closed-ended questions. One person, I would like to interview is my mentor. This is because he has been able to achieve so much at a young age and I would like to know how his journey has been since he began his investment career as well as his philanthropic activities. The reason for this is that I also want to be a successful entrepreneur and would like to be prepared by knowing different challenges that successful people have faced to be ready for any problems that may arise along the way.

In an interview, I would like to be asked about my most significant motivation. This is because I was initially very lazy and did not want to even wake up in the morning. However, one day I was thinking, and I wondered why I wasted so much of my time doing unproductive things and not even trying to help my family. From that day on, I vowed to do all that I can, to become successful and support my family and the society around me and finally make a difference in the world.