How do you define “fresh”?

A few years back I was interviewing fifth graders at a school in Oakland, CA about their favorite foods.

“I love Burger King,” said one student.

“What do you like about it?” I asked.

“I like that it’s fresh,” he said.

“What does fresh mean to you?” I responded.

“You know…it’s not just sitting there already. They make it right when you order it.”

And this, my friends, is why we shouldn’t assume that everyone shares the same language and definitions.

When I think of fresh, I think of ingredients that were recently harvested. And this student’s definition of fresh is what I’d probably call made-to-order.

In this situation, it truly does not matter how I would interpret this student’s feedback. What matters is what he found desirable and delicious.

And if I had applied my own definitions to his words, I would have lost the valuable and thoughtful opinion he was communicating.

Don’t make assumptions. Seek to learn.

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