The Changing Face of Marriage

At home my 'domestic church' has somewhat faded away in my life. As a child we would have family dinners and read a prayer out of a book almost every night. Everyday would always be a new life lesson I would learn about forgiving and loving my family. For example when my sister and I fought I was taught that we are to forgive each other because we are family and to love each other always. Today we rarely have time to have family dinners and don't read a prayer every night. At the holidays when the entire family is around the table we do pray and thank God for the bountiful meal we are about to eat. It has become much more difficult for the family to be together because we are all just so busy and also now grown up. In 'Parenthood' you see a very complicated modern family and their problems. Some pros that are seen in the episode are that they always look out for each other and want their family to be close and strong. For example the young girls aunt took it upon herself to watch over her when she was put into a complicated situation with her boss. The aunt did what she thought was right to protect her niece and would hope that her sister in law would do the same thing for her children. 'Parenthood' shows everyday complications that happen in a family today, which weren't as prominent in our society in previous years. In my future I hope to set up a 'domestic church' in my home and teach love, forgiveness, and trust. I hope that the studies by Pew Trust are correct and that my home can be strong, loving, and healthy.

Dating and Marriage

Right now in a relationship I am not looking for a life long commitment. I am just looking for someone who I am compatible with and someone that makes me happy, someone that I can trust and get along with. In todays society a lot of relationships are about what can I get out of this. People forget that a relationship requires two people to give and to be unselfish. I understand that not being selfish is a hard thing to accomplish and that is probably why relationships take so long to build. There needs to be time for each person to learn each other and themselves and put those qualities into their relationship with one another. Christians love not only themselves but also one another and that is what a relationship needs to stay strong and grow. I hope that in my future I can have a relationship that is strong and forever, that my marriage is full of love and happiness in both of us.

Dating: What's the Point?

I think that dating is a good thing for everyone to do. I say this because if you do not date than how do you know what you really want from another person. A lot of people think they know what they want but then as soon as they get it they don't want it anymore. People need to put themselves out there and learn how to interact with others by just communicating and going on just a date. While dating there doesn't have to be anything serious between the couple. They can just being going out to meet someone new and learn about the other person and themselves. For the dating scene I do not see it with my peers very often. Dating is more toward people who are in there 20s and 30s trying to find their partner. Today hooking up is a big part of our culture. It is seen a lot in college life but also in high school. People don't like to be tired down by a person and just like to have fun. I see nothing wrong with this but I think there does have to be some line as to what is to far. In high school hooking up just usually applies to just making out but in college hooking up can mean anything. I think that is where it can go to far. Going out and having to many partners I think is part of a reason as to why the divorce rate is high. I say this because people become accustomed to being with so many people that it is then hard to transition to being with just one. Overall, I believe that dating and hooking up is good for people to do and to experience. It gives people a chance to learn themselves and to see what they want in another person. There just needs to be a boundary as to how much, how many, and how far until it is no longer ok.

Some Say Love...

In dating or in a committed relationship each person needs to be able to respect and especially trust each other. If a relationship cannot do these two things then the relationship isn’t going to go very far. In a relationship the two people must be open with each other. Conversations, honesty, respect, and understanding always need to be present in a relationship. I think that the people need to be compatible but not exactly the same. The person you are in a relationship with should help you grow as a person and help you be and find your true self. In a relationship I want love, happiness, laughter, and just someone to be there for me no matter what comes at me in life. After a bad break up I am sure many girls were able to relate to Adele's "Someone Like You" because she was able to say that love does have ups and downs. So many girls have listen to One Directions "What Makes You Beautiful" and Taylor Swifts "Love Story” because many girls hope that one day that it will happen to them. Everyone wants to feel loved and many people try to hard and want it now. I think if you want to find the person that best suits you by not looking and just waiting for it to come. Love comes in all sorts of ways and comes when you least expect it. Like the article had said many couples are filing for divorce before their fifth anniversary and for me I see it as a couple committing before they are ready for it. Everyone will come to find his or her perfect person in time so the searching for that person needs to calm down. Maybe there is and maybe there aren’t soul mates for everyone but there are still so many other things out in the world. People need to stop worrying and over contemplating about finding there other person. They need to start to enjoy the life that they have now and just wait for the right person for them.

Little Women

After reading "Little Women: How consumer culture is forcing girls to grow up too fast" I see some things, as a kid, I was exposed to but then again a lot of things I wasn't shown. As a kid I played with the Bratz dolls and Barbie but I never thought of what they were wearing would be something I would ever wear. I just saw them as something to play with. Also with the Disney movies I just enjoyed the songs and the characters in the movies. I wasn't paying so much attention to what the girls were wearing. I think my mindset of not inspiring to wear the outfits they did has kept me level headed. As the article had said many young girls see what the princess and dolls are wearing and they want to wear it to. As a kid I wasn't exposed to the media very much because we did not have cable. My parents didn't like the shows that were on TV and only allowed my sister and I to watch shows they approved of, like Arthur. Today, every one of all ages is more exposed to suggestive images because of the media. Through commercials of Victoria Secret or ads in magazines that you can't even tell what the product is. I think that this has affected many girls self esteem issues including myself. We constantly see how a woman should look in our society but we know that it is not possible to look that way no matter how hard we try. Some girls try so hard to look a certain way but are then just judged and criticized because they dress provocatively and inappropriately for their age. In the article when they said stores are now making thongs for girls 7 to 10 years old I was shocked. That is too young of an age for a girl to be wearing a thong, I don't even think at that age I knew what a thong was. Lastly, being in an all girl catholic school I have been taught a lot on this topic. We learn in class how the media just photo shops every photo so the woman in the picture can look there best and most appealing to the viewers. We learn to be confident women just the way we are and not to change ourselves because that is the way media or boys want us to look.

Sources of my identity

In second grade my mom transferred me out of public school and into a catholic grade school. Here is where I met two of my closest friends today. Ever since my first day at Saint Albert the Great we have been friends. This was due to my second grade teacher forcing the girls to watch over me at a new school. Little did we know that it was the best thing that would ever happen to us. All throughout grade school we were close and even though we are now at different high schools nothing has changed. We still talk all the time and always have such a fun time when we hang out. We have such great memories together and I wouldn't change that for anything.

Also in second grade my mom wanted me to learn how to swim so I wouldn't drown. At first I didn't take very well to the sport I just sat on the pool deck and cried. But I soon after got over it very fast and have loved it ever since then. I have met some of the most amazing people while swimming there and I will always remember every meet and every team member. While swimming I am able to just forget everything and just focus on myself. It has gotten me through so much going to the pool ever

y day and clearing my head. I love it so much and I don't know what I would do without it in my life.

I also love to travel. I have been so blessed that I have been able to go to so many different places recently. When I was younger my family and I would always go on family vacations. I loved looking at the new and more interesting places than just my home. Each summer my family would go down the shore, go camping, or go somewhere new like Niagara Falls. My favorite trips would have to be, even to

this day, when we went down to Disney. I can never get tired of going down there and I am excited to be going down there again this summer. More recently I went to Costa Rica, which will be a trip that I will never forget. It was such a new and exotic place and I love traveling all throughout the country enjoying every second of it. But probably my most favorite place to travel would be England. I had gone there two summers ago and I loved every second of it. I was able to meet family I have never met before, see amazing scenery you don't see in America, and huge castles. I am so excited to be going back there this summer. It shall be an amazing time.