The Changing Face of Marriage

My experience of the domestic church started when I was little and still continues today. Every Sunday, my parents took my siblings and I to mass and now we know to do so without being told. They have showed me the importance of faith and God in my life and the fact that I must make God a part of my everyday life. In addition, my mom would pray with me before I went to bed to thank God for the events that happened that day and for the special people in my life when I was younger. We would also pray together as a family before dinner and still do when we are all home at the same time to eat. Through these several things, my parents have been the first preachers of faith for me.  Not only have they done this through their actions but they correct me when I do wrong so that I do the right thing the next time and be a better person. Through their instructions and examples, they have showed me how to be more like God and therefore a better person.  Because of the example and experience of the domestic church, I plan to instill it in my home when I am older for my kids. I learned from my parents the importance of God and the need to keep Him in my life before I went to school and had religion class.

I am not surprised by the statistics that said people with a college degree have a less chance of divorcing than those who do not have a degree. This is because, for the most part those going to college are motivated people who have goals for the future. They strive to accomplish what they had planned and become situated with their life and then focus on marriage. Together they have a stable income and can afford the things they need and not have the financial stress. However, those who do not have a college degree usually face the financial difficulties which puts tension between the couple. Although these are the statistics, I would hope that above all else there is love between the couple and they could work through their problems.

Dating and Marriage

Dating is a experimental time for both people in the relationship to see whether or not they are right for each other. It is a necessary component for those looking for a life long commitment to discover the type of person they think is right for them. From dating, people also learn new things about themselves that their partner may have pointed out through their experiences together. I agree that more relationships today have become more about self gain from the relationship rather than what the two collaboratively learned and sacrificed together. I think it is easy to do this because when people are dating, they are always asked whether or not they are happy. When asked this, many people will think about the things they personally received from their partner.However, I believe happiness is key in a relationship and can represent ones own happiness and mutual happiness in their commitment to each other. I also find it very important to have great communication with your partner and be clear with what your values are so that they can respect them and you can do the same for them. I also believe that it is important to be open to new discoveries in relationships as you find out more about your partner that may be different to you but something so important to them. Therefore, respect is also a must and key in creating happiness in enjoying each others company. Love in a relationship comes when communication, respect, happiness, and commitment are present.

Dating: What's the Point?

Dating seems like a natural step and mandatory step in life that everyone does, however, there are some people who are 'anti-daters'. Seems crazy, but these people believe that dating contributes to the divorce rate. However, I believe dating is essential in discovering new things about yourself and your partner and making sure that you are compatible with that person. It is about experiencing new things and defining who you really are around all people. Through dating, I believe it is helping the divorce rate since people see their partner in all seasons, circumstances, and true personalities. They see that person for who they really are and can decide whether they are fit for them or not. If there is no dating involved then I feel it would be very hard to then jump right into marrying that person.

The fact that many people associate sex with dating may be the reason why there are 'anti-daters'. However, dating does not mean sex. It means having a deeper connection and kindling that connection with your partner and having that person as more than just a friend. There are surely other ways to express love other than sex. I think this notion is an issue for many teens today who think that dating means sex because of the way that the media portrays it as if it is not big deal. They may feel pressured to do this and totally regret it but think it is normal. This goes with 'hooking up' as well. I feel that guys focus more on 'hooking up' with girls than really getting to know them and respecting them for who they are. It is about 'getting some' for them whereas, girls want more of a relationship and wait for that guy to talk to them again and then hopefully date. Dating is clearly essential in life and finding your right partner to marry to avoid divorce.

Some Say Love...

Love is something that means many other meanings. Love means commitment, trust, sacrifice, and happiness to name a few. These are the things I believe should be present in a relationship in order to have love but there also needs to be an initial connection between two people. If these other things come in in the relationship, then I truly believe there is love. That person should love you for who you are and enjoy being around you all the time. A best friend can do these things too but I think it is important to have a best friend separate from a soul mate. There is still love for both but your soul mate should be the person you get that feeling about and know they are right for you. Most songs today talk about love in different types of relationships. The following songs include different messages about love.

"I'm Gonna Love you Through It" by Martina McBride
In this song, Martina McBride talks about a woman with three young kids and a husband who finds out she has cancer. Throughout her battle and struggles, her husband shows his love and describes what love should be and mean in a relationship. It is a great song because it talks about the importance of being there for your partner no matter what happens and being the person they can count on for anything. This is a key characteristic of a soul mate and something that should be present in true love relationships.

"When you’re weak, I’ll be strong
When you let go, I’ll hold on
When you need to cry, I swear that I’ll be there to dry your eyes
When you feel lost and scared to death,
Like you can’t take one more step
Just take my hand, together we can do it
I’m gonna love you through it."

"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith
In this song, love is clearly seen. If you truly love a person, you should treasure the time spent with them. This should be true for all relationships, whether it be with family or friends. If you truly care about that person, you will really enjoy your time spent with them and long for them to always be present in your life.

"Well, every moment spent with you
Is a moment I treasure
I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, baby "

"Love's Gonna Make it Alright" by George Strait
In this song, love (of course) is seen as the thing that matters most. Love is the main thing that can heal a person. The care and support from another can mean so much to a person and get them through their troubles. We need to love and accept ourselves to help ourselves overcome our own problems as well as those of others because love makes the world go round. Love should mean support for another in all things.

"When the world isn’t going your way
Or ever bad luck is getting you down.
Honey I will be right here for you with open arms,
you can run to me.
Baby, loves gonna make it, loves gonna make it alright"

"Without You" by David Guetta
In this song, there is definitely love, but love that is not reciprocated. Although not to this extent, if you love someone it should be very sad being separated from that person. This happens alot in relationships, where the one person may leave the other to take a break, and then realize that they miss that person. In other cases, this may also make the partner realize how much they love that person when they are gone.

"I won't soar, I won't climb
If you're not here I'm paralyzed without you, without you"

"Sparks Fly" by Taylor Swift
This song by Taylor Swift talks about a boy she wishes she were with. He is everything she wants and she imagines their relationship. She has a physical attraction towards him and really likes the way he smiles. In this song, we see the possible start of a relationship with the physical attraction.

" 'Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile"

Sex in the Media

Many advertisements today use men and women in sexually provocative positions, attempting to sell products that have nothing to with the product or service.

Who knew that this advertisement was for jeans? Not me. There is no connection between the image and the product it is aiming to sell, jeans. First of all this ad does not show the models in jeans or look like they are trying to sell the clothes they have on that we can see. This clearly has nothing to do with jeans, besides the small print at the bottom of the ad. It portrays a false notion about women and Guess jeans. It looks as if these jeans will make women this way and will get them a man like this. There are other ways to promote jeans which I think would be more effective. First of all, it would be good to show the models in jeans since that is what they are trying to sell. Second, there does not need to be models in a sexually provocative position to sell clothing. Instead, the ad could just consist of models or even these two models just standing next to each other in jeans and holding hands if there needs to be that connection. This ad does not make sense to me and definitely does not need to be like this. As the consumer, I have no interest in buying Guess jeans. I do not even know what they look like.

This ad is for Calvin Klein's fragrance for both men and women called Escape. Thanks to the caption at the bottom we can be assure of this. Otherwise, I would have no clue that this is supposed to be promoting fragrances. I do not think it is appropriate because this ad has the models very close to each other and about to make out. It is not necessary to have this. Instead, the ad could just have the two models next to each other instead of being all over each other. It may convey to consumers that this fragrance can get them in a situation like this. Clearly this is not true but according to this ad, that is what it looks like. This ad does not need to be this way, however it is not as bad as other ones for the models are fully clothed. However, their actions make up for this.

My Identity

My grade school, well the school in connection to my grade school for kids with Down Syndrome, will always be close to my heart for the impact it has had on my life. It was these children of Our Lady of Confidence School (OLC) that made this lasting affect. They would participate in most of our school activities with us and we would participate in some of theirs as well. In seventh grade, instead of going outside for recess everyday, we would dedicate some days to playing games with the 7th graders from OLC. I always enjoyed this time with them and loved seeing them smile and have a good time. Next year, in 8th grade, I was one of the 8 girls from my grade chosen to travel to the lower school of OLC and have lunch with the kids in 1st grade, play with them and help the teacher. I was so glad to have this opportunity and the students impacted and helped me more than I could ever help them. Some of the girls took it as a bother to give up their lunch for a week at a time to interact with these children but I really enjoyed it. Ever since this experience I had at OLC I have been drawn to helping those with special needs. This has encouraged me and sparked my interest in several possible majors: elementary special education, speech or occupational therapy. They have helped me not only in deciding my possible career paths but also have helped as a person.

My sister, Erin has impacted my life as well. She is five years older than me but we are very close and have always been this way. We share the same interests and many people even think we are twins. We both love the beach and shopping. I used to rely on her to pick me out the best clothes that were cool but now I help her too. We have the same style and it has come in handy for borrowing clothes! We have similar personalities yet we are different in many ways too. She has taught me to be a little more carefree and adventurous. She also introduced me to country music which I have grown to love so much. She used to always put it on in the car and I would beg her to turn it off. I never gave it a chance but when I did I fell in love. I listen to is everyday and it always puts me in a good mood not matter what. Not only has country music done this for me, but Erin has been the person to cheer me up when I'm sad or know exactly how I am feeling. I am so lucky to have her as the person I can always turn to in my life.

Swimming has been a part of my life for many years now. I started swimming competitively for my swim club during the summer starting in about 5th grade. When I found out Mount had a swim team I knew I really wanted to go there. I made the team freshman year and currently have less than a month left of swimming for Mount. It is crazy how the fast the years went by but the girls I have met on the swim team have impacted my life in many different ways. Since freshmen year, I have felt this impact because the team is very close and everyone really enjoys each others company. I still keep in touch with many of the girls that graduated because they were so kind to me when I was young and new to the team. I feel like among these girls, I was and am my truest self. They have highlighted things in myself that have become a main part of who I am today.