FUTURE!

I think that marriage will change a lot in fifty years. I think our generation is very diverse and more open to different kinds of relationships that a re socially acceptable. We see more gay and lesbian couples now then before when it was not seen as “right”. However I think that we will see a change in laws that have to do with people marrying. I also think that we will see a lower percent of divorces in the future. I think people need to think long and hard before they say their vows. Because I believe when you say, “for better or for worse” or “till death do us part” you really need to mean and not bail when it gets tough.  People should try a little harder cause obviously marriage is hard and a big commitment but if your not ready then don’t jump into it.   So I hope to see more people staying in their marriages and I also hope to see equality for all types of diverse couples.

DIVERSE FORMS OF FAMILY!

The concept that really intrigued me this week was “Diverse Forms of Families”. I never really thought about how diverse some families could be. When I was younger I use to think a family was a mom, dad, and kids. However as I got older things changed. My parents decided to divorce and I lived with my mom and rarely saw my dad. After it was just my mom and my three sisters and my brother. This was our new family. Because of this I do not think the same as I did when I was younger a family is not just a mom, dad, and kids there are so many ways to have a family. Also the book it states that same sex couples cohabit together and they have adopted children. I personally would count this as family because a family could be made of anyone and any gender. I think as long as love for which they are with or raising is present it counts as a family. We live in a diverse society and I have learned that everyone does not think one way and is different in their own ways.

FAMILY! =D

Family is not necessarily just people who are blood related to you. I think family is the people who you are close to you and care for you. The people that would do anything for you and loves you for you. So I would define family as: the people who are blood related to you plus the others that care for you and love you like your blood family. What I think family members do for each other is just care and love each other, are there for you when you need them, and support you through anything. However not all families are the same and believe in this but this is how I grew up. The relationship types that I think fit my definition of “family” are vital marriage and total marriage: because the closeness emotionally and physically is there and there is still love and passion in the relationships.

The relationships types that don’t fit my definition are devitalized marriage and conflict-habituated marriage.

LOVE + COMMITMENT= HAPPY LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP

I have not experienced a relationship where there was not commitment or love present. However one of my family members has experienced this (we talk to each other about everything).  She had recently broke up with her girlfriend because she was not committed and wanted to take a break. However there was no doubt in the relationship about love but her girlfriend did not want to be in a commitment (she was not ready).  In the end they decided to break up and go their own ways. Her girlfriend did not want to make the decision of still being with the same person in the future. In conclusion it’s hard and sad to have a relationship with a lot of love but no commitment.

A relationship I could describe in which commitment was there but no love or feelings for each other: my parents. There were married for eighteen years. My mom got pregnant at sixteen; they decided to marry even though they were young. They were together for a long time and were committed to each other cause they had five kids, a house and cars. However they were not happy together and did not feel the same like when they were younger. They made a difficult decision and divorced. They both felt they didn’t want to stay together because they were not in love. They wanted to have a second chance to feel love again.

What this post made me learn was in order to have a stable long happy marriage you first need to have love and commitment in a relationship.

ONLINE OR FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIPS

I would agree with some of the critics online. I think when you meet someone on line with out face- to- face interaction you are more likely to have deceit: Because there is a high chance of people lying about who they are. In face-to-face relationships you can actually see the person. I think People can meet online as friends and later decide to be in a relationship after seeing each other in person. I also don’t think it is ethical if people represent themselves inaccurately because they are not honest. I think people are more likely to lie in online relationships because the other person does not really know them. They only know them online. However I’m not saying that deception cannot happen in both kinds of relationships. People can lie to someone who is right in front of them as well. But I think it is a lot easier for someone to lie online because they could get away with it without the other person knowing.

DIMENSIONS OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

The concept I thought was interesting for chapter eleven was “ Dimensions of Romantic Relationships”. I thought this was interesting because the book states that romantic relationships have two parts: passion and commitment. Passion is basically a strong emotional and physical desire for a significant other. More times than most passion isn’t what keeps relationships together but could be the stepping-stone for commitment (the second dimension of romantic relationships). Commitment is when people decide they want to remain in a long-term relationship: because they think they will be together in future. What helped me to better understand this concept I put in my own experiences. I have been in a long-term relationship and have experienced (and still experiencing) both dimensions of romantic love. When I first started talking to my boyfriend I would fill nervous and excited to see him even now. The passion was in the beginning of our relationship, which brought us even closer together. Then came the commitment. We both decided we wanted to stay in our relationship for a long time because we both saw each other together in the future. We are both committed to each other and still have both dimensions.

TRUST!

The concept that really caught my eye was “Trust”. I thought this interesting because when you think of trust you only think of it as one thing. However there are two parts to trust: being able to depend on your friend and assuming emotional reliability. When I read this I was a little surprised because I trust my best friend with everything. There is nothing I would keep from her. However I just thought trust is trust there is nothing complicated about it. But now that I look at the trust between her and me both dimensions of trust are there. For example I can completely depend on her for anything. If angelica tells me she will do something I can count on her to keep her word. Also I know Angelica cares about me and she would not do something to intentionally to hurt me. She thinks about how things will affect me and cares about what would happen to me.

FRIENDSHIP PAGE! :)

I thought the friendship page was a great resource for people. It haves very good quotes that reflect people and their friendships. Also I thought the chat room was a great way to make new friends. The chat room gives people a way to start a good friendship while being safe. This site makes it possible for people in need of a friend to be able to find one. They have what is like a search engine to find your self a friend. Also I visted the advice forum. I was really impressed with this cause I did not know this existed. It gives people a way to ask for advice or just put their feeling out in the open while still being private and safe online. The issued raised in the forum are some what similar to the book.  Some issues in people friendships have to do with their communication, how their friend is acting towards them, and even just regular problems that rise in friendships.