Isn't Life Beautiful

 Have you ever felt that dating during this time of life can be the worst? That thought has crossed my mind too many times personally! Why is it like that? When you are young you dream about being able to go on dates with someone special and having that perfect and romantic night together. Then when you arrive at the real world you realize that the ideal you had is just that, an ideal and it couldn't be farther from the truth about what dating is for the majority of us.  There are many things that factor into why dating is such a challenge in today's world. One of the biggest factors I have seen in my own personal dating life (as well as that of many friends and acquaintances) is pressure. There is so much pressure centered around dating. Dating used to be something that was much more casual and frankly normal. We have made dating out to be this huge deal so that it hinders anyone from really wanting to take a step into the dating world. Because of that, we result in what our ...

 Have you ever wondered why men and women differ? Why can it be so complicated trying to communicate to someone of the opposite sex? We often feel the things we are communicating will be understood especially when we even feel we are so crystal clear there is no possible way to misinterpret. Well turns out there is quite a lot that though perceived to be crystal clear on one side of the glass is smudged and distorted on the other side.  Males and females are different not just physically from the moment they exist. Even as babies we are able to observe that girls are much more able to pick up on facial features which can translate into emotional cues at some point, while boys are much more likely to react to the action that is taking place around them. This seems to be something that generally continues on forward as the babies mature into kids, then teenagers, and then adults. Why is this though? Why are males and females so different? When you take a look at some of the role...

This week I was able to learn more about families and the society they live in. I was fascinated by some of my discoveries, and also was able to make some connections I've seen in my life and others I've known. We spent a lot of time learning about social classes. As we studied class I was able to see many connections to people around me. I live in an area that is very nice back home. It did not use to be much while my dad grew up there but now it has turned into a mini silicon valley as my parents like to put it. When people hear where I'm from I immediately get stereotyped that my family is very wealthy. It is interesting to see the way my family and I can sometimes be treated because of that. Regardless I do know many families that have been very fortunate financially. While I was serving a mission in Kentucky for my church, however, I was introduced to the opposite side of the spectrum. My mission president told me that about 60-65% of the people in my mission were livi...

 This week has been a big eye-opener. I have learned many fascinating things about relationships within the family! Did you know that within the family there are systems set in place? These may look like certain family rules (whether spoken or unspoken), boundaries, and roles. I'll give some examples to help explain!  Rules: Every family has its rules, whether the rule is a curfew, certain house rules in a favorite family game, or something in regards to leftovers. There was an unspoken rule in my family that was if you wanted left-overs you needed to put your name on the food in order to guarantee round two of a favorite meal. However, this rule was not always perfect. There were often times even if you did put your name on the food (via sticky note, sharpie, or another sort of graffiti of some kind) it was overlooked (honestly miraculously because you covered that food in your name since you REALLY wanted those left-overs) and eaten (usually by one of the older siblings). An...

 I've begun some research about families lately for a couple of classes I am in at the university I attend. During my studies, I have come to realize how truly important and impactful families are to society in our modern world. The unit of the family has existed since the beginning of time. There is a specific reason for that. Families are essential for survival. Without them, we wouldn't have a sense of who we are and where we come from. Families play a major role in shaping who we become. Studies show that having a poor relationship with your family can make you sick and that having healthy relationships with families actually decrease the likelihood of death. There are countless research projects that have studied the effects of families in all aspects of life both as children and as adults. Some examples are studies that report that spending quality time with family can actually affect academic performances. Other studies show that family relationships are linked with an i...