Family Relations

Does she like me or is she just being nice? How do I know if I am ready for marriage? How can I prepare now for marriage? What preparation should I do? How will I know? How do I date? All of these are questions that many young people may face when they begin to realize that dating and marriage is or should be a part of their life. These questions make dating and marriage preparation very stressful and full of anxiety. With this kind of fear it is understandable why many people choose to stay single and to not enter a relationship. It is also understandable why many people get so nervous. Dating and marriage prep can be a nightmare if we don't have answers to some of the questions I just mentioned. My goal today is to help by answering some of these questions and providing insights on what research has said and what I believe can help anyone prepare for marriage through proper dating and preparation. Something that a person might ask themselves is what kind of person they want to...

Have you ever had a miscommunication or misunderstanding with someone of the opposite gender and realized that men and women think differently? Many of you have probably been part of or witnessed a dispute between a man and a woman over directions or the way a certain task should be accomplished? Maybe this has lead you to question, are men and women different beyond the obvious biological differences? The world and media today would tell you otherwise. The world teaches that there are no differences between men and women. And that the way someone feels is truly the definition of gender. The world today believes that women are capable of the same things as men. The world also teaches that any difference recognized by anyone is discrimination. The world's opinion on the duties and functionality of men and women has changed dramatically over the past decades. My goal today is not to try to disprove the world but to help people who may believe that men and women are the same realize...

Have you ever spent time with a friend's family and noticed that their family just operates, feels and works differently? Almost like it is a different culture or world. Families can vary in religion, size, interests, passions, and culture. Every family is different and that is something that should be embraced and enjoyed. My goal today is to discuss family culture and also provide insights on family social class. But first, I want to provide a definition for family culture. Family culture is a collection of habits, beliefs, traditions and practices in the family along with how the family functions. Family culture I think is one of the most fascinating things about the family. Every single family is different and every single family is beautiful in it's own way. My family is one of the greatest blessings of my life. And my family culture has helped me become who I am today. Something that is part of my family culture is that we never yell at each other and we rarely raise ou...

Fear. We are all afraid at some point in our life. We can have fear because of uncertainty or because something is new. We can have fear because of past experiences and we can have fear because of the influences of others. Fear often drives people to act. But sometimes fear can lead us to do nothing or make a choice to dot do something. Something that many people fear today is marriage. They fear the commitment, they fear what could go wrong, they fear that they will have to change their lifestyle, they fear that they won't be an adequate spouse or parent, the list goes on and on. But, one thing in particular that I want to talk about to today is the fear of conflict and misunderstanding and provide a theory that will help people better understand how to prepare for marriage. "Pessimism about marriage and wariness of divorce among emerging adults is creating a culture of divorce preparation rather than a culture of marriage preparation" (Carroll Pg 2, Successful Marri...

 Whether we like it or not we all have one. We see them every day and each one of us is part of one. They determine where we come from and they can change our future for the better or for the worst. They can come in all different shapes and sizes. They are our families. My goal with this post is to talk about some of the changes in the structure of the family in the past years and present accurate data that shows the effects it has on individuals and in communities as well as present my personal opinion on what we can and should do if we want to have a healthy family. One particular change in the family structure that has changed in recent years is the practice of cohabitation. Cohabitation is when a couple chooses to live together without getting married. In a world with high divorce rates this makes a lot of sense to people. Why would people want to risk going through an experience that they saw their parents go through? Many people are scared of marriage because of the harm is...