Marriage and Dating

As an eighteen year old in 2012, marriage is not on my mind as much as it may have for an eighteen year old fifty years ago. However, I do intend to marry one day. I hope to have a marriage built on commitment and common values, the two factors recommended by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. In a marriage I desire someone who will make me happy not only for the current but someone I will love and trust forever. Common Values are vital to a happy marriage, so I would prefer to marry someone who is Catholic or Christian, who would be a good father, who is intelligent, hardworking and kind. If we are not on the same page in terms of our ways of thinking, values etc. then our relationship will not deepen and we may end up arguing and disagreeing on important decisions that couples must make. I do not want to put aside my personal goals when I get married but I think its important that my partner share my goals or at least respect them so that we can bring out the potential in each other. As the article states that marriage is supposed to be about the other person and their life together. Compromising and sacrificing is are key, this requires a certain level of maturity, which is why it is nicer that people marry later on in life today.

Dating: What's the Point?

As I read Chapter 5, I definitely agreed with the opinions of Freitas and King on dating. I believe that dating is a way to discover more about you and learn about what an adult relationship. Also, I disagree with the anti-daters who claimed that dating causes divorce. I think that if you never date anybody you'll never know what personality traits, values and temperaments to look for in the person whom you eventually marry. If you are dating and even if you end up breaking-up, there is always something to be learned from the relationship.

I was surprised to learn all of the different connotations attached to the phrase "hooking up." In my experience hooking-up, is usually considered to be kissing, but it possibly could mean sex. I was also very surprised that the average person has only had five hookups in their lifetime. From common TV shows, movies and songs I expected that number to be higher. I am glad because that article gave me more perspective and clarity on the topic.

This=Love

I think that everyone on the "quest for the one" are looking to fully love and be loved, and have it last. The kind of love that soulmates have is a combination of attraction and friendship. This kind of love is spoken of in the song "Lucky" by Jason Mraz. The line in the song is, "I'm lucky to be in love with my best friend.." I think in the quest for your soul mate, you sould consider if you compliment eachother. Some couples are attracted to one another, but just don't get along and that doesn't work in marriage. Many people look for "the one," the perfect partner for them, and are disheartened if they never find him or her. In Taylor Swift's song, "I'm Only Me When I'm with You," she says, "I'm only me, who I want to be, when I'm with you." This means that the other person brings out the best in her. That is a quality of any good relationship and is important for any kind of love. Being around people who bring out the good rather than the bad in you is important. The most importnat thing for a relationship, in my opionion, is loving someone for who they really are, taht means accepting their faults. This quality is spoke of in the song "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson, where she says, "I love you more than I can ever promise, 'cause you take me the way I am." In Bruno Mars' "Beautiful Girls," he says that none of the most beautiful girls can compare to his love in his eyes and says, "Hands down, there will never be another one." Finally, as marriages and committed relationship should be just that; absolutely committed to eachother. In the song "This=Love" by the Script, the song speaks of all differnt kinds of love, love of country, family and eros-type love saying, "This is why we do it this is worth the pain This is where we bow down get back up again This is where the heart lies this is from above Love is this, this is love." This is saying that love is a gift from God, who is the ultimate example of love.

Sexuality in the Media

Sneakers
The ad on the left is selling shoes claiming that 95% of men liked the improvement they made to the woman's body and it features a nude woman and the running sneakers covering her private area. This ad is just selling sex and has barely anything to with the sneakers. The ad on the right is for simular sneakers and still promises to give consumers a better body but in this ad the woman is actually using the sneakers and is properly dressed.

abercromie:

On the left is an add for Abercomie & Fitch, which is a very popular store among American tweens and early teens. It is best know for its jeans. Yet, all of their ads are completely sexual and inappropriate. Often times the models are not even wearing clothes. The message these ads are sending is that you should be super skinny and slutty to be cool which is not true. The ad is simply promoting sex not Abercrombie clothes.

Underneath, is an ad from American Eagle, another store with the same target consumers. This ad is appropriate because both models are fully clothed and happy. This sends a better message and actually promotes wearing American Eagle clothing.

Sources of My Identity

The Mount:
Before Freshman year I did not want to go to the Mount. I want to go to school with all my friends from grade school, but my mom insisted that the Mount is a great school and I should give it a try. Almost immediately I loved school! I have met some of my very best friends here and I am so grateful for them. Also, the Mount has always pushed me to do my very best. Without the Mount, I don't think I would be the person I am today.

My Cousins:
I come from a very big extended family. My dad has 10 brothers and sister and there are 86 Scanlon cousins including grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My mom is one of 8 and there are only 30 cousins on her side. Because I have so many cousins, I don't know them all very well but I see my extended family at least once every week. I feel really lucky to have such a big family because there is never a dull moment. There is always a new baby, a wedding or birthday party. Through the good times and bad my family is always there for eachother. On my mom's side I have cousins from Boston that always come down and stay with us over Christmas break they have six kids so our house is always a little crazy while theyre here but we always have so much fun together and I always look forward to seeing them again soon. My family is gigantic and unique, I am so blessed to have them.

My Family:
I am the second of five children. I have an older brother Bobby, a younger brother, Harry, and two younger sisters, Faith and Elise. Though we all fight at times, for the most part my siblings and I get along really well. Lots of times, when the five of us are together we will all find a TV show to watch together and talk about. We have all become obsessed with varying shows over the years ranging from Lost to Top Chef to Monk. It doesn't matter what we watch, we always have fun together. It is good to know that my siblings need me and they are such a big part of my life. My little sisters are especially important to me because they look up to me a lot. They always try to imitate how I speak, how I'm dressed and how I wear my hair. Though sometimes I find this annoying, I'm glad that they look to me for advice and I try to be a good role model for them. I feel really lucky that I will always have life-long friends in my siblings.