Chapter 1
Family Traditions
Traditions are something that mean so much to me and are very important me. I come from a very close family and I do believe that the reason for that is from the traditions and time spent together. In modern family life traditions play a huge role. Traditions are the things that you remember most from your childhood and some even carry on until you are leaving the nest. These days the family is becoming more and more busy and it's hard to find time to spend time with your family, but family time should be a priority. By having traditions can hold our families together and give us things to look forward to. In my future family, I plan on having many traditions. Something my family does is Christmas Eve pajamas! That is just one example but I have heard of a lot of other cute ideas like have pizza every Saturday, doing fancy daddy daughter dates, Sunday morning waffles, sports nights and movie night. Another thing that I look forward to every birthday is when my family wakes me up in the morning with a happy birthday song and a few gifts. It starts the day off just right! Some may seem simple and others more elaborate but no matter the tradition, everyone is vital to keeping our families close. These events can greatly strengthen our family by giving them something to look forward to and count on. I hope my future husband also has family traditions that we can combine into our family. Our kids will love it and it will make them very happy. These are the things we remember most and are constant no matter how old we are.
Kinship
In my extended family I play many different roles. I am a granddaughter, great-granddaughter, niece and cousin. On my mother's side I am the second oldest cousin next to my sister. Because of this, we have always been the babysitters of all my younger cousins. I love it! My cousins are all so cute and so fun to be around. My youngest sibling is 11 so it is fun for me to be around little kids and play games with them. As a cousin I am able to be and example to the younger kids. On my Dad's side I am right in the middle, so it is really fun to be around kids my age to relate to and have fun with. My aunts and uncles and grandparents are all so loving and kind to me. I hope I reciprocate their support, love and kindness. My extended family is so supportive of everything we are involved in and so wonderful. I am not an aunt yet, but I can't wait until I am! It will be the best thing because I will enjoy the kids when are happy and not have to take care of them when they are grumpy. I want my family to be as close as my extended family is now. Someone I would consider fictive kin is my sisters best friend. We have been really great friends with their family our whole lives. We have been on many vacations with her and her family. We always have so much fun with them. Sometimes we are as close with our friends as our family and that is a great thing! She and my sister are living at college together and come to our house to visit often.
Chapter 7
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is huge, as we all know. Sometimes it may even make or brake a relationship. Actions speak louder then words. You may say you care about someone but your body language towards theme and how you treat them says a lot more about how you really feel on the inside. I also think that its easy to pretend like you like someone or are not mad at them, but its hard to hide the body language. Some try to hide it, others want attention so they make it painstakingly obvious. I observed the Alta High School lunchroom. A place where teenagers socialize and chat every single day. I observed so many non verbal behaviors that I have never noticed before. Some people turn away from others in a conversation, or clump really close together which means they are talking about something secretive or important. Girls especially tend to have serious body language when they talk to boys they like and want to get to know and boys they want to stay away from. Boys don’t show as much body language in emotion. They just want to show off or look strong. Haha. Girls use it to explain how they feel without even having to say anything. Something simple is a smile or a frown, it tells a lot about your day and how you feel about yourself. There are endless ways of expressing how we feel without saying one single word. I love people watching and exploring all the different personalities and differences between people and how they communicate.
Chapter 9
Are you Ready to be Married?
If my best friend came up to me and asked me if I was ready to be married or how to know if you are ready I would say many things. The most important part about marriage is knowing yourself really well and knowing what kind of person you are and who you want to become. You have to have yourself figured out before you try to bring someone else into your life. Marriage is not easy and it needs to be something taken very seriously. By looking at past relationships you can look back and determine what kind of person you want to be with. You can also figure out what you like and dislike in a partner. In class we looked at information that could help predict our future success in marriage. The type of relationship that had the best chance of lasting was the one with the least conflict and the most positive feelings. Being in a relationship requires a lot of maturity and selflessness. It requires give and take. Other factors such as your families and your religion can have great effect on your relationship lasting. Many characteristics are important to me. I want someone who is hardworking, honest, loyal, thoughtful, friendly, caring and respectful. I want these qualities because I feel they are very important.
Chapter 10
Becoming a Parent
Becoming a parent is a very serious decision. The decision should be made between husband and wife. The timing is different for everyone but personally I think I want to get married and then wait a couple years to enjoy alone time with my husband. If you have a couple years with just the two of you, you can really solidify the relationship before you begin to bring others into the picture. Also, once you start having a family, you have to put your spouse on hold while you put all your time and energy into raising your children. If I could not conceive a child I would be devastated. My whole life I have wanted to become a mom. If I couldn't have my own children I would definitely look into other options and adopt. Depending on the situation I would look into other serious options and keep trying. Most people cannot afford these expensive techniques to having children. I feel really bad if that is case, but I do believe in miracles. I think if they keep trying and still can't they can help others and serve other people instead.
