Changing Face of Marriage

The domestic church for me has been my parents constantly reinforcing the values of a good Catholic by doing what they preach. I will always follow the example of my parents and follow their teachings, both of which coincide with the Christian morals they wished to instill in myself. Teaching me about God outside of school in every day things such as kind strangers, nature, new life and death, and my friends has helped me see Jesus and God in the little things in life. Their domestic church has made me an incredibly better person than if I did not have them, I now know that God is always watching. Some pros of the changing family structure/marriage composition is the new available opportunities to marry for homosexual couples in some states, and the new acceptance of these marriages by the majority of Americans. Some cons of the changing structure of family/marriage is that more divorces are occurring, and the bond of marriage is not kept sacred by infidelity and affairs. I was very happy to learn about the low divorce rate of college-educated peoples mainly because there are some very alarming divorce rates as years pass, and I would not like to get divorced. I do feel compelled to establish a domestic church in my household one day because I think it's important to teach your children to be good people in all sectors of their life, especially giving them a role model such as yourself or Jesus. I will make sure to follow the examples of my parents and practice what I preach to my susceptible children.

Papal Conclave

I think some issues that are important for the next Pope to address are women's roles in the Church, the debate of birth control, modernizing the Church's teachings, and gay rights. I think the future of the Church needs a young (ish) Pope to lead the youth of the Church back into believing in it's teachings. I feel as though the Church seems so foreign and outdated to the young people, and I wish that the younger generation would be as fervent about the Church as our parents and grandparents are. The future Church will face many problems if these issues are not addressed, such as the disappearance of the youth from the Church and the anger of women wishing to have a stronger role. Being a woman in the Church sort of makes me feel like I'm unequal to my male counterparts, even though it has been long established in history that women are just as equal in men in every sector of life. I think women in the Church need support, confidence, and progress. I would change the strictness of the Church's teachings and it's traditional view of almost everything, because I think that the world has changed so much that the Church needs to adapt it's teachings. I do think there is room for democracy within the hierarchy, there is always room for democracy! The Holy Spirit invokes the Pope and the priests by enlightening them about his teachings.

Dating: What's the Point?

In regards to David Cloutier's claim for anti-dating, I definitely do not agree with it. I think that dating allows yourself to find things out about your personality that you may have not known before. I also think dating, whether or not it ends in a happily ever after or a heart break, is a educational experience. I think most of my peers would agree that anti-dating has no beneficial effects. Yes, sometimes girls or boys would like a break from dating to become independent and learn how to live on their own. But sometimes having someone there for you 24/7 is good for you. It makes you a happier person, except if you are fighting all the time. If that's the case, time to be independent. The anti-dating argument may have a lot of supporters in the colleges and universities in 2013 because of this "hook up culture". Simply hooking up just for the sexual pleasure without getting to know the other person is a popular trend in colleges. Some college students think that dating is the antithesis of what the college social scene is about. I, however, think that relationships can thrive in college. If you are both mature enough to handle the relationship even in the college social scene, a relationship could flourish.

Gender and Dating Relationships

The article written by Andy has opened a different sector of my mind in regards to thinking about marriage and proposal. When I see proposals, I always think they’re sweet and look at the woman’s reaction. Never have I seen a woman propose to a man, or a woman fail to be completely and utterly surprised. Now that I think about it rationally… why haven’t I seen that? I half expect my future husband to propose in some fanciful way and sweep me off my feet, but why shouldn’t I propose to him? I think that article gives me a different and underestimated view of Americans who want to break free from the traditional aspect of marriage and dating. New women independence should give women the confidence to propose to her significant other. In regards to the reader’s question, I especially haven’t thought about the man’s expectations. I think that men are nervous before the proposal and quite conflicted on how to propose. He doesn’t know if she’ll say yes, if the ring is big enough or flashy enough, if the proposal is at the right time. I think men have more expectations on the after marriage life than women do. Expecting wives to stay home and have children while they work is one of the many stereotypes given to married women. Women, on the other hand, have more expectations on the pre-marriage life, such as the proposal and dating. I think that these two points of view have no correlation to my family experience or the love stories we shared on Friday, unfortunately. It would be awesome if one of our moms proposed to one of the dads instead of vice-versa. Maybe my generation will break through that tired tradition and switch it up a little bit.

America the Beautiful

I think Gerren Taylor is the epitome of the extent the modeling industry can have on a teenager's confidence and self-esteem. Her perception of her weight and beauty was influenced by one person's comments because her hips were too wide. She immediately changed her opinion on her look, size, and confidence in herself. I, personally, have seen many of my friends and peers go through a period of self-destruction. It's becoming increasingly more prevalent in today's society that girls view themselves as ugly as opposed to pretty, ugly as opposed to skinny. No matter what one says to his/her friends or peers, nothing will change that person's opinion on themselves until one achieves his/her unreachable goal. Becoming as skinny as a model takes more than extreme diet and exercise. One has to win a "genetic lottery" to become as skinny as Miranda Kerr, for example. I see all of these horrible examples of self-confidence and attempt to stay away from the alluring self-dstruction. The publicizing of the skinniness and beauty of models cannot escape me, however. I try to accept me for how I was made and how I currently am. As long as I feel comfortable in my skin, the number on the scale or how shiny my hair is doesn't matter to me.

Becoming Who You Are

In Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak, Palmer dissuades his audience from their original notions about vocations and success. Instead of journeying along in life wondering when one is going to get to their ultimate goal and finally become comfortable in being themselves, Palmer discusses that we should strive to work on what we already are. Instead of always looking to the future to see what one will become, one should work every day to better themselves and his/her character. Instead of thinking that vocation is some mysterious call from God to do some great work, we must think of it as a privilege to let ourselves be the best we can be. Our talents must be shared with the world, or else God would not have given them to us. Also, success cannot be determined by something that is tangible – money, cars, clothes, even a position in work. Success is defined differently by each individual person. Palmer’s words offered me a completely foreign and different perspective on vocations and success than I have ever heard before. Coming into my second semester of my senior year, it seems to be every conversation leads back to my college decision and the major in which I will try to pursue. Palmer’s words “our vocation is when our greatest talent meets the world’s greatest need” really spoke to me. It made me contemplate on my major choice of communications a lot. Although I haven’t made any concrete decisions yet, maybe I have time to explore different options that would affect the world in other ways that I may not have intended to affect it before.

Mission Statement

I want to fulfill all of my dreams, big and small. I want to be happy every day waking up for work, not knowing the challenges I may face that day. I never want to stop working the hardest that I can, having inner motivation that drives me, or cower down from any obstacles. I am unstoppable, inspired, and can do whatever I set my mind to. Success in my career and family life are things I strive for. Keeping my best friends close and my siblings even closer for the rest of my life would be idyllic. Still finding time to travel the world, relax with an interesting book, and go to the beach will keep me a happy girl. I will not cease until I become a broadcaster and am fully content with every sector of my life with the ones I love most.

Sources of Identity

A factor that has affected my personal identity is my family. My two parents, Karen and Mike, and my two sisters, Christine and Siobhan, have shaped my character and influenced who I am today. Even my cousins and grandparents have taught me valuable lessons that I still use today. My sisters and I have a strong bond that is strengthened with every passing year of our lives. After my sister Christine went to college, Siobhan and I began to appreciate and utilize the little time we had with her on her breaks/summer. I think this affected my identity because now I try to live life to the fullest during my everyday life and take no time for granted. My mother and my father have also kept me grounded yet given me fantastic opportunities that will help me reach my goals in life.

My closest friends have also affected my personal identity. I’ve had the same four best friends since kindergarten from my grade school Immaculate Heart of Mary. Although none of them attend Mount, I still hang out with them every weekend and talk almost every day with at least one of them. These girls have become my second family, and have taught me to look for certain characteristics they possess in my future friends. I’ve learned every valuable lesson there is to learn growing up with them, and gaining basically four new sisters that I still possess today. While at the Mount, I’ve also gained a group of really good friends that I hope to keep in touch with after graduation. Finally, my various sports teams have affected my personal identity. I believe that belonging to a team and learning sportsmanship, teamwork, and communication skills are some of the best things that sports can offer to a developing child/teenager. Without sports, I don’t know what I would identity myself with. I used sports to gain friends and propel my self-confidence during my childhood years. I played a multitude of sports throughout my life, and now have finally narrowed it down to three. Sports kept me active and occupied most of my time, so I don’t have many other hobbies. The Mount volleyball team was my favorite team by far. I grew so close with all of the girls over the past four years, and I’ll never forget the championships we won and the memories we made. The Mount homepage even commemorates our season by using our championship picture as the welcome picture to the website.

Invisible Women

“In the Land of Invisible Women” I found the limited access to education and the little to no repercussions from the revolution to be the most disturbing. Yemeni girls have virtually no chance to obtain an education from the government or their local village. Men, however, have a much greater chance to become educated and learn the necessary skills they need to get a job later in life. Also, the Tunisian revolution in 2011 which eradicated the dictator government was seen as victory by Americans. There was no change in the lives of women, however, in Yemen. Thankfully, most women see this as a catalyst to bringing more rights to the future of their generations. Compared to my 18 year old life, Yemeni women have little to no rights equivalent to my own. The education and voice offered to the Yemeni girls would not even be comparable to those offered to myself. This article furthered educated me on the atrocities happening in 2013 around the world as we speak.

Forgiveness

I think that restorative justice is a shocking alternative to the non-forgiving and strict criminal justice system. This, if administered properly, could save friendships and give people that second chance that they might not have gotten before. However, I do not think that the world is up to date with its’ view on forgiveness yet. The maturity level and faith needed to want to pursue restorative justice is at a high I’m not sure most people can achieve. If restorative justice continues its path to becoming an accepted criminal justice tactic, I would be thoroughly impressed. I wish it was realistic, but I do not think people, Americans especially, have enough faith to accept this form of forgiveness. Restorative justice is definitely more in keeping with Catholic Social teaching because it employs all of the catholic social teachings, especially the forgiveness tactics.