Relations Between Us

In light of a recent conversation I had with one of my squad members, I was discussing how my blog this week was going to be about dating. The cadet then responded to me something along the lines of: "Girls don't know how to communicate. But if you want a relationship, go for the make out." I will give my cadet friend some credit, that is exactly what the culture is like nowadays. Although, how many people want to get into a relationship knowing that the individual finds intimacy, such as kissing, as a recreational activity. This is not a healthy method of conducting dating habits. Even if you fall into this category and wouldn't mind a non-committed make out (NCMO), I invite you right now to STOP IT. This style of dating is damaging and overall has lead hundreds to thousands of individuals to marriage therapist and/or divorce. To be able to get to marriage there are four steps a couple must go through to reach the final step of marriage. The first step is ...

One of the major controversies in the world right now is equality between men and women. This development has been brought up throughout the last century often. One movement we can look at that has made equality more prominent is the ability for women to vote. Since then other movements of equalizing the genders have been pushing the boundaries that were once set. Woman can be lawyers, when once that wasn't common and looked down upon. Men can be nurses, which was stereotypical a women's job. These revolutions are expanding more and more each day. However, is this ideal of equality pushing a boundary that we shouldn't consider? This ideal of equality is close to me and actually has influenced my job career immensely. I will touch more on later. However, equality between men and women is a constant battle between the sexes. Is there truly a difference between them? Equality between genders is commonly seen as "anything a man can do, a woman can do too." To m...

I grew up in a smaller town in Utah until my nineteenth birthday. This effected my culture compared to what most would think is commonly found in the American culture. The culture that is found throughout this area is family oriented. As I have gotten older, I have found that my family have drifted away from each other. We have grown up, moved away, and have tried to live our own lives. In general, this is just a natural aspect of life. However, I have found that being away from my family has led me to put up barriers around myself to keep my personal life away from them. There are some aspects in my life that I should share with my family, yet because of this divided life style, I no longer feel comfortable enough to share with them. No doubt, they must feel the same with me. I have thought about this for some time, about how my family and I used to be so close together and now, as we are far away, has driven that rift between us. The closeness my family had growing ...

You owe me. Have you ever said that before? "You owe me." To my personal knowledge, I have never vocalized this statement to anyone on a serious level. I may have said it in passing. However, how does "you owe me" apply to a family? Shouldn't families just be willing to give and not worry about receiving. The culture I grew up in suggests that I should be willing to sacrifice what I have for another individual. Furthermore, being willing to pay someone's debt without wanting anything in return. After contemplating this for a short time, I find that my actions and my thoughts are at some what of a dissonance. I find myself starting to distance myself from those that ask far too much from me. Why is that? This ideal of "you owe me" is actually a theory that helps create, or destroy, a family. It is known as the Exchange Theory. In essence, the theory is defined as receiving more reward and lower costs in our exchanges  with others. Cos...