Question 1- what I learned

I have learned over the course of the semester that communication begins from the day we are born through the day we die. We develop our individual style of communication based on our gender, culture, language, perception, and interactions with others. Both verbal and nonverbal communication is important to the growth of us as individuals. It is just as important to listen and understand what the other person is saying as well as accepting to their point of view on a given situation. As much as I may not agree with an opposing view point it is important to be able to hear and accept what the other person may be saying so that I have the opportunity to grow as an individual by opening myself up to new ideas and concepts which would normally differ from my own. The main thing I am taking away from this course is that it is up to me to invest in relationship. Make sure to invest in the friendship/relationship otherwise the bond will dissolve overtime. You get out of the relationship the time and effort you put into it.
Thanks Katrina
I hope everyone has a great Holiday break.

Question 3- communication and sex

This is a communication class and several topics were covered such as community, relationships, cultures and gender. The one topic that truly surprised me was the small section on sex. I think that communication plays a key role in a couple’s relationship. Sex/ making love are also an important role within that same relationship. I would like to see communication on sex at the various age levels and within the family unit. Sex is still a taboo topic in many families and cultures when raising children. I think this topic could be a reason why students in college become promiscuous in college. Just like students who come from a strict household, they may become the party animals in college because it is a forbidden evil that young adults now have the freedom to “taste” without having a family member judging them. Other cultures/ religions use guilt to tame unacceptable behaviors but once in college it is as if the flood gates have opened and we are free to try new experiences without consequences from our parents.
Thanks,
Katrina

Question 2-What was your favorite thing about this class?

2.           I enjoyed the discussion boards and reading everyone’s insight on how they interpreted the readings and related it to their lives. I enjoyed reading this textbook and it was easy to read. I like the fact that I could read a concept like communication in relationships and understand it but then receive a new perspective on the same topic by reading how someone else in the class understood the material. This helped me understand the concept of listening and hearing what people said.

                The least favorite thing about this class was the timed quizzes/ midterm. I personally freeze up when it comes to being timed on a test or quiz. I can’t say why but whenever I take a timed test I get extremely nervous and anxious and can’t think straight. Luckily I have passed all the quizzes but they have had a severe effect on my overall grade. I think quizzes should not be timed or they should be for the same amount of time an individual would receive in a normal sit down class room.

I really enjoyed this course and the only thing that I can think of to improve the class would be not to have the quizzes timed. Otherwise I enjoyed the content and interaction with other individuals.

Launching children and empty nest syndrome

3. I found the section on launching children very interesting. It can be found on page 315 of the text book. In looking at my own life I lived with my mom until I went to college then I lived in the dorms until just recently (my senior year-last semester) I moved into an apartment with a roommate.  My mom said I was all grown up when I got my apartment and I told her no I need my mommy (yes I call her mommy) and always will. I still call her and ask her if it is ok to eat something if I think has sat in the refrigerator too long or what temperature to cook something at.

My mom is single so she doesn’t have a husband to enjoy the peace and quiet of the empty nest when she hits the post launching of children. But since we are moving to West Virginia together and I will be living with her I guess I am returning to the nest. I don’t mind, in fact I asked her to move back to Morgantown with me. She is my best friend; she is always there for me. I don’t think she judges me but she always jokes around saying it is part of her job as a parent to judge me every day. Maybe I am the one going through empty nest syndrome with moving away from my college friends and my sister. 

Thanks,

Katrina

Marriage in 50 years

Over the next 50 years I would predict that marriage will become accepted by all states in the U.S. for gays, lesbians and transgender individuals. Of course marriage will still happen between men and women but women will be able to marry women and men will be able to marry men. Currently this is only accepted in a few states but eventually it will be accepted by all of the states and the Federal government will recognize these marriages and allow the spouses to have the same rights as current “men/women” marriages. I also see that when a couple gets divorced and they find new partners they will not be getting married for a second or third time but instead just live together. This will hold true as the population grows older because the couple will need to keep all of their retirement benefits to survive financially. Currently some seniors do not remarry as they need to maintain their social security benefits to live and if they did marry the benefits would decrease.

My sister who is 25 (she will be 26 in January) is getting married this month. I will be 25 in June and will definitely not be married until after I turn 26. My sister and her husband plan on having children in a few years when they are financially stable and I don’t plan on having any children once I get married. My sister and I represent both sides of the statistics mentioned in the text booked.

 In other countries I see the arranged marriage being set aside so that a man and women are no longer forced to marry the individual that their parents made an arrangement for them to marry. This will allow for movement in some social classes while deteriorating other social classes. This will also lead to more intercultural marriages to happen.

Katrina

Family for Me

I define family as a group of individuals who love and support each other during a specific time period. I have several families currently in my life. I have my blood family (mom, sister, aunts, and cousins). I have my college family (which is my roommate, friends, and apartment complex friends). I also have my long distance family (which are those individuals who live in Morgantown, WV or use to live there). In all my families we offer advice to each other, have debates (which could be seen as arguing), we love each other, help each other out, and support each other when times are good or bad.

 I do not fit into the type of family that is gay or lesbian. My aunt is homosexual (lesbian) but my grandparents (her parents were heterosexual). My parents were heterosexual (my father is deceased) my mom chooses to stay single at this time in her life but I think she will remarry later or find a heterosexual partner for life. My sister is getting married this month to her boyfriend that she meant while at SJSU. 

Katrina