"Family is the most important thing in the world." -Princess Diana

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Social Class and Culture Diversity

This week in class we talked about how Social Class and Culture Diversity can effect the family as a whole, and the family dynamic.

One thing that stood out to me, is how similar the family dynamic is between the "very poor" households, and the "very rich". We drew similarities between the fact that in both instances, the parent's aren't home all that often. In the "poor" household, the parent(s) are gone trying to find/keep a job to support the family. They may be gone from dawn to dusk, and may even have to walk to work. In the instance of the "rich" family, the parent(s) may be gone just as much as the "poor" family because they are CEO's or have some important job that requires many hours in an office, in meetings, or traveling. These kind of situations have an effect on children in the household as well. Children in these kind of households sometimes lack discipline, and the reinforcement of responsibility.

I grew up in a household that wasn't poor, or rich. My family was average. To begin, my dad went to work in the morning, and was home in time for dinner. He never worked on Saturdays or Sundays. I LOVED this. Saturday was a day to spend with dad. We never really went anywhere. I would watch him cook, work in the workshop, or sit on the couch and watch Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Star Trek (depending on what week it was). I never knew how lucky I was. Then, my parents got divorced, and my dad was gone. He moved away and I never saw him. Suddenly, my mom was in school, and working. I went from a household where my mom was always home, and I would spend the weekend playing with my dad, to my mom always being gone, and never seeing my dad. This effected all of us kids. Responsibilities grew, but rules were bent, and discipline wasn't there (to begin with).

When we talked about culture diversity, my mind immediately went to my brother-in-law Angelo. Angelo is from South America, and is currently working on getting a working visa here in the United States. My sister, Maija, went down to Chile a few years ago to study abroad through a program at BYU-I. There she met Angelo, and a few months after she came back, she announced that she was getting married to someone she met down there. Before I knew it, I was helping to plan a wedding for my sister, and I guy I had never met in person before. Then, my sister broke the news to me that she decided to not get married in Minnesota after all. . . she had decided to go down to Chile and get married and sealed in the Temple there. So she did. About 18 months later, Maija came back home 5 months pregnant, and a few weeks later, Angelo followed. They went back to Rexburg, Idaho so Maija could finish school. 8 months later, I came out to spend some time with them, and my baby niece Sakura before school started. Their home life was noting like back home. I thought I was going to have pizza, macaroni and cheese, and other very American meals there. I was in for a surprise when almost every single one of my meals was South American. Culture Diversity.

After spending 2 weeks with Maija and Angelo, I more appreciated the culture that they had in their home. I learned to really like rice since we had it with 2 meals a day, and I learned a lot about the Chilean/Peruvian culture. I think that it's important to learn what we can about the cultures around us. Then, we can appreciate it, and teach it to our families. Why only celebrate Independence Day for America? Why not celebrate Independence Day for Chile, Peru, Australia, France, and everyone? The more we learn about the different cultures around us, the more we can understand, and love our brothers and sisters.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Trends in Society

Do you ever get the feeling that you learn so much and you're super excited about it, but then when you have to talk about it, you forget about it? Well, that's me right now. However, I would like to share some thoughts that I've had during this week.

This week we talked about a lot of trends that we are seeing, and how they are all tied together.
1) Cohabitation; about 50% of people live with their significant other, but are not married.
2) Premarital sex; while people in the past have had sex before marriage, the numbers are increasing and it is becoming a norm.
3) Having children out of wedlock; This as well has been known to happen in the past and is also becoming a very normal thing to do. Just in my high school graduating class of 1,000 there were 5 pregnancies. . . and those were just teen pregnancies. Not to mention those who are out of high school.
4) Working mothers; the number of women who have children under the age of 5 years old and are working has inclined over the years.

A lot of these trends go hand in hand, Since more people are choosing cohabitation, it increases the chance that they will have sex out of wedlock. Since out of wedlock sex is more common, having children out of wedlock is also common. Than because women are having children outside marriage, some of them are forced to work to provide for their little one because what their boyfriend makes isn't sufficient, or they are walked out on, leaving them to raise a baby on their own. See the connections?

Ever since I was a little girl I KNEW that family is the most important thing in this life. Having our own families someday will be the greatest challenge, but also the greatest reward we could ever hope for. To see people throw away the idea of family like it is trash breaks my heart. Coming from a big family, I quickly learned the perks of having 2 parents, and LOTS of sibling.

One of the things that immediately pops into my brain is the fact that my 6 sisters, and 1 brother have ALWAYS been there for me. At the end of Freshman year in high school we had auditions in choir to see if we could be in Concert Choir. I was confident that I would make it since I've been singing since I was in the womb, and had been in multiple audition-only choirs. However, when I read over the list of people who made it into Concert Choir, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. I didn't make it. I acted like everything was okay until I got home. I grabbed the phone and called my sisters and started crying. The right away cheered me up, and they knew exactly what to say.

Most of what we're taught about real life, we are taught in our homes. Being a freshman in college, I don't need to know y=mx+b equals. I need to know how to cook, do laundry, clean, stick to a budget, and be a nurse for myself. These are all things I learned at my house. Family IS the most important thing in our lives, and I'm very grateful that I got to grow up in a home where I felt the love of my family, my Savior, and my Heavenly Father.

Families can be together forever through Heavenly Father's plan.

Classmate"s Blogs! Enjoy their unique insight!

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Today I had the experience of going to a baby shower of a girl I've known for most of my life. What an amazing experience to get together with friends and family to celebrate the fact that we have a wonderful Princess arriving to the world in a month! It's an amazing gift to be able to know that such a gift comes from a loving, kind, and generous Heavenly Father.