Dating and All It's Glory....

So have you ever thought about what dating....seriously have you ever thought about what it means to date and what it entails?

I asked a couple friends about their definition of dating...this is some of their responses...

• "Going out with a member of the opposite sex."
• "Spending time with a girl doing a fun activity then repeating the process". 
• "Hanging out with a boy that you really like and then going on dates with him, like to the corn maze or something."

I had asked these three friends at completely random times and thought it was interesting that they said roughly the same kind of thing; that dating involves another person of the opposite sex and you go out and do something fun.

I think it is interesting how overtime dating has changed. Back in the day people use to date, then court, then get engaged, and finally married. It seems like we have skipped a couple steps. I know it can seem that it is complicated but in reality it is simple.

In class we talked about how dating has changed. It seems like here on campus when you date a guy you date only that guy...so basically it goes from dating strait to courting. Dating refers to going on multiple dates with multiple guys. I've heard that dating is like trying to figure out your favorite ice cream flavor. You don't know what your favorite flavor is until you have tried a few other flavors. Courting occurs when your serious about someone and intend on being married. You usually don't court a person until you are ready for possibly getting married.

Dating really is all about getting to know someone and what they are like. Are they a fit for you? I personally think that the term dating is getting lost in today's' world, its getting more complicated than it needs to be....here is a lovely example!

So, what is dating to you?

Boys Versus Girls...

So have you ever noticed how from the little wee ages of toddler-hood up to adulthood we all have certain "roles" we play? Have you ever thought about how from day one we almost automatically knew that women did certain things and men did certain things. When I was growing up and would play house with my brothers and sisters, the girls were either the mom, school teacher, child, or pet. Meanwhile, if my brothers decided to play they were the father, brother, or pet. There were just certain roles they couldn't play and there were certain roles we didn't play. Thinking about it, my parents never came up with those "rules", it was just something we came up on our own probably through observation.

Who we are has a huge effect on what we become. Gender does matter. In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it specifically talks about the importance and roles of each gender. Who we are has been who we are even before we came to this earth! I believe these differences are so important that even children pick up on them from a young age!

"I believe we can learn so much from children." I completely agree with Jimmy on this! As boys and girls we are different and we are suppose to be different. We all maybe different (speaking of gender terms) but when we come together ( through marriage) great things happen. We can learn from each other and work together to become the "perfect" parents for their children (when that time comes). All the different tendencies we have in each gender can come together to us become the best parents we can be.

Culture...It's part of who we are.

So this week in class we spent sometime discussing the effects of cultures and class on society and families.

We defined culture as a circle of in a community that people are born into. It is a part of you, whether you like it or not. We talked also about how a persons culture can change over time. A lot of examples including missionaries came up. I know when I was serving in the Samoan assignment my first couple months, I picked up certain gestures and mannerisms here and there that have since become a part of me. We also talked about how ones culture can change if they choose to marry someone from a different town/area. In a sense, compromise happens.

A question was presented to the class. "Are all cultures equal in terms of being right and wrong, good and bad? Do we have the right to proclaim one set of values to be better than another?"

I have my personal belief that when it comes to cultures all are important and each has their good and bad. What do you think?

Marcus Garvey said, "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots."

I believe culture is an essential part of who we are as people. After all, what is a tree with out its roots?

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ” - C.S. Lewis

I stumbled upon this quote earlier this week and thought it went perfectly with what we discussed in class. I think this quote by C.S. Lewis goes hand in hand with another quote that was said by Aristotle: "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Both these quotes go hand in hand with the family systems theory. This theory states that every member of a family is connected. When something happens to one person, it affects the whole family. I like to think of it as a domino effect. When one domino falls it affects the other dominoes. Each of us in a family (blood related or not) has an affect on others. Our actions determine consequences that can not just affect us. I've noticed within my own family, when one person is struggling, it affects all of us. We all try to jump in and do what we can to help out that one person that needs it. 

I know that most of you, those that are family friends, know what happened over a year ago in our family. For those of you who don't and would like to know more about the accident that happened you can read about it in the my story tab on the blog.

I bring up the accident because I think, in a way, it is a perfect example of how the family systems theory works. My immediate family dynamic was/is shook up. In a way this caused a ripple effect to everyone around us and my extend family. When our family is struggling, when I am struggling, my family and friends are there to help and life me up. In a sense, when my immediate family was "breaking" everyone else was affected by it in one way or another so they stepped up and have since helped us, along with the gospel of course, put ourselves "back together". So in essence, I do believe that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

I am amazed that Heavenly Father knew that we would need people (family and friends) near our sides through out our whole life, to be there through thick and thin. Whether we know it or not, we all have certain roles we play in each others lives, whether we are family or not.