16 June 2009
"Choosing Not to Keep the Baby"
12 June 2009
Target Women
07 June 2009
Single vs. Committed?
Recently I have seemed to encounter a lot of comments regarding which status in life might be better; being single or in a relationship?
On Facebook we can find numerous quizzes about when we will have children, when we will get married, or what engagement ring would be right for us. People on Facebook also love to announce their relationship status or comment when it isn't going well. This prompts others to comment regarding their status and what that means for them. These days, it seems that everyone online has an opinion about being single or being in a relationship.
I was recently reading on the Psychology Today blogs that singlehood is often negatively portrayed in media and in social terms. Those who have been single for a long time (and are probably older adults) are often thought to be more selfish, uncontrollable and immoral compared to those who are in a committed relationship. Just watch any episode of Sex and the City and you will realize what I am talking about.
One blogger attempted to address that singles are basically the same, it not better, than those who are in a committed relationship. She explains how couples go to great lengths for their marriage and often go over-the-top to show the world their couple status. I know from my own personal experience that you can for sure be immoral and uncontrollable even when you're in a relationship. Our society is so hinged on monogamous relationships that we excuse those who are in one.
I'm certain that this falls back on to religious and patriarchal ideals of the past. Women are supposed to be married in order to have children and provide for their husbands. This is how it has been for years upon years now. We all know how severe the backlash is against someone who is homosexual or a woman who considers herself feminist, because that goes against traditional view of relationships and how important they are. Hence, a women (or a man) who is single by the time they are late 20s or early 30s has something the matter with them. I completely disagree.
Since when did our status and success in life matter if we had a family or significant other? If men and women are now supposedly given the same opportunities to advance in the workplace, have the same education, and have a choice about their romantic life, then why are we so caught up with marriage and families still? (I'm sure you understand that women still don't have these opportunities, but many traditionalists would want you to think so). Why would we push our daughters and sons through expensive college educations and tell them to pursue their goals if all we really want from them is to find a mate and get married as soon as possible? I'm sure I am not the only one that realizes that we're living in a society with bi-polar expectations here. Be completely independent but co-dependent on another person, having too much of one or the other is wrong in society's eyes.
The point is, there is nothing wrong with being single nor is there nothing wrong with being in a committed relationship. However, our society often makes it feel like there is something wrong with one area or another. People feel they need excuses for why they are in either camp. Why do we cheer when someone falls in love but become upset when a relationship fails? Shouldn't we be happy either way because the person is finding out what they want in life?
I believe that some people are better off completely independent, without someone else constantly in their lives. I also believe that some people enjoy the constant company of another person with whom they are compatible with. And there is nothing wrong with either one of those preferences. We are living in 2009, not 1599. It's time we grow out of this expectation that being in a relationship is more important than anything else in this world. And it's time that either side just relax and accept the other. Let us all live our lives with our own expectations, not impacted by outside expectations and without throwing our own expectations upon others as well.
03 June 2009
Experiences with Uprooting
I am sorry that I really haven't been updating this very much. Life always finds a way to, well, get in the way. I attempted to type up a post a couple of days to a week ago about all of my summer projects, but it ended up boring me so I didn't finish it. But, I found that I couldn't delete it either because of the fact that I had already spent time writing it out. I suppose after I post this one I will delete the other one.
I just returned from my first trip to Denver, CO. I was really nervous about flying out there and checking everything out, because of all that I heard about it. Everyone who knows the area seems to adore Denver, and I was frightened that my positive view of it would be a let-down and I would be unhappy.
For me, location is everything. If I am not happy where I am located, then I am going to be miserable the rest of the time I am there. Perhaps it stems from being rudely uprooted from my home state and being forced to come to a place and culture so different from what I knew. Perhaps it isn't really a perhaps, but a complete certainty. Now that I have control in my life, I refuse to be placed somewhere that I don't enjoy. Location is everything to me, and I will be damned if I don't like where I am located.
This is not to say that I regret moving to Minnesota. Well, let me rephrase that; I do not regret moving. The experience that I learned from moving to somewhere so different from what I was used to has changed me in profound ways. I know so many of my friends and acquaintances that can barely move out of their own hometowns without having great anxiety, let alone move out of state. I think that they are really missing out on a huge experience. Without challenging your thoughts on how the world operates and seeing the world through a different culture, how can you possibly grow? I applaud the students that took the plunge and moved out of state for college, that takes a maturity and a sense of learning and wonder that I wish more people had. I believe they have learned more about themselves and how to look at the world around them than someone who went to a college close to their homes.
Because of being uprooted from the place and culture that I loved, I feel that I am no longer content with just staying in one place. When I was given the chance to apply out of state for grad school, I took that and ran with it. I applied to numerous areas I had never been to before, including Denver. I knew I needed a change of scenery and I needed to put myself out in the open once again. I needed to feel vulnerable, scared and self-reliant. There is a sense of adventure and thrill when you go somewhere you have never been to before. I seek that desperately now.
I don't know if I will actually stay in Denver for the rest of my life. I enjoy it enough that I could, but there are still so many places I want to go and experience. Being uprooted from my home has created this inside of me, and I would only hope that more people would develop this. Home is where you call it, not where family is or where you originated from. If you are attached and insanely close to your family, there is nothing wrong with staying near them. But, I feel that those are the people that need to explore and live somewhere else the most. Challenging our thoughts and seeing how others live allows us to grow and become mature. Otherwise we would remain closed-minded people who can only understand our own point of view. The US is such a diverse place compared to most countries, it's almost a sin to not explore other areas and live somewhere else for a while.
Either way, each person has their own way to live. But, I would encourage everyone to really focus on getting out of their comfort zones every once and a while. Do something you would never do, go somewhere you never wanted to go. The negative feelings are only temporary and the thrill and excitement you experience will really change how you view the world! I had a very difficult time with moving to Minnesota, but I thirst for those experiences again in my life. Now that I have taken the plunge with this, I feel that I will never be content just sitting and being in one place ever again.