Last week of discussion :( - Question 3

The concept that I truly enjoyed learning and even taught to my other friends was the section about committed romantic relationships. In this section of the book, I particularly paid attention to the styles of loving. The first style of loving is the primary style. It is eros, storge, and ludus. I was definitely interested because I did not know that there were many kinds of styles. The first one is the passionate style that happens fast and is very dramatic. This style is when people fall in love quickly and just have this crazy kind of affection for each other. Storge is the kind of love that comes out of a friendship. This is the love that doesn't happen right away, but is developed over time. Lastly, ludus is a playful style of love. The people who uses this style do not take the relationship seriously and sees it as a game. This kind of love are more common on men than in women. These styles of loving was interesting to me because I did not know that the things I see in life can fall into these categories.

Last week of discussion :( - Question 2

My favorite thing about this class was the blogging. I used to blog on Tumblr and I really enjoyed it. It was such a different feel than any of my classes and since this was my first online class, the blogging aspect really did make me enjoy it. At first, I thought it would just be reading and tests online but I really do like writing and having people comment on it and give their feedback. I also did like how I can interact with my classmates through their blogs because other online classes I’ve heard about did not do that. I don't think there is anything I particularly disliked about this class, because I really did enjoy the assignments and even the papers. I don't normally like writing papers but as a comm major, I definitely enjoyed learning and writing about interpersonal communication. I think this class does not really need any improvement because it's good how it is. It is also very convenient and easy to learn. 

Last week of Discussion :( - Question 1

Over the course of this semester, I learned a lot about verbal and nonverbal communication. I learned that verbal communication is highly influenced by our culture and the environment we live in. For example, most Asian families are not as open about sensitive topics to each other like American families. Also, I learned more about ambiguity and how sometimes what we mean is not necessarily what we say and confusion can arise. Nonverbal communication is another thing I learned more of in this class because it says much more than verbal. Our body language and what we communicate through our eyes and other nonverbal actions is more believable because it truly expresses our real feelings. We cannot fake how our faces and our bodies look like, but we can definitely think and change what we say verbally. I also learned a lot about friendship and how communication plays a big role in it. For example, I learned about not sweating the small stuff and that is something that definitely has improved my friendships. It states that we should not let the small irritations and small slights ruin a friendship because they are usually the cause of friendship's dying.

Week 13 discussion - Question 3

The thing that stuck out the most to me in this chapter was not any of the big topics or the tiny box section with cool little trivia. It was actually just one line. It said, "Approximately half of first marriages will end in divorce, and even higher proportion - 60% of remarriage end." This line really shocked me. I knew that marriages nowadays often fail because of many reasons, but it really did surprise me to see the actual amount. That means that half of the couples that chose to marry and promise, "For better of for worse" actually did not live up to their vows. It saddens me to know that instead of fixing something that is broken or wrong in the relationship, people take the easy way out and walk away from the problem - divorce. I feel like if at any point, two people are in love and want to make things work, that should be easy to bring back later on too when problems arise. I know I can't speak much about the topic because I have never been married or divorce, but ever since I  can remember about marriage, I believe that two people should always try and fight for their love/marriage because they chose to be with this person forever. Maybe I don't understand. Maybe I'm too young to know the real problems adults face. But I do know that when you say for or for worse, you better mean it.

Week 13 discussion - Question 2

I do believe that marriage and relationships have evolved so much over time, especially in my less-conservative generations. Nowadays, people's views on marriage are definitely not as traditional as before. There are more and more women, surprisingly, who do not feel the need to get married anymore. Back then, women are looked at as men's property and that the only goal they had was to get married because that's what they are meant to do. In this day and age, women choose not to get married because they are independent and can hold their own. I predict as time goes on, this will change even more and women will realize more that they do not a man or marriage at all in their life. I also predict (and highly hope!) that over the next 50 years, gay marriage will not become an issue anymore. Many homosexuals are starting to bravely come out nowadays and the more they all stand together and unite can really change people's perspective especially because it really shouldn't matter to anyone else who someone wants to marry. 

Week 13 discussion - Question 1

For me, I define family as people who are there for you unconditionally. I feel like family is supposed to be the group of people who will stick around no matter what because at the end of the day, you guys are all who each other got. Now, family to me does not always mean blood-related, because I sure do have relatives who I don't really consider family because they have not shown me any kind of love and care that can make consider them one. They are simply just people in my life who share the same DNA or last name as me. Family members love, support, and definitely understand each other to the best of their abilities or even more. I think the type of relationship discussed in this chapter that fit my definition of family the most is a diverse family. My family and I all have different goals and we are all different people, but in the end of it all, we all still love each other the same. I don't think anyone who does not allow themselves to love and care for someone unconditionally can ever be a part of a family.

Week 12 discussion - Question 3

The topic that I paid attention to the most and even showed a friend is "Adapt communication to maintain long-distance relationships". Personally, I have not been in a long-distance relationship, but having a couple of friends who are in one gives me more insight that I would want to know. Sometimes, my friends vent to me so much about their problems with their long-distance partner, that I actually feel I'm in one also! Lately, a friend of mine has been going through a tough time being with someone so far away from her and since it was midterms week, they barely got to talk to each other. At this time, I already ran out of advice for her because I've been helping her out for months now. I read this section and found it real interesting when the book states, "because partners have limited time together, they often think that every moment must be perfect" This little line summed up everything that my friend has been dealing with for months! There's an added pressure for a long-distance relationship because they feel like every chance they get with each other has to be perfect and planned out. When in reality, the simple little things are what matter the most. Their unrealistic expectations, according to the book, leads to the second problem faced by most long-distance relationships.