Week 7

 This week in class we discussed a lot about how we can form long-lasting, healthy relationships with our family, particularly during the engagement process of a young couple. There were some interesting insights and perspectives shared among the other students as well as the professor, one that stood out to me was when somebody said, "Whoever cares the least is the one who controls the closeness of a relationship." This was said in the context of who presents the possibility of marriage first, the man or the woman, but can also be applied to many other kinds of relationships as well. The idea is that whoever sets the broadest and most restricting boundaries controls many aspects of a relationship such as how frequently they see each other and what are they willing to share. This principle is almost always true for every kind of relationship and can be either a useful and healthy tool for pacing the growth of the relationship, or it can be manipulative and corrupting if it makes the relationship too unequally yoked. It is important for the person with the more restrictive boundaries to emphasize with the other person who is more progressive in how they feel about things. It is also important for the person who wants a more close relationship to be patient as that relationship develops into what they would like it to be, and to be respectful of somebody who is hesitant and may become uncomfortable if things moved too quickly.

This class discussion then moved to the topic of the relationships between parents and children. We focused on the long-term benefits of parents making intentional efforts and sacrifices to be a part of their children's lives. Things like attending recitals and birthdays will create a bond between parents and their children which will last years to come as the parents grow old and the children become adults. I think the same should be considered for children who make sacrifices for their parents. Although children's resources can be more limited, such as being broke college students who can't afford nice gifts, they can still make sacrifices of time and effort. This similarly strengthens the relationship between parents and children.

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