What I have Learned Part 4

There tends to be a lot of pressure put on grades. In high school, we had to have the best grades ever in order to get into college and now that we are in college there is a lot of pressure to get good grades to impress potential employers and graduate school advisors. I admit it, I am one of those people who worries about getting good grades. Are we so stressed out about a grade that we miss the information that we could be learning? Since my major is Marriage and Family, how can we relate this concept to the family?
Simple, instead of being so focused on having well-behaved children and an immaculate house, focus on what you can learn by letting your kids be kids. What do you think you could learn by focusing on teaching principles and self-mastery rather than behavior? The Family: A Proclamation to the World teaches us that "Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities" (Para, 7).  I have learned that many different examples of bad behavior can be fixed by simply loving and respecting your child. The greatest way to teach is to lead by example. 
All I have ever wanted to be is a mother and I am more than excited to see what I learn from the amazing experience that being a mother is.  I have learned so much in the last year and I am looking forward to what the year brings and to marrying the man of my dreams. 

What I have Learned Part 3

There are many things that I have learned outside of the classroom. Living with roommates who start out as complete strangers is not an easy act. We all come different places and different backgrounds. Add in the ups and downs that are the emotional rollercoaster of being a girl, to being in an apartment with five other girls can be unbearable. I have learned a lot about patience and selflessness.
I have been trying to relate everything that I experience to the family. So, how can I relate student living to a family?  The experience of living with five other girls is very similar to family life. We have to communicate and have respect for each other. We have to set and live by boundaries. Since The Family: A Proclamation to the World was first read in 1995 we have read and lived by its guidelines. One of those guidelines is "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Para. 7).  When we live our lives by the teachings of Christ, we will be able to have harmony in our homes and yes, even in the six person apartment that we share with five other girls. Eventhough my roommate drive me absolutley crazy sometimes, I still strive to love them and to be patient. They have their struggles too, and I am positive that I am not the easiest person to live with. I honestly feel that living with roommates the last two years has definatly helped prepare me for marriage. I have learned a lot from the crazy girls that I have shared a home with for 14 weeks every semester. 

What I have Learned Part 2

Over the course of this semester, I have been working on memorizing The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Although I have not been successful in memorizing all of it, I have learned a lot from reading it over and over again. There are many phrases that have stuck out to me. One of them is "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other..." (Para. 6). As I am set to get married in a few weeks, this means a lot. I am becoming a wife. What does this mean? Well, according to the proclamation, it means that I have the responsibility to love and care for the amazing man that I am about to marry. In the last post, I stated that love is a choice. So is marriage. I am choosing to marry my best friend, therefore I am choosing to accept the responsibility to love and care for him. The way to fulfill this responsibility it different for everyone and every couple because we are all different, and that is okay. I wasn't sure what "solemn" meant, so I looked it up. It means, based on the context in which it is used, "characterized by deep sincerity" This means that we are not supposed to just love them and care for them, but to do so with meaning and intent. Not because it is our responsibility, but because we have the desire to see our spouse happy and healthy. Gordon B. Hinkley once said that the key to a happy and eternal marriage is to desire the happiness of your spouse. (Teaching of the Presidents of the Chruch: Gordon B. Hinckley)

I am so very grateful for the knowledge that I have gained over the course of this year. When I look back and compare where I was, with where I am, I am amazed at how much I didn't know. 

What I have Learned Part 1

This year has been a major period of growth for me. This year I changed my major and it changed my life. I entered my first year of college as an English major with the goal of becoming a children's librarian. I left that same year with the desire to change. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew that I did not want to stay where I was. I had begun to consider a general degree in University Studies until someone suggested that I do more. My new path came to me as I was sitting at the close of the most amazing summer camp. A little girl came up to me, put her arms around me and changed everything. From that moment on, I knew that the only thing that I wanted in this world was to be a mom. To have a family of my own to love and raise.  So I did my research and discovered that the degree for me was Marriage and Family with an emphasis in Home and Family. The most common thing to with this degree is to go into marriage and family counsleing. I do not want to do this. I have created a graduation plan that will help me become a wife and then a mom. These last two semesters of focused, degree oriented classes have filled me with so much knowledge.
By far the most important thing that I have learned this year is that love is a choice. Many people believe that you simply fall in love and therefore fall out of love when the excitement is over. I thought this until I started classes. Love is a verb. This means that there needs to be some action taken and effort put in. Yes, the sparks should fly, but it is up to you whether or not a fire starts and continues to burn.