The Way

I really loved the movie "The Way." I liked the idea of taking an immersive trip to Europe, being a part of nature, and experiencing the people and the food on a long journey. I also am a nature lover, and think the beauty of the walk would be almost overwhelming. I think everyone can benefit from taking some sort of retreat or pilgrimage to really get in touch with themselves, their values, and their goals in life. I think each pilgrim's goal changed along the journey from doing something with a specific purpose, to realizing some real burden they were carrying and attempting to heal themselves for their own sake. They searched within themselves to let allow themselves to be healed, and consciously gave up the burdens they were carrying. i think the lesson we can learn from this movie is that healing comes from the self, just as the purpose of the Camino is to walk it for ones self.

IVF

I think the biggest pro of IVF is giving couples who are unable to conceive a chance at creating their own family consisting of their genetic children. This can be a wonderful opportunity and blessing for those couples, and give them great happiness and fulfillment in their life. The biggest con of IVF is the capability of humans essentially "playing God"and attempting to genetically design the traits of their baby. The Church sees IVF overall as a form of playing God, and overstepping the boundaries of natural conception. The Church also believes that life begins at the moment two sex cells combine, and the creation of embryo cells for IVF often results in unused, extra cells. When these are discarded, the Church sees this as discarding potential human life.  While I don't think people should be making designer babies, I do think IVF is acceptable and wonderful for people who can take advantage of it. I don't think the fact that it is expensive makes it morally unacceptable, because hormone treatment can be expensive and the Church sees that as acceptable. Also, we wouldn't have connected with our new friends/extended family the Savages if IVF were not possible. Yay babies!

Abortion?

jk

http://zenpencils.com/comic/102-timothy-leary-you-arent-like-them/

My favorite quote and cartoon was about "finding the others." It talks about ending the cycle of hiding who you really are and trying to mold oneself to fit society's standards. I love that it promotes individualism, because I think society today places too much focus on a certain skill set and devalues the importance of creativity and trade skills. I think people feel pressured to hide their passions and being passionate about something that someone else is not interested in can be considered weird or frowned upon. We need people who absolutely love outer space and people who could do computer programming for hours. We need diversity to maintain a wholesome and functioning society, and we need to applaud everyone's individuality and uplift them instead of condeming those who see things or do things differently.

word of 2013

I found the article interesting stating that love is the word of 2013. I don't think love really sticks out as a trademark for 2013, as it is very general and can be applied to any situation or any point in time. I think that love may have been her personal word for 2013 as she began to realize love in its fullness and it took its first real dive into her life. I was touched by her realizations that she needed to accept her vulnerability and use it as an opportunity to embrace acts of love offered by others, and I think that is a good lesson for us all. If think that I could also apply the word love to my year for several reasons. But as a general word for 2013, I think "selfie" or even "sharing" could be an applicable word for the year in relation to the amount of information we shared on vine and facebook and twitter and instagram this year became incredibly popular.

Snow day

I really loved this ted talk. It really hit home for me, because I have always been a nature person. I have always loved to explore creeks and look at every kind of living animal and think they are all cute. I climbed trees and could sit in them for hours, or could stay on the beach from morning to night. I can't kill bugs and I will go out of my way to take them outside. I love watching the clouds and the sunset and especially the stars (which I will really miss in new york next year).
My favorite part of this talk was the old man who talked about living each day as if it was you first and your last, and then it will have really been a good day. Watching the beautiful images and hearing him say this really made a feeling of peace settle over me. It made me want to be better, and to forget the hurts of my past and live for the happiness of the present. It is often hard to stick with this mantra, but it is good when ideas like that can resonate within you and encourage you to follow them.

He's just not that into you

Scarlett Johansson's character Anna is not a totally honest person because she is willing to get into a relationship with someone who is already in a relationship. This shows that she has low self-esteem because she accepts someone who isn't fully committed to her. I also think she is naive for thinking that she can change a man who is willing to cheat on his wife- a woman who her clearly loved at another point in his life. The idea of changing a person for yourself is somewhat narcissistic, because you believe that something about you will make you more important than the woman he decided to marry the first time. I know many people who put themselves into situations like this and relationships where they expect to change someone for the better, and most of the time nothing changes. it is sad to see people get hurt by relationships like this, just like Anna does when she gets the realization that Ben really has a wife that he is still in a relationship with.
Gigi is desperate to make a connection with any guy that is willing, and is constantly reading into the signs of reasons he might not like you. I myself and all my friends have done this at one time or another, because especially in high school relationships, its often uncommon for the guy to just decide to "make it happen" and ask you out. We don't really do trial dates, where people hang out just to see if they are compatible. I have friends who obsess over every guy and constantly look for signs or try to pick out the positive actions and words from an overall negative guy who is clearly not in it for a relationship. I think the way she goes about things is naive, and can lead to real hurt in the end if she ran into the wrong type of guy who misused her vulnerability and romanticism.
Mary and Conor are both genuine characters who really value interaction and are great together. She wasn't rushing and desperate to find someone because she felt overwhelmed by the idea of keeping up incessant technological contact.  She is surprisingly cute and charming in person, and her brightness makes her a very appealing person. Conor pours himself into Anna because he is confused by the signals she gives him and he is really looking to make that connection to move into a serious relationship. When she ends the relationship, he is able to move on in a healthy way, and puts himself back out there. He finds Mary and the two hit it off because they are both personable characters who give what they really feel and put effort into relationships. This couple reminds me of the successful relationships I have seen with parents and friends because they are two people that seem down-to-earth and realistic about relationship expectations.
Beth and Neil have my favorite relationship, because it shows that marriage is not the ultimate definition of a good relationship. Ben and Janine have an unhealthy marriage, while Beth and Neil have a beautiful, committed, caring relationship. The two are there for each other when the other needs supports, and have a touching closeness. They are comfortable with each other and have been happy for a long time together. At the end of the movie, both are willing to compromise their beliefs for their love of the other person- Neil proposes, and Beth is willing to stay with him even if marriage is taken off the table. They remind me of my and some of my friends parents, who have been together through thick and thin, and have made sacrifices and compromises for each other throughout the years.
These relationships have given me some insight and personal thought on what i consider a healthy relationship. This relates to our course, because our course pushes identifying with our own values, and how they contrast or coincide with the churches values. I think I value a relationship like Beth and Neil's the most, and in addition, like the church, I also value the concept of a committed marriage and the effort to start and raise a family.

Perspectives on Marriage

I think my parents and grandparents both have marriages for which I aspire. In both relationships, I have seen serious commitment, love, and a true friendship and ability to have fun. They have raised strong, close families, and I don't see many aspects that are negative. I am sure my marriage will be personal and different because we are different people, but there is no particular aspect of their marriage that I can specifically point out as something I know I would want to do different. I hope to marry my best friend- someone who makes me happy at even my lowest moments, and someone for whom I feel a strong desire to take care of. I want the work in our relationship to be done towards compromise on money and children and important life decisions, but I do not want to have to work at loving the other person. I want my care for him to feel completely natural.
The book presents some views of marriage from ancient times and the Old Testament that I completely disagree with. Concubines, subordination, and loveless marriages were all considered acceptable practices in the past, and I think these practices undermine the strength of the bond of marriage. Fidelity is a full commitment of oneself to another person that enables you to grow together both body and soul. Having an equal partnership allows both husband and wife to bring what they have to offer to the relationship, and enables them to make important decision together. Love helps couples stick together through thick and thin, and make selfless decisions for the other person that benefit their marriage and themselves as people in the end.