The Ultimatum

The concept about Perception and Communication was a really hard concept to grasp -especially due to the fact that it was the last chapter we had read I just feel like it was repetitious to what we've previously learned. I think if we would have had a discussion dedicated to this chapter it would have been easier to understand. But most of all I just thought it was 'deja vu' about our other chapters. The Ladder of Abstraction threw me off as well because no matter how many times I read about it -it went through one ear and right out the other. Although the square of Cognitive Schemata was relevant to our generation, the ideas discussed in the chapter seem unavoidable in life and I think it is not necessarily irrelevant to the Communication concept but it could have better examples relating to our everyday lives like every other chapter.

From Like to Love

One of my favorite things about the class was the fact that we did have essays but they were spread apart to give me enough time to put my all into it. The simple fact that this class is not demanding what so ever made it even better. Also, I liked the fact the the professor was easy to contact although it was an online class. Another thing that I really enjoyed about the class was the fact the concepts related to my life right now. Every discussion topic we had was relevant to the topics we learned about and it helped me really connect with the material. If there was one thing I disliked about the class is the fact that I never got to actually see the professor in person. Although I had the opportunity to, I had to work and since it was not mandatory I didn't take advantage of that. I think if the professor dedicated the first day of session an in-class one, it would make the class easier and better to understand. I came into this class really skeptical and doubtful and now I'm wishing I would've embraced this class earlier in the year. I honestly think one or two in-class sessions would really make the class more interesting.

Too Many To Chose From

One thing that has seriously stuck with me and I share with my friends is the idea about the different styles of love that are given to us in Chapter 11. I have still been trying to apply the readings to every aspects to my life to figure out what type of lover I am. As of right now, I'm still unknown. We all possess different ways to love and it is influenced by how we were raised and the level of maturity that we reach in order to actual know what love is. 
Another concept that really intrigued me was about the different Non-listening we all engage in from time to time in Chapter 6. At first, I didn't know that you could categorize "ignorant" listening. With the information that I have acquired I have been able to present this information with my best friend who truly fails in the listening department. We are currently working on ways to engage and compromise our listening habits for each other.
This brings me to my last note, Chapter 10 'Friendship In Our Lives' really finalized the friendships that I have encountered this far in my life. "Friends of the heart" and "friends of the road" had really settled things in stone for. I used to want to be everybody's friend, but after reading the chapter I have a clear understanding of what an actual friend stands for and how hard it is to come by.
Overall, I underestimated Communications because it was something we did naturally. I didn't know that it came in various forms and varied among our ethnical backgrounds and even gender communities. This course had been the gate way for me to start being more eccentric about spending the rest of my life in [Mass] Communications -I am very much ready for the rest.

The Real and Contradicting Family Cycle

One concept that really caught my attention was The Family Life Cycle brought to us by Olson and McCubbin. I believe that this concept should have been renamed "The Ideal Family Life Cycle" because in today's generation the family cycles I've witnessed have counteracted with this one and I think it's almost sad.  Most young couples in particular skip the first stage and go straight to the second, not out of love but more of a lust. Many girls I know feel like having someone's baby would keep that man around forever but as soon as the baby takes the first breath, that's when denial and accusation walk into the room. Stage 3 is a challenge because the single-parent home rate is so high, the parent doesn't get much time to develop as strong as of a family as two parents do. Stages 4-6, I will just ay children are a reflection of their parents, if the parents don't care, the children could possible acquire that down the line and it could really hurt their future. I do like the guidelines the author gives us -they seem accurate. But now the technology is starting to innovate, who may now what it could start doing to families, I'm starting to see the early signs now.

Taken In Vain

I hate to be the pessimistic individual for my generation but I believe my generation is screwed when it come to matrimonial commitments. For example, we all know who Kim Kardashian is -yeah she is one of the key players for neglectful marriage to come in the near future. She is one of many who just marry due to that "honeymoon" stage in a relationship, then when worst comes to worst, she wants to call it quits without even trying to to work it out. With that, she also gets a kick in finances -divorces are pricey. Also, I believe marriage is going to decrease more and more over the next 50 years because I feel like I'm coming from the era of separates, no one has time to invest and commit in a good, healthy traditional marriage. Many take marriage in vain, thinking that only because they had one venting session and a baby together, it's a must they have to vow to each other. Since the teen pregrnancy rate is increasing rapidly I also believe that their will be a decline in marriage -it's just too much too soon at such a young age. Hopefully, we can all go back to the traditional way of marriage and just take relationships one step at a time, not falling too fast so soon.

Thin Lines Between Family

Family to me, isn't something you could easily describe off the back. It is complex, well at least my experience with family thus far has been. Ideally, I would think that "family" would never neglect each other, backstab, or set another up for disaster. A family is a group of individuals, no matter what give unconditional love -beyond the meaning of life. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a family alone or like I am my family. Like I said, it's complicated. I consider a certain group of friends my family and it is perhaps very true. Family is what you can count on when you are at your lowest of lows. Family members, say the right things, no matter how harsh it may seem -they always provide the truth and nothing but. Conflict-habitual marriage, realistically fit my definition of a family. A lot of conflict always seem to happen, but we all stayed tied together because we know eventually one day we will need each other. I feel like my biological family is there for me, but only because they have to be. Regardless I will still love them forever and I will carry the weight for the rest of my life if I have to. The media always presents the vital marriage which is everyone's ideal family but I believe if each and every one of us face the reality of conflict and disagreements it makes families all the better, we already know what to expect without the sugar coating.

My Insane Love

One of the concepts I really found interesting was the topic about the different styles of love. I just want to add that the authors even uses primary and secondary colors (takes me back to Kindergarten) to make it even easier to understand and connect with my personal life. If I had to chose the style of love I demonstrate it would most definitely be a mixture of Eros and Agape love. Okay, yes I'll admit there is a little mania in there. But I have always been boy crazy, not because I'm mentally unstable or that I'm insecure or that I'm craving attention but because that's what they are placed on this earth for -that's how I've always been (no judgement). But I have always been the erotic and spontaneous type, in or out of a relationship. A relationship doesn't even have to be present in order for me to show my agape love either. When I love, I just love hard -I don't ever want it to be taken for granted. I do take things slow though. To me, I don't know everyone or what they have been through, especially the men I am attracted to. But unconditionally, I want to give people that love that they've never had before. I don't want recognition for the loves I possess because they will never change, they just make me who I am. This has been my most favorite concept throughout the entire book.