Tonight we learned about Parenting; mainly who it affects and how they are affected. I loved this because I realized that parenting typically affects the parent more than the child in the long run. Though the first years of a child shows rapid growth in the body, Brother Williams made a point that he feels growth can be just as intense, if not more after we become parents. We also discussed different types of parenting. Authoritative is definately the one I will strive to be. Loving and understanding, though keeping boundaries and limits on my children. It's important that we as parents aren't being too restrictive or too leanient, and that we counsel our children so they know why they do what we are asking them to.

This weekend we were to write our Fatherhood Paper. I loved this assignment because I tend to focus only on myself as a future mother. It's nice to see everything from another viewpoint and being able to recognize how I can not only be a good mother, but help my future spouse become a good father as well. The childrens' development is based crucially on how they are raised and this is very important to consider and improve on! I'm excited to here everyone else's thoughts on Tuesday!

Yesterday we discussed communication; both from the listener and the talker's side. It was amazing to see how many different ways we communicate and imply things through words or even facial expressions. We also discussed how the presidenct of our church meets with his apostles and how that can be related to family or just our homes in general. I thought it was interesting because this same night, one of our roommates that doesn't get along with the rest of us too well demanded an apartment meeting. I used the lesson to initiate prayer before and after to release some tension and get our points across in a mature manner.

Tonight we had a class discussion on conflict and stressors, associating them to how families cope with them. There were many examples of good and bad coping habits. I came to notice the simpleness of predicting different family member behaviors! I've come to relate to my own life, that being the oldest of four kids, I typically act bossy trying to help take on a mother-like figure even though my mother is completely capable of the responsibility on her own. I hope to fix that to create long term good relationships with each of my siblings and to notice ways I deal with stress and conflict, eventually adopting other good ones.

Yesterday we had a discussion on sexual intimacy where we were taught the process and what to expect in sexual intercourse. I had no idea how emotional the process was. I feel like this lesson should be given to everyone in the school because it is important to know how everything works and how to deal with any struggles coming up. I learned how difficult yet important it is, and that it requires commmunication to keep up a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse.

This last class we had in Family Relations was a lot about the first few months of marriage. One critical thing is to TALK! Couples typically don't voice their feelings about the way the other acts or even as Brother Williams' situation witht he mail. His wife had opened his mail and this was very shocking considering how he was raised to never do such a thing. Holiday plans, specifically whose family to visit, need to be discussed. Each person grew up with different habits and traditions. This is a time to pick ones you'd like for your own family.

This week we discussed theories on gay and lesbian couples and the different perspectives of it. Brother Williams gave us the experiences of multiple meetings with gays struggling with this and once the theories were explained to them, they all burst into tears and felt like those theories related to them completely. Theoretically these kids start out as those that are a little "different" whether it be their looks, voice, or athletic abilities that keep them from making friends. They then feel like they must accept that they are different when they really just don't realize it's a choice and not the natural order of things. I wish we could get this realization to everyone going through anything like that and stop things before they progress into worse circumstances involving our temples.

This week in Family Relations we watched students in the classroom act out a counseling session with an intimidating father, a worried mother, and a daughter who had been out all night. The daughter and father didn't want to speak to eachother and the mother was pacing back and forth trying to comfort both the daughter and the father. This reminded me of times when I was angry with my dad only realizing later that my dad was only showing he cared for me. I  was frequently putting my mom in that position where she would cover for me or defend me to my father. This caused contention between all three of us, especially my parents who shouldn't have to put their daugter in between them.

Today in Family Relations we learned about different family systems. The one that interested me most was the symbolic behavior. It's crazy to really think about how anything you do can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on who sees it. If I were to look at a girl in class thinking to myself that I like her outfit, it could be completely misinterpreted to the extent that she thinks I'm giving her a dirty look. When we are with our spouses or siblings it's important we try to see things from their point of view also.

The first couple weeks here have been great. One thing I know I will love about this semester is how my classes really coincide with one another. My Child Development class is linked with my Family Relations and Anatomy class, while Anatomy is also linked with my Science class. Plus having more classes I show interest in, I know I'm going to love learning and feel the need to try harder and hopefully take in to mind some really useful knowledge I can use througout my life.

Expectations

So I had a great first week to my second semester here at BYU-Idaho. Though I miss the California weather and my wonderful family like CRAZY, this school has really impressed me. I'm excited to be getting into classes I feel much more interested in. I know this semester is going to be filled with fun, great people, useful knowledge, and good learning experiences. I'm really excited to see what this class and semester as a whole has in store for me :)