IVF

One obvious Pro of IVF is having your own biological child. Many couples use IVF as a last resort for having their own children. While the church accepts adoption as a vaild way to become parents, the child is not biologically yours, and many couples want a biological child. Some of the Cons of IVF include the church regards IVF as immoral, unused embryos are frozen indefinitely or destroyed, and IVF threatens the sanctity of life. The Church’s teaching brings up some good moral points about IVF. The Church believes that life starts at the moment of conception, which in the case of IVF is in a petri dish. Also, all of the extra embryos, that are destroyed, are an unnatural ending to a human life. IVF is very expensive and couples that strongly desire to have a baby will pay any amount in order to have a child. IVF doctors are taking advantage of couples who desire to have a baby. They force the couple to pay large sums of money to have a baby. According to the article, one couple had 11 unsuccessful IVF treatments that cost them $100,000. This couple really wanted a baby, so the amount of money that they spent did not matter. IVF treatments can cost thousands of dollars and still be unsuccessful. 

He's Just Not That Into You

Gigi is very self-conscious and is not happy with herself. She is constantly looking for a guy to make her happy. She overanalyzes the signals that she perceives from guys and she becomes obsessed with the guy to the point that he no longer likes her. Alex is the first positive and successful relationship that Gigi has had. Alex is always honest with Gigi, and his honesty helps Gigi to realize things about herself and why her past relationships failed. Alex uses the defense mechanisms that we discussed in class to keep all relationships out of his reach until Gigi helps him realize his love for her.

Neil and Beth’s relationship is different from what we think as a “normal” relationship. People think that once you have been together for a couple of years that you should get married. They have been together for seven years and have not gotten married. Beth thinks that she needs to be married in order for Neil to be a true husband. However, Beth realizes that Neil is more of a husband to her than her sisters’ husbands are to her sisters. At the end of the movie, Beth realizes that marriage is not essential to her being happy with her life with Neil, but Neil proposes to Beth anyway. Neil was always committed to Beth even though he did not want to get married. 

The Changing Face of Marriage

My parents have always taught my that my faith is important. They sent me to a catholic grade school to help teach me about my faith. My parents take my siblings and I to church every Sunday. My parents have instilled many values in me using our faith as a guide. In the movie "He's Just Not That Into You," Jennifer Aniston wants to get married to her long time boyfriend. She wants to take the next step and get married but her boyfriend does not believe in the institution of marriage. I think that getting married is an important step in every relationship. I think that getting married strengthens a couples relationship. The studies that say that people with a college degree are less likely to experience divorce gives me hope that I will have a successful marriage one day. I think that I will establish domestic church in my home when I am older. 

Some say love...

I believe that in a committed/loving relationship there should be respect, friendship, loyalty, and love. I want to be in a relationship with someone that I can always count on for anything. Although many songs only speak to the negative aspects of relationships and breakups, these positive characteristics are evident in some songs. For example in “Marry Me” by Jason Derulo, he sings,

“A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head

When I think of all the years I wanna be with you

Wake up every morning with you in my bed

That's precisely what I plan to do.”

He is saying that he cannot wait till his wife and he are married for the rest of their lives. He is in love with Jordin Sparks and he clearly expresses his love and devotion in this song. Another song that expresses this is “Dark Side” by Kelly Clarkson. She says,

“Will you love me, even with my dark side?”

In this song she says that everyone has a dark side, and she asks if you can still love her despite her dark side. She wants to know if you can love her dark side because everyone has one. Another timeless love song is “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. In this song, she says how she will always love him no matter what. The song “Let’s Talk About Love” by Celine Dion talks about how love is universal. She says that everyone can unite through love. Finally, in “We Found Love” by Rihanna, she says that

“We found love in a hopeless place.”

I believe that you can find love even when you are not looking for it. Rihanna says that love can sometimes find you, even when you do not set out in search for a soul mate. I do not believe in soul mates. I think that more than one person can make you happy and love you. I think that in the quest for a soul mate, we set too high expectations, which makes finding “the perfect man” even harder. 

Gender

I don’t recall being taught gender specific roles. I have a younger brother and sister. We are only 3 years apart, so we always played together.  My brother had a doll, just like my sister and I. My parents never said he couldn’t play with dolls.  My sister and I played with his train set and we all would play basketball in the driveway. We all played the same sports, so we could always practice in the back yard together. 

My parents never said blue was for boys or pink was for girls. My younger sister has always loved the color blue, and still to this day likes wearing blue, and her room is even blue.  My parents never told her boy is a blue color.  My brother likes wearing pink- he has pink shirts, pink pants, pink socks.  It never was an issue in our house.  I guess my siblings and I have been taught to be your own person, do what you want, not what society tells you to do. 

  

I think going to all girls high school has shown me that women can do anything.  I think that without the boys here, we don’t have all the boy drama that a coed school would have.  No one worries about how they look coming to school, just look at how we dress on dress down days- we are not dressing to impress anyone.  I think the all girls school has also shown me that girls can do typical male fields- science and math.  I love science and plan on majoring in biology in college- here we can do the labs ourselves without the boys looking on.  We are taught that girls can do everything that boys can do.

I think relationships should not always follow the traditional roles of men and women. I expect a man to hold the door and be courteous, but I don’t expect him to all the physical jobs. Just because he is a man does not mean that he should have to shovel the snow or mow the lawn. I can do both those things too. I want to model my relationship off my parents, who have been married for 21 years. I see my parent’s relationship as a sharing one.  While my Dad is the one who earns the money, my mom’s work in our home and our schools is just as needed, she just doesn’t get paid for it.  I think that everyone, regardless of sex, can perform the same tasks and men should not be expected to perform the physical tasks just because he is a man. 

Miss Representation

Although many people believe that the media has no affect on them, it is not true. The media has subtle messages that affect everyone regardless of age. The media influences many young girls because the media teaches them that how they are portrayed in the media is normal. I am shocked by how much the media really affects children and teens. The sexualized images portrayed in the media are having a detrimental affect to the youth that see these images on the television or online.

At the Mount we are taught to believe that we can be powerful women. Although I think we all can become powerful women, society today does not usually portray women that way. In movies, many women are portrayed as sexualized people that only ever want a husband or baby. Only 16% of women are the protagonists in movie, even though 51% of the United States’ population is women. Very few women characters in the movies have complex roles, which undermines the career goals of women. Also, there are not many women that have served in the government. Only 34 women have ever served as governor. This past summer at my job, the males were always asked to take out the trash, sweep, and move the boxes of merchandise, while the women were always asked to organize the shelves. Although no one complained about his or her assigned tasks, this gender stereotype is present in the workplace. The males were expected to carry all the heavy boxes because that is a stereotypical male job. Women can carry boxes too; it is not a male only task.

The Mount has instilled in me that I can be a successful and empowered woman. Mount has tried to defy the traditional gender stereotypes. The Mount has shown me how important the education of women really is. The Mount educates women to go out into the world and be successful.  We are expected to go onto college and get at least a bachelor’s degree, if not further schooling. We are exposed to many alumni who have become successful the articles in the Mount magazine, speakers, trips to visit the alumni in New York City, and stories about successful students from the teachers. 

Mission Statement

I want to find happiness in whatever I do and wherever I go. I will strive to help those I can help whenever I can and wherever I am. I will help anyone who asks for my assistance. I will continue to keep my faith in all my days. I commit to being honest with myself and others about my dreams and desires. I will look for love, laughter, and happiness each day in everything I do. I will always love and treasure my family and friends.