I started existing in flux....

To avoid building up scars.

Honestly in order to get over the fear of commitment you just have to nut up and walk tall after a devastating break up. If something doesn't kill you, walk it off.

Is anyone else up for keeping this blog going as a place to just talk about random crap?

thoughts of a girl..

Our last blog.. it seems like this class went by so fast. Kudos to Professor Wilking. A great last blog topic and an amazing teacher. I'm in a very nostalgic mood, so forgive my long blog. I don't expect many of you to read it or think I know what I'm talking about, but this is my experience with relationships, knowledge, and advice I have to share with anyone who is willing to listen to this 17-year-old girl.

A year ago the most meaningful relationship I've had came to an end. I'd been with him for over a year and I messed it up. We were.. so amazing together. Everything flowed perfectly, we understood each other, made it through family and other issues together, and were really in sync. Conversations.. just happened. There was no thinking about what to say, worrying about being rejected, or any other issues that usually happen. We talked things out and made solutions that worked for both of us. I've never felt so connected to someone before him or sense. When it ended I wen't through everything described in our blog topic. "It can leave one emotionally immobilized, stagnated, depressed and lead to self-destructive, self-defeating irrational behaviors, and regression." Saying I was extremely hurt and broken was an understatement. I realize it's stupid to get that attached to someone at a young age, but I was nonetheless. It's also stupid that thinking about this still brings up a lump in my throat.. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I know first hand how ending a meaningful relationship can effect someone.

Even though I went through that, and it still hurts a bit, my view on relationships and life is as Steven Coallier said, "Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Life is too short to be sad. It really, really is. Relationships are beautiful. Their fun, exciting, supportive, and amazing. So, jump in and don't look back. Whenever you fall in love, you give your heart to someone and with that comes pain. It's going to happen, so enjoy every moment you have while it lasts. And that's all I have to say.

Cheers everyone.

Good luck wherever your life my take you.

Audrey Elizabeth

Dear Room 229- Last Blog (10)

We have spent the last semester exploring all facets of interpersonal communication together.  Now it's your turn to offer some advice on the subject.  Life's many complexities leaves many scars. The fear of rejection and commitment is a common scar left after the ending of a meaningful relationship. It can leave one emotionally immobilized, stagnated, depressed and lead to self-destructive, self-defeating irrational behaviors, and regression. Share with us, how you think one can learn to overcome their fear of commitment and rejection and be open again to engage in current and future relationships.

Gang Affiliation

This is one of the more detrimental examples. Especially when you are growing up in households that offer no means of stability, identity, safety, or inclusion. Usually young boys, of similar situations will bond together and create synthetic versions of these missing elements. Because these children have no real experience or guidelines for creating their rules and the discipline to follow them, usually an outsider is seen as a threat. Also, because boundaries are never established and because the pecking order changes constantly, those outsiders are usually treated with the maturity of pissed off teenagers. I guess that's kind of the only group think I had experience with.

Groupthink

One main Groupthink situation I can think of is the History of a lot of religious sects, most notably Christianity and its adherents. It has a history of having a huge following and one of the main reasons of that was because they were not allowed to believe in other gods or no gods. You would be put on trial for heresy if you were atheist or had different views and/or ideas. For example, Galileo was charged with heresy for supporting heliocentric views which led to him being put under house arrest. Another example is Socrates. He was killed for being suspected in teaching people of gods different from that of the state. He claimed he believed in the same ones and stated his point but was still charged with heresy which led to his execution. In these era's people were basically forced to think or believe (or act to think or believe) in the same thing as the rest of the state or country. In order to prevent leading to Groupthink situations I believe you need people to be independent and sturdy. They need to have a mind that isn't completely passive and can actually think for its self and not let others think for it. They need to be able to come up with their own ideas.

Groupthink: Homeschool

My example is a first hand observation. As some of you know, I was home schooled from 7th grade until the end of high school. I participated in a home school group that would have activities for home schooled children and teens. Some of these kids fit the typical home schooled stereo type. They were very sheltered and had limited social skills. I think this can be attributed to a type of groupthink. The parents keep their family in a tight group, instill their values, and don't expose their children to anything else often.

To avoid groupthink people should make sure their exposed to different social experiences. Make new friends.. become acculturated basically. Don't hang out with the same group of friends over and over.. go out with different people. Learn about different perspectives. Be an individual. Make up your own mind.

Cheers,

Audrey

Groupthink vs. What you think?

Hitler and his Nazi regime is a good example of Groupthink in a extreme way. The reason this is a good example is because he promised the German people that he could help them reach the best possible way out of their crisis. It wasn't long after he was voted into office he started his regime. He took advantage of his people's weak state of mind to abused his power turning the German nation from a democratic nation to something smiler to a dictatorship. Having this power he wanted to wipe out every citizen who wasn't blond haired and blue eyed and started to kill off millions of Jewish people. This situation relates to Groupthink is because he influenced all the people in the nation to believe in his ideals.

As human beings I don't really think that it is possible to avoid Groupthink all together because we trust in one person to represent the whole nation (i.e. our congressmen). One way to avoid Groupthink all together is to not put yourself in a position where Groupthink is happening. However, I know that not putting yourself in that position of Groupthink is easier said then done, but I think that some Groupthink is healthy for every individual. Although some group is healthy for every individual, the only thing I can think of is to not put yourself in a bad position of Groupthink.