The "Fake It Until You Make It"

These week in my Family Relations class I found it interesting the effects of social class on the family and the nuts and bolts of social classes in general.

Growing up I remember being told that appearance is key in society. Okay, maybe not those exact words, but that was the point put across. Now in this video they talk about marrying rich, what is the first thing they talk about, well the lingo of proximity, yet she had to change her appearance to disguise herself as those of a "higher class." Now discussing it among classmates it seemed sad. I say this because when you marry someone or make a first impression you should be yourself and not pretending. The lady in the video had to change herself and I'm sure it was okay in the beginning, but as time goes on, previous habits creep back in and more than likely she will return to her old self. Some this works out because their transition is so gradual, others not so much. Also, I am sure there are a lot of people out there who try to change, but are miserable but feel obligated to change so they feel secure with being financially well-off. To me, personally, it doesn't seem worth it.

With that, in another video were stated about you looking the part isn't everything, they have to act a certain way and be accepted into that part of society. I think it is also hard in that there are stereotypes about upper and lower class that are inaccurate. To me, it shouldn't be about status, it should be about the individual. You can have a total snob who financially is in the lower class and a nice person in the upper class. I just think of what Dr. Erskine said to Steve in Captain America before the procedure the next day, "The serum was not ready. But more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside, so good becomes great; bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because the strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows... compassion." So money is money, and it can enhance certain qualities in a person, whether good or bad. But we need to remember to look at an individual as a person, not as a stereotype.

I do have to say that it is great to aspire to do better and improve ourselves, but it should be a personal choice and have reasoning decided by the individual. To become better should not be dependent on what society thinks. I think we should improve ourselves, but with the right intent.

A Little Family Role Playing

This week in my class I found the topic of Family Theories to be interesting. The theory I found most interesting was the Systems Theory.

The Systems Theory involves the interaction of family members, how each member contributes to the "whole" of the family. This theory also avoids blame to one single person or thing, but that there are multiple causes to situations or events.

For this entry, I want you (the reader) to think about your personal family--whether the family you have now, or one you grew up in. Regarding your personal family, I want you to think of a metaphor/analogy that describes how your family works together--what kind of system they are.

This would be my example of a family system (not necessarily my own):
System: Computer
        - Structure of the Computer - Mother: because she is what holds us together.
        - Motor - Father: because he provides for the family, yet he might get a little heated.
        - Memory - Father and Mother: because they know what is best and what the children should do.
        - Fan -Tucker: because he is the peacemaker and is obedient, by doing what his parents tell him.
        - Keys - Jack: needs a bit of a push to get things done and to do his part.
        - WiFi - Lauren: keeps the family connected with the outside world by being aware.
        - USB - Elizabeth: kind of on her own and checks in every so often.

This is an example. So this week, think of what you could compare your family to, see what each of your family members' roles are in the family. You might be surprised with what you come up with.

"Overpopulation" = Over Exaggeration

This week within my Family Relations class we discussed the moment in the mid 20th Century when many thought that the world was overpopulated and was on the verge of starvation. Um, let's look at a few details.

All information I am going to refer to in this post can be found in this video and this  second video.

When the "baby boom" occurred after WWII there was a scare that the population was growing rapidly. However, when looking at the Fertility Rate (number of babies born per average fertile woman) it was only 3.7. That doesn't really seem like that many kids. When thinking logically about it, it was a scare because the fertility rate was low during and before WWII, and then it increased, which has been happening for hundreds of years. There is also the fact that life expectancy was increasing. This meant that people were living longer. At the time scientists were mostly looking at the fertility rate, when they needed to also be looking at the life expectancy and the death rate.

With the death rate being lower and life expectancy being longer, this means that there are more retiring, and more money from social security paying for their retirement. (I will come back to this in a second).

With this scare of "overpopulation" and starvation, people didn't have as many kids. Of course other movements--woman's revolution, sexual revolution, divorce revolution--led to this decision of not having as many or no kids. Here is the issue with this: population decline. We have now seen the affects of population decline in Japan. Japan didn't have a "baby boom" and didn't have as many children, their fertility rate was 1.2. Now, 60 years later, we see that their population seems large, but really isn't; it is mostly made up of elderly folks and not as many youth.

When there aren't as many, if not more, youth than elderly, what happens when the elderly die? the population is astronomically decreased. Now with there being less youth than elderly, the youth have to work enough to cover the amount social security is putting toward the retired, because instead of three or more workers covering one retiree it is one or two workers covering two or three retirees. Does that make sense?

And with a decline in fertility rate (keeping a steady population growth requires 2.13 FR) of 1.2-1.3 in most countries this could lead to a possible slow extinction if not reversed. I am not saying, "go out and make babies." No, I am saying, make sure you have your facts straight and you make careful decisions about whether or not you will have children and how many you should have.

Who? What? Why?

Hello,
   I am Hailey Hutchinson. I am attending BYU-Idaho. As you read this blog you will find information about the family that might be a review for some, an enlightening moment, or just interesting to know.
   Some might think that I am just a kid and don't know much; I agree. However, I will be taking a class for the next few months on Family relations and will learn more and what I learn I will want to share. I want to share this information mostly with those who are misinformed because they only listen to bits and pieces of information from the news, friends, and family. I am this way right now, but I know that as I do more research in this class, I can give help to those who are teens, young adults, or those who are looking up to get some answers.
    I hope you enjoy some of the topics I cover, and I hope they are helpful to you.