Stress Management.

I promised Thomas that I would take an online class this semester. Before he proposed he promised my dad that I would FINISH school.

Who would have thought that in order to finish school you would actually have to take some classes? Weird! All jokes aside I am taking an awesome online class. 

It's title -- Stress Management. (Laugh away... I know you want to!) 

I thought the assignment I completed tonight would be something I wanted to make sure I could look back on in some time. I dont know how to make the post unviewable to everyone so, excuse the "rawness."

Make a list of the cultural groups that you feel you are affiliated with. 

Which group do you identify with most strongly and why?

When I think of the word “culture groups” my mind automatically goes race and ethnicity. Until reading this chapter I didn’t know that culture groups are more vast. The book gives this definition in regards to culture;  “ a culture is a group of people with shared values, characteristics and interests.”

With that said I have been able to fit myself into a couple different “culture groups,” such as;

-Living Situation (being 21 -- married and not because of a pregnancy)

-Religion (Mormon)

-Geography: Nevadan

The group(s) I guess I identify with the most go hand in hand. Being raised in an LDS  family I have developed different standards and morals than most young adults. I wasn’t always the most spiritual person or “hardcore” member but I never lost sight of what was “important.” I was friends with everyone my senior year and was invited to a few parties and just didn’t go. Soon people just stopped asking. When someone asked me days before my 21^st birthday how I feel about making it through the tough years without drinking or doing drugs or the peer pressure – my answer was simple. It was just cooler NOT to. And my friends respect me for that. It’s not easy being 21 (almost), married, owning your own home, working 40 hours and being a student… people think I am crazy. But, I love my husband, I love being married.

I often get asked.. why so young? You have so much living to do? Your missing out on all the "fun things? Why? Why? Why? And again, my answer is simple.

 I am not missing out on anything; I just get to do it all with my best friend.

How this relates to stress--it is a stressor in my life because people don’t always understand.  It stresses me out that I have to always justify my decisions. One day I will be able to wake up, smell the coffee (or lack there of...maybe some hot cider) and roses and deide it's not about anyone else. 

It's about me and Thomas. Thomas and me.  

This is something that Thomas has been struggling with a lot and he has opened my eyes. He is right. (Did i just type that for blackmail? lol...) We can't make everyone happy - there's no way. We will continue to stress ourselves out fretting over it. Which in regards to this class isn't good. 

Who knows who will ever read this but I thought it was important for me to be able to look back on this one day. I think its all part of the things I am learning in this class. Open your eyes and see it for what it is. And.. then go from there. Stress and all.