Blog #9

My parents didn't really monitor what my brother and I ate or the amount of food we ate. My mother and father worked full-time jobs so we ate microwaveable dinners often. It was easier for my parents to pick up fast food on the way home from work than to cook. As I got older, my father noticed my weight gain. He would make comments about my "flabby arms" or my "love handles" but never offered to put healthier food in the refrigerator. I often felt that he should've offered a solution instead criticizing. Today, we still eat at buffets and he continues to make comments about my weight.
My family has a lot of influence on food and my body. I eat whatever I want becasue I've never had stipulations on what I could eat. Healthy eating was unheard of in my family. We were also able to eat until we got full. Full often meant stuffed in my household and my parents didn't have a problem with it. In my adult life, I still eat like that. I struggle with eating until I feel full. Over the years, I've tried to lessen my portions and eat healthier snacks between meals. I must say that I do eat better than I used to. Food have and always will be my weakness.
Samisha

Blog #8: Menopause In A Different Light

Menopause is viewed as something scary and unnatural. Like menstrual cycles, menopause is a word that people associate with moody women. Yet, they are both very natural processes. When a woman goes through menopause, her ovaries are not producing hormones. Estrogen and progesterone sustain her homeostatic balance. Once those hormones are not naturally produced anymore, she may experience hot flashes, bone loss, and vaginal changes. (Alexander et al, 2010) The only way for society to change its views on menopause is to equate it with something beautiful.
Menstrual cycles was once a taboo subject but is now seen on television. It is even discussed in schools with young girls as a natural process. It is now equated with the entrance of womanhood. Menopause should be equated with the age of distinguished womanhood. These women have raised their children and are looking to regain their independence. It is a age to think about retirement and traveling. I believe that if positive light was shed on menopause and aging women, society would view it differently.

Works Cited

1. Alexander et al. (2010). New dimensions in women’s health. 5th ed. Sudberry, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Bog #7

I do not believe that STDs should be equated with immorality, promiscous behavior, or low social status. In my opinion, people who agree with that are ignorant. I know many kids who attended the best private schools and family forced them to church every Sunday who have contracted at least one STD during their lifetime. It is possible to be the most educated and yet make bad decisions. Contracting an STD is a direct result of a bad decision. The bad decision was not using a condom or have sex at all. When I was growing up, the local preachers' children had the worst attitudes and were more sexually active than most people. One would say that they should be most well- behaved and of higher morals than other kids. Yet, they were more at risk of contracting an STD due to multiple sexual partners. Thsi suggests to me that immorality, promiscuity, and social class have nothing to do with the chances of contracting STDs.

Blog #6

I am currently childless by choice. I want to be married and established in my marriage before the kids come along. I have taken a stand against single- motherhood. I didn't grow up in a single- parent family and I refuse to raise my child I one if I can help it. My mother and father have been married for 28 years and I want that for my children. I saw my mother, aunts, and cousins raised in single- parent homes. It was tough on the mothers and kids, especially if there are multiple children. The mothers have to work to provide because they are the sole bread- winners but the children are left to take care of themselves. Plus, it makes for a harder situation when the fathers don't pay child support. I know I could get married and eventually get divorced because things just didn't work out. But I'm determined to find the man God created just for me before I have children. If I never find that man by age 35, I would consider adoption because I know I would make an excellent mother to some child, if not my own.

Samisha