Personal Narrative: The Vampire Diaries

In “Social Media As a Community” by Keith Hampton, Mr. Hampton states “Neither living alone nor using social media is socially isolating. In 2011, I was lead author of an article in Information, Communication, & Society that found based on a representative survey of 2500 Americans, that regardless of whether the participants were married or single, those who used social media had more close confidants.”

High-quality social relationships, wherein people experience camaraderie and happiness, yield substantial health benefits. For instance, social ties such as marriage and religious involvement have been linked to healthier choices with diet and exercise, possibly because these connections promote positive behavioral norms (Umberson and Montez, 2010). High-quality social relationships also promote mental health by offering individuals a sense of place within a meaningful environment. When people feel connected and supported, they tend to experience a greater sense of control, a psychological state shown to be both associated and causally linked to good health (Lachman and Weaver, 1998). Positive psychological effects of social relationships improve physical health by making it easier for the body to maintain chemical homeostasis over long periods of time by alleviating its “allostatic load” (Umberson and Montez, 2010). Ultimately, these components of high-quality social relationships make people less likely to get sick and die.

Most believe finding love is more valuable than their own independence. In most cases that could be true, but if the one you are seeking and expecting love from is not treating you with respect, how is love more important? The journey of finding love could be a great one but if deep down inside you are aware of your unhappiness, then YOUR independence should be what matters. Zora Neale Hurston’s message with the theme of Love & Relationships vs. Independence is to never rush into finding love until you are ready. Your independence may bring you happiness that you may not be able to have while in a relationship.

Buskak, Lecia. Married Vs Single: What Science Says is Better for Your Health. Medical Daily. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.medicaldaily.com/married-vs-single-what-science-says-better-your-health-327878

I always say to my family, “One day we will cross la frontera!” Living in Guadalajara, Mexico was not for the faint of heart. My family didn’t have much money and it was hard watching them sleeping on dirt floors. Mama, Roberto, and Francisco deserved better that what they had. I always imagined us crossing over to the beautiful United States. I knew one day we would cross that border so my family could have a better life.

When considering autonomy in a relationship you may feel that to be above someone that you feel love for or intimacy toward would be offensive to them. This leads to self-sacrifice or a diminishing of your personal autonomy in an effort to find an equal ground with the person or people you love. This can also work in the other direction. If someone who feels inadequate normally is placed in the presence of those they love, then their autonomy inflates and they are boosted to the position of equals within the peer

I do not believe the town of Salem or the county is as safe as it was when I was growing up. Everyone seems to know everyone in each town in the county. I grew up in a little town called Hardinsburg and at Halloween, I love to tell the story that we walked down each street in the town and received homemade cookies, fruit, and candy. The best part of this story no one was afraid that we would be hurt or anything we were given would be harmful to us. As kids we knew we could not do, anything wrong or our parents would know about it before we got home. My parent’s biggest worry when I was at school, was why the bus was late. They did not worried about the pickup trucks with guns in the gun racks in the school parking lot or at the drive-in movies. I grew in a house with guns, I was taught guns were not toys and if you kept your finger off of the trigger, they did not just go off. Now it is not

In Oklahoma, where there are bloody rumbles and serious crimes made here in this big city, but there is a tiny sixteen year old boy living in the middle of it all, and that was me, Johnny. The Greaser was like a second home for each other. They were rough, old fashion, and have been In rumbles where breaking your arm wasn’t a serious injury, but they help another out. I, in the other hand, was not like them. They say that heroes need a dark past in order to be stronger in the comics I read, but that didn’t happen to me. I was abused by my own parents and I got jumped by those rich Socs. They left scars and pain for me, I felt like I’ve gotten weaker after this, not stronger.

Today, the major landmark for the United States population for the first time since the government started keeping these stats in 1976, single Americans now make up over half of the adult American population. According to the data used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly job-market report, the single population aged 16 or older are close to 125 million and has since been trending upward. Although there are a lot of divorces and some who are having families without getting married, this is the most clear trend that many people choose to stay single.

My previous year at North had both ups and downs, and I guess some “uglies”, which included making so many new friends to losing a financial literacy contest that my teammates and I had worked very hard on.

Depression significantly predicted the ‘lonely not isolated’ category, participants who were never or rarely depressed were significantly less likely to be ‘lonely not isolated’ when compared to their counterparts who were frequently depressed. Similarly, living in close proximity to family also significantly reduced the likelihood of being ‘lonely not isolated.’ In contrast, low self-esteem and low levels of interpersonal control (Q2) significantly increased the likelihood of inclusion in the ‘lonely not isolated’

For the past four days, I had noticed that Scott has definitely had changed in a way. One, he was totally doing so well in lacrosse and second he totally had girl crushing on him. I didn't pester him about the whole change so I had let it be. Right now I'm at home in my nice comfy bed with my TV on Netflix re-watching season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is considered one of many of my favorite shows right now. Today was the whole scrimmage , I had promised the boys that I will go watch, but I lie and totally ditch the whole thing all together just to come home to Netflix the best lover in the world.

According to George Monbiot’s article “The Age of Loneliness Is Killing Us” Monbiot states that society is shifting into isolation and loneliness. Instead of having the age of sharing and socializing. Each and every individual is wanting to stay alone with their own solitude and loneliness. Monbiot recognizes this damaging effect on society and states that how much dangerous it is. To start off. Monbiot claims that we as humans are social beings and always will be “We were social creatures from the start,” by disagreeing with Thomas Hobbes’s claim on our human state of nature “of every man against every man.” Monbiot sees this idea of every person on their own an epidemic of loneliness in today’s age, and how it

Although marriage has been a central factor and gives meaning to human lives, the change in people’s lifestyles and behaviors through a long period of social development has resulted in alternate choices such as being single or nonmarital living. As a result, cohabitation has become more popular as a trendy life choice for young people. The majority of couples choose cohabitation as a precursor to marriage to gain a better understanding of each other. However, there are exceptions, such as where Thornton, Azinn, and Xie have noted: “In fact, the couple may simply slide or drift from single into the sharing of living quarters with little explicit discussion or decision-making. This sliding into cohabitation without

Cohabitation is defined as a man and woman living in the same household and having sexual relations while not being married. There is relatively little data on health outcomes for people who have cohabitated, although there is some evidence that cohabitating couples have lower incomes (15% of cohabitating men are jobless while 8% of married men are jobless) and there may be negative academic effects for children of cohabitating mothers (Jay, 2012). Cohabitation rates are highest among those who have never married with just over a quarter of people surveyed reporting cohabitation before their first marriage (Jay, 2012). Of these, half reported that they expected their cohabitation to end in marriage; about one quarter to one third of cohabitations end either in marriage or dissolution of the relationship within 3 years (Jay, 2012). Further, cohabitation rates are highest for those who have not completed college, accounting for all but 12% of men and women reporting that they are living with their partners (Jay, 2012). Cohabitation and marriage are two significant decisions college students will make, but very little is known about what college students think about living together before marriage. Given the nearly 50% divorce rate in the United States (Jay, 2012), understanding how young adults view cohabitation as on option for life relationships needs further investigation.