Religion 3.0 / Sex X.0

Religion 
I know we talked about religion quite a while back, but it was a topic and discussion that I really enjoyed. I myself am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I grew up a member and am still an active member. A lot of the ideas we hit on about my religion, as well as others, I found to be very true and this is me having the chance to have a voice on the matter. 

No matter what religion you are a part of, there is always going to be the people who don't follow all the teachings, those who aren't 100% committed, and those who may act complete opposite of what they are taught. Mormons just like everyone else are guilty of this. Mormons I feel have the label of being very judgmental, when in actuality they are suppose to love everyone. Sometimes I wonder if this stereotype is felt more in Utah than other places because there are so many of us here. I agree with this statement and I have my judgmental moments too, just like everyone else. I know there is one thing that has helped me with this idea and maybe can help others to. It is simple and nothing you haven't heard before. Look at yourself before you look at others. It is easy to look at someone else and say they do this, dress/look like this, act like that. Each of us are unique individuals in our own ways. We can't judge others until we look in the mirror and see our own flaws. It's a hard thing to do, none of us want to admit to things we aren't good at, or areas we struggle. However as we realize our own flaws and focus more on ourselves, I don't think we will be as worried or judgmental of others because the focus is on ourselves and how we can improve. There won't be time to see the flaws of others, and even if you do, you easily remember that you have your own and have no place to speak up. That's my advice and probably my biggest input from our religion discussion. There is so much more I could go on about, but this topic hit me the most. I myself have been working on being more caring and non-judgmental of others, not purely for religious reasons, but because it is something I need to work on to become a better person. I hope all of us, no matter what religion, can take a look in the mirror and see our own flaws before we go and point them out in others.

Sex
Now to the Sex topic. This was such an awesome week of class and discussion. It has been one of my favorite weeks so far, because the topic hits home so much. There are so many internal and external pressures when it comes to being what a "man or woman" is suppose to be like. Social media plays a huge factor in what the world wants us to believe is acceptable, how we should dress, what beauty is, etc. As a woman I pay attention to what it says and speaks to me. It was eye opening to hear about the "man box" and some of the guys perspective on this. Sometimes I forget they have their own expectations of what they should be, and I am trying to be more conscious of how I treat men. I don't want them to feel like they have to fit that box if it's not how they are. They don't have to fit into any expectations, they just need to be true to themselves whether that is what society says you should do or not. Just do you guys! 

Back to what I can relate to, woman. Sometimes I forgot just how much pressure there is to be beautiful, skinny, and dress a certain way. The media portrays woman in a way that I think isn't beautiful or realistic. In order to be beautiful you have to be tall and thin, wear the most "in" clothes, wear make up and always look good. However when I think of people that are beautiful in my eyes, I don't think of celebrities or whoever the media is portraying as beautiful. Beauty to me is something so much more than looks and physical appearance. Beauty is being confident in yourself. Not only on the outside, but on the inside and who you are as an individual. It's the people who can say i know i'm not perfect, but i'm working on it. I have things about me that are wonderful and i'm going to embrace these, as well as find new things to improve on.
It was so sad to hear women in our class talk about how they felt the need from their mothers to be beautiful as the way the world would portray it. The women who are close to us I feel should be the ones to help us embrace our own beauty. I know growing up my mom has always been great at this. As a kid I use to wear these shiny pink pants with a purple shirt that had roses on it. I thought it was the most amazing outfit ever, but looking back now, I can see it was the furthest thing from it. My mom however never told me I looked silly or that I should change. I loved that outfit and felt great in it, and she never took that away from me. We need to be able to feel beautiful in our own skin, in our own way no matter what the media or others tell us. 

I myself have been caught up in the media telling me what beauty is. I want to wear some of those clothes, I want to be tanner, more fit, have volumized hair, look as pretty as other girls. However I have learned, and am continuing to learn that I am beautiful just the way I am. We all have things we wish we could change, but that's not what makes us, us. I am learning to love everything about me and things I don't love that I can change, well that's just something I can work on to improve everyday. I can't say it's been easy to come to this, because the media does play a tole on us whether we want it to or not. However i'm better able to recognize it and resist the urge to just give into to what everyone else thinks.

For all you woman out there, don't ever forget how wonderful and amazing you are. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!! Embrace it :)