October Blog Post

October Blog Post

The biggest learning moment for me this month was learning about Barber's Four Reasons to Study Relationships. This topic has been talked about in my Interpersonal Communication class, and hearing it this time interested me more than when I heard it the first time. It also was a good reflection on the self as stages from when we talked in a previous class;front stage audience and backstage choices. This determines how much we disclose to those we are close to, and those we are not close to. This was a topic I talked about in the last blog post which is another reason why it caught my attention and liking. Continuing on, the relationships that we talked about were family relationships and also long married couples interactions. In families we see characteristics that make it a special connection because of the rituals that take place. Rituals meaning "recognizable patterns that inform our interactions". An example of this is setting up dinner every night, which tells a lot about the family and their actions because they share moments together that may bond them together. This ties to how couples interact because they also have a different way in which they interact with one another which then influences their rituals. In certain couples the man may be the leading person of the conversation, or vice versa which may tell you who is the most extroverted one of the couple. This makes it the ritual for long-term marriage in how they talk not only with themselves, but also their friends and families.

I've experienced multiple accounts of both of these relationships. The rituals that have happened with my family involve dinner time and helping whoever was making dinner, setting the table, and eating the meal as a family. It would also follow with a movie which then became our ways of interacting and creating bonds between each one of us. I've also seen my friend's parents who have been married all their lives, and I've noticed who talks the most while the other partner will listen to them. This kind of interaction can also be seen between friends who have known each other for long time which may look like being sarcastic with one another, or having inside jokes. Relationships can be made like this once we come to the front of the stage and interact with our audiences by disclosing information that may form bond.

Both of these interactions can be very important to our interpersonal communication. Rituals and listening to those who we are connected to us builds our relationships with others. This then shows the Four Reasons to Study Relationships; there's something unique and important in relationships, it's fluid and unpredictable, there's an ethic of responsibility, and this all happens because we have to meet the other person in order to start it all. Each bond we have with every person in our lives is going to differ in every aspect which overall makes them each unique. In every relationship there is always an unexpected moment or conversation that might happen which makes it so exciting. There's also an effort that needs to come from either side which gives each individual some type of responsibility. And lastly, meeting new people and new family is the reason to start it all, and make our lives a new day to meet another people of the world we live in and create a sense of belonging.