Marriage and Family 2400
Singles
As an unmarried 20-year-old girl who is a Latter Day Saint and living in Utah there is a lot of pressure for me to get married from many different sources. After thinking about this for a long time I decided I am content not being married right now. Marriage is for eternity and I will only be single once so I need to live it the best I can. I have many married friends who are missing out on what I am able to do. I will go to London in May and I won’t have to worry about a husband and kids here. My mom really wants me to get married she has been planning my wedding since I graduated from high school almost two years ago and that just isn’t what I want. One day I will get married, but I’m okay with it not being anytime soon.
Personally I feel as though single and married couples live very different lives and I think that the happiness they experience is also really different. I think single adults can live a satisfying life it’s just a different satisfaction than a married couples. I think a spouse brings a whole new happiness in your life that you can’t experience without them. I am torn between this I feel a lot of pressure from my family and peers to get married but that isn’t what I want right now. There is so much I need to learn about myself before I can attach to someone else and I feel like I am just as happy as most of my married friends who are my age.
Common Law Marriages
After doing some research I found that Utah doesn’t have a common law marriage, couples can however petition the court to get their relationship recognized as a marriage. I also couldn’t find a time period where they had to be in a relationship I did find the conditions the couple has to meet in order to petition the court. They are; they must be of legal age and capable of giving consent, legally capable of entering a solemnized relationship, live together, treat each other as though they are married, present each other to the public as though they are married. If a couple in Utah wants to end their common law they must file a petition to end the relationship.
I personally don’t see any point in having a common law marriage. If or when I get married it will be forever I’m not the type of person to just give up on a relationship when it gets tough and that is what I view a common law marriage to be. It’s a cop out just because you are too afraid to commit to someone, or you don’t want to deal with that person when things get hard. I think you should date for a long time to see if you coincide with each other that will tell you if a marriage will work. I am against living together before marriage but if you think that will help you know for sure if the person you picked is right for you then by all means live together first, but don’t give up on a marriage if it can be fixed. Don't be a coward and get married common law is unnecessary.
Reflection:
I picked these two assignments because they were the most interesting to me. During this course I learned many interesting things that I have never really thought of before. At times doing the assignments were a challenge to me, because it was hard to think outside the box and see things from a different point of view. The view of a marriage and family through the eyes of society is very different than it is from my eyes. It was really difficult to step outside of everything I have ever been taught in my 20-years of living, but I did my best to see things from a different point of view. I really enjoyed this class and what it taught me, I feel more prepared for marriage when it comes.
Marriage and family counseling is my career choice, this class has really helped me to see what other people see in a marriage or relationship. The discussions in class brought to my attention how people in real life situations and settings treat a situation and react to the many challenges life, marriage and family brings upon a person. It was incredible to me to see how much divorce and single people there are in the world, to me that is ridiculous. I can't imagine my life without someone, right now I'm still young and single but in ten years from now I will feel that even though I will have a career and a degree from college I won't feel fulfilled without a husband and kids. Plus divorce to me is usually unnecessary, there are so many situations that can be fixed if the couple would just try. Marriage is a commitment you vow to go through life and death with that person, no matter what that means you can get through it if you really try. Like with all things I do feel like there are situations that divorce is necessary but that is few and far between, each situation is unique.
As an unmarried 20-year-old girl who is a Latter Day Saint and living in Utah there is a lot of pressure for me to get married from many different sources. After thinking about this for a long time I decided I am content not being married right now. Marriage is for eternity and I will only be single once so I need to live it the best I can. I have many married friends who are missing out on what I am able to do. I will go to London in May and I won’t have to worry about a husband and kids here. My mom really wants me to get married she has been planning my wedding since I graduated from high school almost two years ago and that just isn’t what I want. One day I will get married, but I’m okay with it not being anytime soon.
Personally I feel as though single and married couples live very different lives and I think that the happiness they experience is also really different. I think single adults can live a satisfying life it’s just a different satisfaction than a married couples. I think a spouse brings a whole new happiness in your life that you can’t experience without them. I am torn between this I feel a lot of pressure from my family and peers to get married but that isn’t what I want right now. There is so much I need to learn about myself before I can attach to someone else and I feel like I am just as happy as most of my married friends who are my age.
Common Law Marriages
After doing some research I found that Utah doesn’t have a common law marriage, couples can however petition the court to get their relationship recognized as a marriage. I also couldn’t find a time period where they had to be in a relationship I did find the conditions the couple has to meet in order to petition the court. They are; they must be of legal age and capable of giving consent, legally capable of entering a solemnized relationship, live together, treat each other as though they are married, present each other to the public as though they are married. If a couple in Utah wants to end their common law they must file a petition to end the relationship.
I personally don’t see any point in having a common law marriage. If or when I get married it will be forever I’m not the type of person to just give up on a relationship when it gets tough and that is what I view a common law marriage to be. It’s a cop out just because you are too afraid to commit to someone, or you don’t want to deal with that person when things get hard. I think you should date for a long time to see if you coincide with each other that will tell you if a marriage will work. I am against living together before marriage but if you think that will help you know for sure if the person you picked is right for you then by all means live together first, but don’t give up on a marriage if it can be fixed. Don't be a coward and get married common law is unnecessary.
Reflection:
I picked these two assignments because they were the most interesting to me. During this course I learned many interesting things that I have never really thought of before. At times doing the assignments were a challenge to me, because it was hard to think outside the box and see things from a different point of view. The view of a marriage and family through the eyes of society is very different than it is from my eyes. It was really difficult to step outside of everything I have ever been taught in my 20-years of living, but I did my best to see things from a different point of view. I really enjoyed this class and what it taught me, I feel more prepared for marriage when it comes.
Marriage and family counseling is my career choice, this class has really helped me to see what other people see in a marriage or relationship. The discussions in class brought to my attention how people in real life situations and settings treat a situation and react to the many challenges life, marriage and family brings upon a person. It was incredible to me to see how much divorce and single people there are in the world, to me that is ridiculous. I can't imagine my life without someone, right now I'm still young and single but in ten years from now I will feel that even though I will have a career and a degree from college I won't feel fulfilled without a husband and kids. Plus divorce to me is usually unnecessary, there are so many situations that can be fixed if the couple would just try. Marriage is a commitment you vow to go through life and death with that person, no matter what that means you can get through it if you really try. Like with all things I do feel like there are situations that divorce is necessary but that is few and far between, each situation is unique.