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Once you have written your paragraphs, you are to respond to two of your peers’ paragraphs in at least 100 words each.In your reply, respond to all 5 parts in your peer’s initial post,
making sure to explain what you relate to and your judgment about your
peer’s experience with their friends and family.

classmate 1 :

1. I do not
   live with my family now and haven’t for several years, but growing up I
   feel that my role in my immediate family was the distractor. I would
   always “make random, irrelevant comments so that the rest of the family
   will forget about the conflict”. I feel that I have played several roles
   with my immediate and extended family. The three that I know I have
   played before are the blamer, still to this day I am working on taking
   the blame for things that I do or say wrong. The placater, I do not like
   conflict and sometimes will do or say anything to keep the peace. The
   last one is the distractor and as I mentioned above, I do not like
   conflicts and would sometimes just say random things to distract my
   family from fighting. I feel that my older sisters’ role is the
   computer, she seems to use logic and reasoning to defuse a situation and
   not her emotions.
2. With my
   intimate relationship with my boyfriend I invest a lot of my time. I do
   most of the grocery shopping, cooking, and all of the cleaning. With
   both of my sisters we also invest in our time. We are all there for each
   other when we need each other. I think that people have different
   standards of investments that are expected from romantic relationships
   and from family relationships. I feel that with families it is just a
   given and comes naturally what you invest in and what you expect them to
   invest in the relationship. In romantic relationships this might have
   to be a discussion that you two have so that both partners feel that
   they are both investing equally. The book explains that when partners
   feel that they are both investing the same amount in the relationship,
   they are the happiest. If someone feels that they are investing more
   than the other in a relationship, they might feel resentful towards
   them. “The most satisfying intimate relationships appear to be those in
   which both parties are investing equally.”
3. Relationships are tough, no two people
   will think alike 100% of the time. Since we are all different and
   unique, we all have different opinions and sometimes when we voice our
   different opinions conflict can arise. Being able to think positively
   can ease tension between two people, and this can help keep a stable and
   satisfying relationship. It states in the book that if someone
   expresses negativity to you, then you identify with that negative
   emotion. So I would think the same goes with positivity. I would feel
   that for someone to view their relationship with someone as satisfying,
   that there must be a lot of positivity between the two.

Classmate 2 :

1- The role I play in my family is helping with household activities. For instance, when I am around, I must take out the trash and accompany my siblings in doing shopping. When I look at the roles I play in my immediate family and extended family, they differ. As mentioned, I am responsible for fulfilling the allocated chores, which contributes to healthier family functioning. However, my extended family’s role is attending arranged ceremonies and visiting relatives occasionally. Since every family has unique values and ways of doing their activities, it can be challenging for me to assume roles in the extended family. Nevertheless, other members of my family support one another in completing designated tasks. For example, my siblings must support my mother in preparing dinner and tidying up the house. Generally, cooperation, discipline, and teamwork are some of the core values that help in strengthening our family bond.

2- Further, I acknowledge that investing in intimate
relationships enhance the level of commitment between the parties. In my
case, I invest my time and resources to show appreciation to my
partner. Taking measures like buying gifts and taking time to listen and
share views on a troubling issue or significant decisions are some of
the ways that I invest in my relationship. Generally, these investments
differ from those in familial relationships based on the goals set in
each. For intimate partners, the investments made aim to enhance the
level of commitment. With time, this leads to creating a new family
based on the marriage arrangement agreed upon, whether regulated by law,
mutual agreement, or customs. However, in family investments, they
focus on enhancing the kinship relations, thus strengthening the family
system through activities like nurturance and skill development among
the family members.

3- In addition, I think positivity is essential for stable
and satisfying relationships because they reduce the adverse effects of
conflict when the partners fail to show gratitude, forgiveness, and
support. The positivity helps in building a strong relationship
contributed by good communication styles and affection for one another.
Furthermore, positivity is essential because it improves the partners’
overall well-being due to the ability to understand their challenges and
identifying solutions collectively with minimal stress.