so for my spanish literature class today we read a story about a woman who married this dude she wasn't really in love with. then he fell in love with another woman and when his wife found out, she confronted him about it and he beat her. then her brothers and dad came to find out what the noise was about and the one brother was about to kill the husband, but the wife said no, i still love him. then the brothers and dad left cause they didn't want to look at how pathetic she was all bleeding and crying.
this story made me so mad and made me wonder why women stay in abusive relationships? i think some women grew up being treated this way and so they don't believe they deserve any better. i think some are scared (either of being alone or that he'll come after them if they try to leave). but i had a big discussion about this with some classmates and we came up with a bazillion reasons why women would choose to stay in an abusive relationship, but for me it came down to they just don't believe they deserve better. for women who aren't particularly religious i can understand how it might be hard for them to see their worth. but for women who believe in God should know He loves them.
the story also talked about how this really is a man's world and how this woman and another woman in a different story had to fight their way out. eventually this woman leaves her husband and becomes a nun. but i don't think those are our only options!! either accept the abuse or be a nun? i don't think so. women need to stand up for themselves. i have several friends who are passive and let people (not just men) walk all over them, and i hate it. stand up for yourself! no one else will. i'm not a feminist by any means, but i truly believe that women have a special role to play in society and in the home, and if we let ourselves be pushed around and told what to do, we aren't doing our divine nature justice. on the flip side, there are women who want to work and don't want children or are married who say they're going to wait till they have x amount of dollars in the bank. how sad, because women have an important role to play as mothers IN the home, and i think when we say we don't want children or we have them and then go to work and let someone else raise them, we slap that role in the face and pretty much tell God we don't want His plan.
don't get me wrong. i've worked hard to get where i am in my education and i fully plan on using my degree. but what i really want is to be a wife and a mother. i feel my spanish is a gift and so i don't want to give it up either, but i will not do so at the expense of my family. i will use my education to take care of myself till i get married, i'll probably still work till i have kids, then when i do, i want to devote my attention to them. the good thing about my line of work is that i can still do freelance translations from home instead of having to work for a company.
so yeah. this is what i've been thinking about today. women should stand up for themselves and stop the abuse. if you know someone in an abusive relationship, encourage them to get help. if you are the abuser, please stop. there are many types of abuse: physical, sexual, verbal, emotional. i couldn't tell you which one is worse, because they are all equally damaging.
life is too precious to waste living in fear. we don't have time to sit around and watch other people live their lives while we sit on the sidelines. every girl deserves to be leading lady in her own life. don't sit and let the guy you like pass by without telling him. as my bishop once said, guys are social retards and sometimes need a little push. :) we need to take control of our lives and not let others control them for us. this goes for friendships, dating relationships, school, work, anything.
so there you go. i will start studying for my tests now...
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