Oh My God!

What were we taught not to talk about? Religion, Sex, and Politics. 
Religion is a unique beast. In many circumstances it is one's faith that helps them through their hardship, but it can also be the cause of controversy, fighting, judgment, and negativity. Religion can either define who we are and how we live our lives or it can mean absolutely nothing to us. Some say the level of education or intellect define how religious or devout a person is. Many believe the contrary and say that religious beliefs are separate of academia.
This thing, this taboo topic that is never supposed to be discussed is what causes wars, genocide, terrorism, but also creates Christmases, Hanukkahs, Diwali, Easters, barmitzvahs, etc. How can something cause so much angst, but also so much joy? How can a couple's religious beliefs keep them from marrying each other or raising a family together?
The simple concept of there being a higher power, a faith in something outside of our control has been molded into different fundamentals and ideologies to create the differences in religions that make them unique. These differentiations shouldn't determine what makes someone's religion superior to an others. This is what sets them apart, this is what makes them not comparable to one another, this is why someone lives their life a certain way or chooses not to do certain things. If we strip aways all the nitty gritty and details of what separates certain religions from one another and look at their similarities, or even their broad concepts then maybe it would be easier to appreciate & understand a religion other than our own. No one is expected to embrace another religion or to even agree with the beliefs because at the end of the day no one says "oh your god" they always say "oh my god" so why not focus on your own religion and your own beliefs and how you choose to abide by the ideologies of your own religion, instead of worrying about how an others religion effects your life.

Greener Grass

Isn't it funny that when we are single we want nothing more than to have a significant other and when we are in a relationship we want nothing more than to regain our independence? Lately, I have been feeling this pressure of being in my late twenties and not being engaged or married. I used to scoff and laugh at my peers who felt this way because I felt that a man shouldn't define you and you should have your own life outside of a relationship.
And while I still believe in those things I now realize that is not at all why they were feeling empty without a relationship. It was the feeling of failure or lack of success that made them want to be married not necessarily the security of a man in their life. Not being in a committed relationship by a certain age isn't always because we need the companion, but more so because we feel as if we have accomplished a little less in our lives at this stage than we had set out to. Everyone has educational goals, career goals, and life goals. I understand that every ones goals differ, but somewhere in most peoples hearts and minds having a family & settling down is a goal. It may have higher importance for some than others, but I think most people are raised in a society in which there is an importance placed on family life. So when we look at our accomplishments and we check off "graduated college" "got job" "got promoted" "went to grad school" or whatever the goals may be, we still have this "married" box unchecked. Does that mean that while we were out accomplishing our other goals we should have been focusing on the marriage goal? Is the grass greener for the women that got married and put their career or educational goals on the back burner or off the list completely? Or is it the fear that now we have accomplished so much and done so well, it may be hard to find a match that is suitable for us? How do we connect with our partner without emasculating them, but still mentally stimulating them? So many thoughts and questions go into the "would haves" "could haves" and "should haves" associated with our life choices, but at the end of the day instead of second guessing ourselves, we need to realize that the grass isn't always greener. As long as we continue to accomplish our goals, and stop focusing on what we could have had or should have had, we too will see greener pastures.