by Anastasia Strgar

Sometimes, I’ll admit, I kind of envy men… It seems like they’ve always had it all figured out. They’re used to putting themselves first. But usually women, especially young women like me, are so used to putting family, friends, or other people first, we have no idea what it is that will make us happy- or if we do we feel bad about wanting what we want. There is a difference, however in wanting what you want and needing to know all the answers because you’re afraid or you think that something outside of you will make you happy.

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by Anastasia Strgar

My mother always told me that what people give to a relationship is never even. It is all in direct proportion to what each partner puts in their own box and that it never looks exactly as it should or comes exactly at the same time. Relationships are all about compromising and about breaking down expectations based on pre-conditioned responses.

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by Anastasia Strgar

About a month ago, when I was going through my own mini internal crisis, my mom showed me an article  from which Katie Couric posted some of her favorite advice. It was all really good advice, but the one that got me thinking the most was a comment made by Anna Quindlen:

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by Anastasia Strgar

My boyfriend, an avid golfer, is playing in a golf tournament this weekend and thus came to me in our new home the other day letting me know that if he’s practicing a lot it’s A) because he loves to golf and B) because he really wants to play well this weekend. However, he also had kept in mind that A) we’re in the process of moving in and B) didn’t want me to feel like my needs from him weren’t being met. I simply told him that I want him to do whatever he feels like he needs to do and that I, when needed, would communicate when I need something from him.

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by Anastasia Strgar

I consider myself blessed that, in this day and age, I grew up with parents whose marriage is not only in tact, but on the majority of days, happy. It’s easy to give up on marriage these days because we’re surrounded by celebrities who dispose of relationships as easily as they dispose of shoes or people who have false expectations about marriage. However, I think if you look hard enough, you’ll see that despite the divorce rate (which is actually getting lower), there are plenty of people who are getting married and staying married, despite what’s happening around them.

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by Anastasia Strgar

I’ve been riding horses since I was 8-years-old. Through my tumultuous adolescence, my horse Pegasus stayed by my side, amidst failed friendships, breakups and general teenage angst. Horseback riding became a sort of meditation for me; I could just be myself, and learning how to ride dressage taught me a lot about being confident, expecting the unexpected and facing each situation with grace and courage.

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by Anastasia Strgar

If today were the last day that you ever had on this earth, who would you want to be with? What would you tell them? And would anything that may happen really matter?

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by Anastasia Strgar

Back in the day, girls were sent to college to find a husband. Once they did that, their entire lives revolved around taking care of their husband and their families. Their identities became grouped with their husband’s and they never really had a chance to develop their own identities. Flash forward 60 years to the “Me Generation.”

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by Anastasia Strgar

I’ve never really had a long-distance relationship… Sure, I was penpals with a guy stationed in Iraq, but I’d never actually met the guy, so I’m not incredibly skilled at the phone sex/sexting thing. I can imagine that one of the hardest parts about a long distance relationship is the lack of physical intimacy, which is why so many long distance couples revert to phone sex.

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by Anastasia Strgar

It is a common misconception that a broken heart can only result from a breakup. In fact, if we allow our hearts to be open, they open not only to the beauty and joy of life, but also to the utter tragedy of it all. Our hearts can break not only from romantic breakups, but also from loss, sadness unexamined, and the ups and downs of our day to day life. As far as love is concerned, however, we have a tendency to believe that by choosing one particular partner and choosing to stay with them means that they will never break our hearts.

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