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Narrative Essay About Love

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Published: Mar 14, 2024

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Essays About Love and Relationships: Top 5 Examples

Love, romance, and relationships are just as complicated and messy as they are fascinating. Read our guide on essays about love and relationships.

We, as humans, are social beings. Humanity is inclined towards living with others of our kind and forming relationships with them. Love, whether in a romantic context or otherwise, is essential to a strong relationship with someone. It can be used to describe familial, friendly, or romantic relationships; however, it most commonly refers to romantic partners. 

Love and relationships are difficult to understand, but with effort, devotion, and good intentions, they can blossom into something beautiful that will stay with you for life. This is why it is important to be able to discern wisely when choosing a potential partner.

5 Essay Examples

1. love and marriage by kannamma shanmugasundaram, 2. what my short-term relationships taught me about love and life by aaron zhu, 3. true love waits by christine barrett, 4. choosing the right relationship by robert solley, 5. masters of love by emily esfahani smith, 1. what is a healthy romantic relationship, 2. a favorite love story, 3. relationship experiences, 4. lessons relationships can teach you, 5. love and relationships in the 21st century, 6. is marriage necessary for true love.

“In successful love marriages, couples have to learn to look past these imperfections and remember the reasons why they married each other in the first place. They must be able to accept the fact that neither one of them is perfect. Successful love marriages need to set aside these superior, seemingly impossible expectations and be willing to compromise, settling for some good and some bad.”

Shanmugasundaram’s essay looks at marriage in Eastern Cultures, such as her Indian traditions, in which women have less freedom and are often forced into arranged marriages. Shanmugasundaram discusses her differing views with her parents over marriage; they prefer to stick to tradition while she, influenced by Western values, wants to choose for herself. Ultimately, she has compromised with her parents: they will have a say in who she marries, but it will be up to her to make the final decision. She will only marry who she loves. 

“There is no forever, I’ve been promised forever by so many exes that it’s as meaningless to me as a homeless person promising me a pot of gold. From here on out, I’m no longer looking for promises of forever, what I want is the promise that you’ll try your best and you’ll be worth it. Don’t promise me forever, promise me that there will be no regrets.”

In Zhu’s essay, he reflects on his lessons regarding love and relationships. His experiences with past partners have taught him many things, including self-worth and the inability to change others. Most interestingly, however, he believes that “forever” does not exist and that going into a relationship, they should commit to as long as possible, not “forever.” Furthermore, they should commit to making the relationship worthwhile without regret. 

“For life is a constant change, love is the greatest surprise, friendship is your best defense, maturity comes with responsibility and death is just around the corner, so, expect little, assume nothing, learn from your mistakes, never fail to have faith that true love waits, take care of your friends, treasure your family, moderate your pride and throw up all hatred for God opens millions of flowers without forcing the buds, reminding us not to force our way but to wait for true love to happen perfectly in His time.”

Barrett writes about how teenagers often feel the need to be in a relationship or feel “love” as soon as possible. But unfortunately, our brains are not fully matured in our teenage years, so we are more likely to make mistakes. Barrett discourages teenagers from dating so early; she believes that they should let life take its course and enjoy life at the moment. Her message is that they shouldn’t be in a rush to grow up, for true love will come to those who are patient. You might also be interested in these essays about commitment and essays about girlfriends .

“A paucity of common interests gets blamed when relationships go south, but they are rarely the central problem. Nonetheless, it is good to have some — mostly in terms of having enough in common that there are things that you enjoy spending time doing together. The more important domains to consider are personality and values, and when it comes to personality, the key question is how does your potential partner handle stress.”

Solley, from a more psychological perspective, gives tips on how one can choose the ideal person to be in a relationship with. Love is a lifetime commitment, so much thought should be put into it. One should look at culture, values regarding spending money, and common interests. Solley believes that you should not always look for someone with the same interests, for what makes a relationship interesting is the partners’ differences and how they look past them. 

“There are two ways to think about kindness. You can think about it as a fixed trait: Either you have it or you don’t. Or you could think of kindness as a muscle. In some people, that muscle is naturally stronger than in others, but it can grow stronger in everyone with exercise. Masters tend to think about kindness as a muscle. They know that they have to exercise it to keep it in shape. They know, in other words, that a good relationship requires sustained hard work.”

Smith discusses research conducted over many years that explains the different aspects of a relationship, including intimacy, emotional strength, and kindness. She discusses kindness in-depth, saying that a relationship can test your kindness, but you must be willing to work to be kind if you love your partner. You might also be interested in these essays about divorce .

6 Writing Prompts On Essays About Love and Relationships

Everyone has a different idea of what makes a great relationship. For example, some prioritize assertiveness in their partner, while others prefer a calmer demeanor. You can write about different qualities and habits that a healthy, respectful relationship needs, such as quality time and patience. If you have personal experience, reflect on this as well; however, if you don’t, write about what you would hope from your future partner. 

Love and relationships have been an essential element in almost every literary work, movie, and television show; an example of each would be Romeo and Juliet , The Fault in Our Stars , and Grey’s Anatomy . Even seemingly unrelated movies, such as the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings franchises, have a romantic component. Describe a love story of your choice; explain its plot, characters, and, most importantly, how the theme of love and relationships is present. 

If you have been in a romantic relationship before, or if you are in one currently, reflect on your experience. Why did you pursue this relationship? Explore your relationship’s positive and negative sides and, if applicable, how it ended. If not, write about how you will try and prevent the relationship from ending.

All our experiences in life form us, relationships included. In your essay, reflect on ways romantic relationships can teach you new things and make you better; consider values such as self-worth, patience, and positivity. Then, as with the other prompts, use your personal experiences for a more interesting essay. Hou might find our guide on how to write a vow helpful.

How love, romance, and relationships are perceived has changed dramatically in recent years; from the nuclear family, we have seen greater acceptance of same-sex relationships, blended families, and relationships with more than two partners—research on how the notion of romantic relationships has changed and discuss this in your essay. 

More and more people in relationships are deciding not to get married. For a strong argumentative essay, discuss whether you agree with the idea that true love does not require marriage, so it is fine not to get married in the first place. Research the arguments of both sides, then make your claim. 

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays . If you’re still stuck, check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

Feb 20, 2023

250-500 Word Example Essays About Love and Romance

Got an Essay assignment about Love and Romance? Let us help you out with these inspiring Examples!

Love, an emotion that has captivated the hearts and minds of poets, authors, and artists throughout history, remains a profound and multi-faceted subject. While the depth and complexity of this emotion can make it a daunting topic to explore in an essay, the right resources can turn this challenge into a rewarding endeavor. For those looking to capture the essence of love and romance in their writing, our essay writer can be a beacon of inspiration and assistance. This tool, powered by Jenni.ai, offers a seamless journey through the essay-writing process, from brainstorming ideas to refining the final draft. 

Whether you're delving into argumentative, persuasive , or reflective essays about love, Jenni.ai ensures clarity, coherence, and a touch of elegance in your prose. It's a trusted companion for students, educators, and seasoned writers alike, simplifying the writing journey every step of the way.

1. The Evolution of Love: A Study of the Changing Nature of Romance throughout History

Introduction.

Love is one of humanity's most complicated and mysterious emotions. People have strived to comprehend and define Love throughout history, resulting in many works of literature, art, and music dedicated to the subject. Despite its universal appeal, the nature of Love has evolved significantly throughout time, reflecting evolving cultural, social, and economic situations. In this essay, we will look at the evolution of Love, from ancient times to the present.

Ancient Love

A. Greek and Roman Love

Love was viewed as a complex and varied feeling in ancient Greece and Rome, comprising characteristics of desire, friendship, and awe. Love was frequently represented as a tremendous force in ancient civilizations, capable of both propelling individuals to high heights of success and bringing them down into the depths of sorrow. This was especially true of romantic Love, which was glorified in epic poems like the Iliad and Odyssey , as well as works of art and literature depicting the hardships and sufferings of star-crossed lovers.

B. Medieval Love

A chivalric code known as courtly Love emerged in medieval Europe. Its core tenants were the importance of Love, honour, and devotion. During this time, romantic Love was typically portrayed as an unrequited emotion, with the lover pining for the affections of a faraway and unreachable beloved. Medieval poets and troubadours mirrored this romanticised picture of Love in their works by singing and writing about the highs and lows of passionate Love.

Modern Love

A. The Renaissance

The idealized picture of Love that had ruled for centuries was called into question by artists and intellectuals during the Renaissance, marking a turning point in the development of romantic relationships. During this time, romantic Love was portrayed as more tactile and visceral. Shakespeare, for instance, reflected the shifting beliefs of his day by exploring the nuanced and often tragic nature of Love in his works.

B. The Enlightenment

The concepts of reason and individuality began to gain root during the Enlightenment, and with that came a shift in how people saw Love. Political marriages and alliances were often formed based on Love, which was now considered a more sensible and practical feeling. Thinkers from the Enlightenment period, including Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, shared this perspective on Love as a tool for bettering society and the individual.

C. The Modern Era

Today, the word "love" is most often used to describe a feeling one has when they are in a committed relationship or when one has achieved their own goals. Love has become a consumable good thanks to the spread of consumerism and the worship of the individual. The media and arts reflect this conception of Love by depicting it as a means to one's fulfillment and contentment.

The changing cultural, social, and economic conditions of each historical epoch are reflected in the history of Love. The essence of Love has changed dramatically throughout the years, from its idealised image in ancient Greece and Rome to its depiction as a spiritual tie in mediaeval Europe to its current identification with romantic relationships and personal fulfilment. Despite these changes, Love remains a strong and enduring force in human existence, inspiring numerous works of art, literature, and music and affecting how we live and interact with one another.

2. The Power of Love: Examining the Impact of Love on Our Lives and Relationships

Love is a strong feeling that may dramatically alter our life and the bonds we form with others. love, whether romantic, familial, or platonic, can unite us and improve our lives in countless ways., the benefits of love.

A. Improved Physical Health

Love has been demonstrated to improve physical health by decreasing stress, lowering blood pressure, and increasing immunity. The hormone oxytocin, which is released in response to social bonding and has been demonstrated to reduce physiological responses to stress, is thought to be at play here.

B. Enhanced Mental Health

In addition to its physical benefits, Love has been shown to have a beneficial effect on our mental health, lowering stress and anxiety levels and boosting our general sense of happiness. The protective powers of Love against the negative consequences of stress and other difficulties in life are well accepted.

C. Strengthened Relationships

A stronger tie may be formed between two people via the power of Love. Relationships of all kinds, whether romantic, familial, or platonic, may benefit from the strengthening effects of Love by increasing their levels of closeness, trust, and mutual understanding.

The Challenges of Love

A. Love can be painful

Sometimes Love hurts, as when a relationship ends or when we can't find the one we're looking for. One of life's most trying events is losing someone we care about, which may leave us feeling isolated, discouraged, and empty.

The Power of Love to Overcome Challenges

Despite these difficulties, Love may help us overcome them and grow closer to one another. The strength of Love is that it may help us learn and grow, both as people and as a community, via its many forms, such as forgiveness, compromise, and the willingness to persevere through adversity.

Finally, Love is a strong and transformational force that may profoundly influence our lives and relationships. Love may provide us joy, comfort, and a feeling of purpose, whether between friends, family, or romantic partners. Despite its numerous advantages, Love may also bring with it difficulties such as heartbreak and strife. Nonetheless, never underestimate the power of Love. 

It has the potential to draw people together and form deep, long-lasting bonds. Love has the power to make the world a better place, whether through acts of kindness, selflessness, or simply being there for one another. So, let us embrace Love in all of its manifestations and harness its potential to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

3. The Science of Love: Understanding the Biology and Psychology Behind Love and Attraction

For millennia, people have been drawn and intrigued by the intricate and intriguing feeling of Love. Despite its enormous global significance, the science of Love is now being thoroughly investigated. This paper will investigate the biology and psychology of Love and attraction, delving into the different elements that impact these powerful emotions and how they form our relationships.

The Biology of Love

A. Hormone Function

Love is a biological process controlled by chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. These hormones influence our sensations of attraction, enthusiasm, and enjoyment and boost sentiments of trust and closeness.

B. The Influence of Genetics

Genetics also has an impact on Love and attraction, with some personality qualities and physical characteristics that are considered to be appealing to potential spouses being handed down from generation to generation. This suggests that particular preferences for specific sorts of people are hardwired into our genetics, influencing our romantic and sexual attraction patterns.

The Psychology of Love

A. The Role of Attachment Styles

Our attachment types, which we acquire from our early connections with our caretakers, also affect our Love. These attachment types can significantly influence our later relationships, influencing how we build and keep deep attachments with others.

B. The Impact of Social Norms and Values

Cultural Values

Social conventions and cultural ideas also impact Love and attraction, with societal expectations and values impacting our romantic and sexual impulses. These social conventions and cultural ideas influence everything from who we are attracted to and how we approach and pursue relationships.

The Meeting of Biology and

Love Psychology

The biology and psychology of Love are inextricably linked and interdependent, with one having a complicated and subtle impact on the other. This suggests that, while biology influences our sentiments of attraction and Love, our psychological experiences and beliefs may equally shape these emotions.

To summarise, love science is a complicated and intriguing discipline that encompasses the biology and psychology of this strong and transformational emotion. By investigating the elements that impact Love and attraction, we may gain a deeper understanding of the systems that underpin these feelings and how they shape our lives and relationships. The study of Love is a vital and beneficial effort, whether we seek Love, attempt to preserve Love, or wonder about the science underlying this feeling.

4. The Fine Line Between Love and Obsession: Exploring the Dark Side of Love

Love is a powerful and transformative emotion that can bring immense joy and fulfilment to our lives. But Love can also turn dark and dangerous when it crosses the line into obsession. This essay will examine the fine line between Love and obsession, exploring how Love can become unhealthy and dangerous.

The Characteristics of Obsessive Love

A. Unhealthy Attachment

Obsessive Love is characterized by an unhealthy attachment to another person, with the obsessed person becoming overly dependent on their partner for emotional fulfilment. This can lead to feelings of possessiveness and jealousy, as well as a need for constant attention and validation.

B. Control and Manipulation

Obsessive Love can also involve control and manipulation, with the obsessed person trying to control every aspect of their partner's life and behaviour. This can range from minor acts of manipulation, such as trying to dictate what their partner wears or who they spend time with, to more serious forms of control, such as physical abuse or stalking.

The Dark Side of Love

A. Stalking and Harassment

The dark side of Love can take many forms, with stalking and harassment being among the most extreme and dangerous forms of obsessive behaviour. Stalking and harassment can have serious and long-lasting consequences for the victim, causing fear, stress, and trauma that can impact their mental and physical well-being.

B. Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is another form of the dark side of Love, with physical, sexual, and psychological abuse being used as a means of control and domination. Domestic violence can have devastating consequences for the victim, often leading to serious injury or even death.

The Roots of Obsessive Love

A. Psychological Issues

Obsessive Love can have its roots in psychological issues, including depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. These conditions can lead to feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem, making it difficult for individuals to form healthy relationships.

B. Cultural and Social Factors

Cultural and social factors can also play a role in the development of obsessive Love, with certain societal beliefs and norms promoting possessiveness and control in relationships. This can include gender roles, expectations, and cultural beliefs about Love and relationships.

In conclusion, the fine line between Love and obsession is delicate and dangerous, with Love crossing over into unhealthy and dangerous territory when it becomes obsessive. By understanding the characteristics of obsessive Love and how it can take dark and dangerous forms, we can better protect ourselves and our loved ones from the negative consequences of this powerful emotion.

5. The Concept of Unconditional Love: An Analysis of the Ideal of Selfless Love

All kinds of different things count as Love since it's such a complicated and diverse feeling. Unconditional Love is frequently depicted as altruistic, all-encompassing, and unshakable, making it one of the most romanticized types. In this essay, I'd discuss the idea of unconditional Love, defining it and contrasting it with other types of affection.

An Explanation of Selfless Love

A. Selfless Love

The term "unconditional love" is commonly used to describe a type of Love that puts the other person's needs before its own. In this kind of Love, one person cares for another without any thought of return or compensation.

B. Love that encompasses everything

Many people use the term "all-encompassing" to express how unconditional Love embraces a person regardless of who they are or what they've done in their lives. A love like this doesn't depend on the other person changing or improving in any way; rather, it's an unconditional embrace of the person as they are.

The Ideal of Unconditional Love

A. Love Without Conditions

Unconditional Love is a romantic ideal in which the lover places no restrictions on the object of his affection. Since it involves so much giving of oneself, this kind of Love is typically held up as the pinnacle of romantic relationships.

B. Putting the Feeling into Action

However, since we are all flawed human beings, practising unconditional Love can be challenging in daily life. Although this may be the case, the ideal of unconditional Love is still significant since it motivates us to improve our Love and compassion towards others.

The Advantages of Unconditional Love

A. Stronger Connections

Unconditional Love has the potential to improve our connections with others, leading to deeper and more meaningful bonds. This kind of Love creates a non-judgmental and welcoming attitude towards people, which can assist to lessen conflict and improve understanding.

B. More Joy and Satisfaction

As a result of the more profound relationships it fosters, unconditional Love may also increase a person's sense of well-being and contentment. Finding Love like this may give our life new meaning and make us feel whole.

In conclusion, many of us hold unconditional Love as a relationship goal. Even if it's not always possible, the ideal of unconditional Love is worthwhile since it motivates us to increase our Love and compassion. The concept of unconditional Love may lead us to a more meaningful and happy lifestyle, whether our goal is to better our relationships or to find more pleasure and contentment in general.

6. The Importance of Communication in Love Relationships: A Study of the Role of Communication in Maintaining Love

Love relationships, like all others, benefit greatly from open lines of communication between partners. Connecting with one another on a regular basis, whether it's to chat about the day, express emotions, or problem-solve, is crucial to keeping the Love alive between you. This essay will discuss the significance of communication in romantic relationships, specifically how it helps couples stay together and grow closer over time.

Advantages of good communication

Increased Compatibility and Mutual Understanding

Love partnerships benefit significantly from open lines of communication that facilitate mutual understanding and closeness. Sharing our innermost ideas, emotions, and experiences with our partners via direct and honest communication strengthens our bonds with them.

Reduced Conflict

As we can better address difficulties and find positive solutions to differences when communicating effectively, we experience less conflict in our relationships. Relationships may be stronger and more loving by talking through differences and finding common ground.

The Difficulties in Expressing Your Feelings in a Romantic Relationship

A. Confusing Messages and Confused Intents

Good communication can sometimes be difficult, especially in romantic partnerships, despite its many advantages. Conflict, anger and a lack of trust may all result from poor communication and misunderstandings in relationships.

B. Vulnerability and Emotional Safety

Likewise, it takes courage and trust to open up and talk about your feelings with the person you love. It may be nerve-wracking to communicate our innermost thoughts and feelings with a partner because of the risk of being judged harshly or rejected.

The Importance of Active Listening

What is Active Listening?

Maintaining positive connections with others requires not just good talkers but also good listeners. Paying close attention to the other person as they speak and making an effort to get their viewpoint and requirements is an essential component of active listening.

The Benefits of Active Listening

The ability to listen attentively and process information can have a significant influence on interpersonal bonds. You may show your spouse how much you value their opinion and the commitment you have to the relationship by listening attentively to what they have to say.

Finally, it's important to note that communication is a cornerstone of successful, loving partnerships. Communication is crucial for developing and maintaining healthy relationships , whether it is via problem-solving, venting, or just listening. Your relationship may grow stronger and become more rewarding and loving if you put an emphasis on communicating well with one another.

Final Words

Love is a complicated and varied theme that has inspired numerous works of art, literature, and music. Whether it is the science of Love, the power of Love, or the development of Love, there is a great deal to learn and comprehend about this universal feeling. 

Students now have access to a potent tool that may assist them in writing essays about Love with ease and assurance thanks to Jenni.ai. From giving ideas and recommendations to leading you through the writing process, Jenni.ai is the ideal option for anyone who wants to write about Love and relationships. Why then wait? Sign up for a free trial of Jenni.ai today and explore its numerous writing perks!

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109 My Family Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Family is one of the most important aspects of our lives. They are the ones who support us, love us unconditionally, and are always there for us no matter what. Writing an essay about your family can be a great way to reflect on the relationships you have with your loved ones and the impact they have had on your life. If you're struggling to come up with a topic for your family essay, don't worry - we've got you covered. Here are 109 family essay topic ideas and examples to help you get started:

• The importance of family in my life
• My family traditions and customs
• A day in the life of my family
• Lessons I've learned from my family
• The role of siblings in shaping who I am
• How my family has influenced my career choices
• The impact of divorce on my family
• The challenges of being a single-parent family
• The bond between grandparents and grandchildren
• The importance of communication in a healthy family dynamic
• How my family celebrates holidays and special occasions
• The role of family in shaping my cultural identity
• The struggles and triumphs of being a blended family
• How my family has supported me through difficult times
• The role of family in shaping my values and beliefs
• The dynamics of sibling rivalry in my family
• The importance of forgiveness in family relationships
• The influence of birth order on personality development
• The impact of technology on family communication
• The role of family in shaping my educational goals
• The challenges of balancing work and family life
• The importance of family dinners in fostering connection
• The impact of social media on family relationships
• The role of extended family in my life
• How my family has influenced my hobbies and interests
• The impact of family vacations on bonding
• The importance of family support in achieving goals
• The role of family in dealing with mental health issues
• The influence of family dynamics on romantic relationships
• The impact of sibling relationships on social development
• The role of family in teaching empathy and compassion
• The importance of family history and traditions
• The impact of family size on individual development
• The challenges of being a caregiver for a family member
• The importance of setting boundaries in family relationships
• The influence of family values on decision-making
• The impact of divorce on children's emotional well-being
• The role of family in teaching responsibility and independence
• The challenges of maintaining long-distance family relationships
• The importance of family game nights in bonding
• The influence of family expectations on personal goals
• The impact of family conflicts on mental health
• The role of family in teaching conflict resolution skills
• The importance of family bonding activities
• The influence of family relationships on self-esteem
• The impact of family dynamics on academic performance
• The role of family in teaching resilience and perseverance
• The importance of family rituals in creating memories
• The influence of family on career choices
• The impact of family trauma on emotional well-being
• The role of family in promoting healthy habits
• The importance of family support in times of crisis
• The influence of family on financial decisions
• The impact of family dynamics on sibling relationships
• The role of family in shaping gender roles
• The importance of family meals in fostering connection
• The influence of family on friendship choices
• The impact of family history on health outcomes
• The role of family in shaping personality traits
• The importance of family vacations in creating memories
• The influence of family on social skills
• The impact of family dynamics on emotional intelligence
• The role of family in fostering creativity and innovation
• The importance of family support in pursuing passions
• The influence of family on self-expression
• The impact of family rituals on mental health
• The importance of family game nights in fostering connection

These are just a few ideas to help you get started on your family essay. Remember, the most important thing is to reflect on your own experiences and relationships with your loved ones. Happy writing!

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The Importance of Family Love

Learn how to create and sustain this type of love.

Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments.

Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

What Is Family Love?

Benefits of family love.

• Estrangement
• Negative Impact of the Pandemic

Creating Family Love With Friends

• How to Sustain Family Relationships

The first love you ever know often comes from your mother and your immediate family members. This unconditional love seeks nothing in return. Those loving times you remember cuddling with your parents, playing ball with your brother in the backyard, or getting ice cream down the street with your grandmother aren’t just cherished memories.

A family's love psychologically grounds you and provides a framework for future relationships. It enables you to form secure attachments . Securely attached children feel safe and cared for. If you had secure bonds, your parents were likely responsive and fulfilled your needs when you were young.

Having positive attachments and feeling cared for by your loved ones leads to higher social functioning later on. A child with secure attachments also can more easily form healthy ties with others when they grow up and throughout their future.

The advantages mentioned above regarding the fostering of secure attachments and higher social functioning aren’t the only ones accrued by stable family relationships. When you feel safe, protected, and cared for during those crucial early years, you have a good framework for the world. The future outlook seems bright.

Living in a warm environment that is surrounded by a family's love generates other benefits including:

• You gain confidence and a high sense of self-esteem .
• You learn conflict resolution skills .
• You learn about communication and social interactions.
• You have good physical health (thanks to home-cooked healthy meals, regular exercise and play, and early bedtimes).
• You become more resilient and adaptable as you and your family surmount challenges.
• You feel like you have support when you need it.
• You feel a sense of stability and predictability based on routine.
• You don’t have to do anything to earn family love. You have it unconditionally—just for being born.
• Your childhood experiences and growth are seen in a positive light.
• You also decrease the possibility that you’ll have mental health challenges in the future.

Recent Research

A 2019 study showed that adults with higher levels of positive childhood experiences had lower odds of depression and/or poor mental health and greater adult-reported social and emotional support.

Feeling loved by our families and having great childhood experiences when you’re young is important. The study also showed that enhancing positive childhood experiences may reduce adult mental health problems even when adverse childhood events happened.

Estrangement From Family Members

Perhaps you didn’t have an idyllic childhood and your parents weren’t good role models. You might have chosen to distance yourself from them by choice. Or in later years, you preferred to strike out in a different direction than the one you were expected to follow.

Thus, rather than have tension and discomfort, you opted not to spend time with family.

About 27% of Americans are estranged from a family member. That’s according to a survey by the  Cornell Family Reconciliation Project  conducted for the book, Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them , by Cornell University sociologist Karl Pillemer.

What If Effects of the Pandemic Negatively Impacted Your Family?

During COVID-19, family dynamics often shifted. As a result of spending more time together, let’s face it. Many of us became frustrated with each other. Some relationships frayed. Unable to escape to movies or to meet friends, you might have even grown resentful of your brother playing his music too loud or your cousin eating your favorite cereal on a daily basis.

Though you are related to them by genetics, maybe you’ve grown tired of being cooped up with them. With added stressors and demands placed upon you, you might feel you didn’t get the understanding or assistance you needed.

Consequently, you may feel depleted and, to be frank, less than enamored with these people. Many confess they are more alienated from family members now than before the pandemic, although the whole family still remains under the same roof or in the same apartment building.

Recent research from Penn State showed because family members were stuck together for more time than they were used to, people's overall well-being began to suffer.

Others of us lived and worked across the country from our family. We couldn’t travel to visit them or perhaps we couldn’t give much time to loved ones. Maybe we felt guilty. Maybe we were relieved.

Disagreements over politics , wearing masks, and getting the vaccine strained family relationships. Perhaps you feel there won’t be a return to the way things were before the pandemic and that’s okay.

You can cope with estranged relationships and make peace with them through family therapy or individual therapy .

If you didn’t have a wonderful family experience growing up or don’t have one now, you still have agency in creating another kind of family. Family love can be found whether it’s based on bloodline relationships or not.

Family love can be built with a group outside of your family, such as your friendship circle. Rest assured you don’t have to be extremely close to your parents or siblings or children to have familial love.

The relationships you forge with neighbors, friends from work, or childhood friends who might be back in your life can serve extremely well as your family. Perhaps you’re close to college friends or church friends. You can establish your own close ties with people you choose to be with.

For many people, their close friends aren’t just "like family," they are family. The important thing is to have close, meaningful relationships as they sustain us.

According to a scientific review of about 150 studies that included 300,000 participants, people with strong social ties have a 50% better chance of survival than those with weaker ties. This is regardless of age, sex, or health status.

While we can maintain ties through texting or quick phone calls to just check in, you might want to devote more attention to these important relationships in your life. We need to remember that having these close relationships is a significant aspect of good health.

Tips for Nurturing Family Love

Let’s focus on easy ways to maintain these bonds; they matter deeply. Here are additional ways to nurture family love and significant relationships:

• Make spending time with loved ones a priority.
• Play games online regularly.
• Practice better listening skills .
• Write letters and send via snail mail .
• Set up a regular weekend hour to chat at length.
• Travel to your loved one’s home.
• Eat meals together.
• Cook together in person or virtually.
• Set up a weekly happy hour.
• Join an exercise or weight lifting class together.
• Join a recreational sports team together.
• Volunteer together for a charity you both admire.
• Be sensitive and caring.
• Tell your loved ones you love them .
• Express your gratitude to them, which not only will make them happy but makes you happier.
• Use non-verbal expressions like eye contact, smiles, and affectionate embraces.

Hugs are important as we need physical touch as human beings . In fact, during a warm and welcome hug , the hormone oxytocin is released, which slows down our heart rate, reduces stress, and lowers anxiety. In addition, the brain also releases endorphins that flood us with feelings of pleasure and happiness.

There are many benefits of belonging to a supportive family network.  It’s an integral part of physical and mental well-being. Begin to focus your time and attention on those you love. Soon you’ll be creating fun times and happy memories.

Bethell C, Jones J, Gombojav N, Linkenbach J, Sege R. Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels .  JAMA Pediatr.  2019;173(11):e193007. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3007

Feinberg ME, Mogle, JA, Lee JK, Tornello SL, Hostetler ML, Cifelli JA, Bai S, Hotez E. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parent, Child, and Family Functioning . Fam. Proc . 2021. 

Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review . PLOS Medicine . 2010.

By Barbara Field Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

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Modern Relationships: Romance, Friendship, and Family in the 21st Century

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Cultural, political, and legal changes in the 21st century have changed the landscapes in which our close interpersonal relationships take place. Many choose to remain single or get married later. Online dating and cohabitation are more readily accepted and common. Our friendships, especially on social media, have gained importance. Issues surrounding gender identity, equity, and sexual orientation also loom large. With the help of technology, more couples, including same-sex couples, are now able to become parents. From same-sex to open and polyamorous marriages, how we define and perceive some of our most important close relationships have changed. The dissolution and reformation of partnerships and families have gained new importance as nontraditional families have become more common. The formation of families through adoption raises questions of identity and successful parenting. Relationships across cultural, racial, religious, and national lines are also more relevant in today’s pluralistic societies. Finally, what types of relationships are considered worthy of scholarly and scientific attention, and the lenses with which to study them, have also evolved. This volume compiles the latest research and theory on close relationships of the 21st century from multidisciplinary and international perspectives with the intent of taking stock of this shifting terrain.

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Family Love: What It Is, What It Looks Like, And How To Make It Happen

Familial love can be a special type of love that often comes with unique feelings, behaviors, challenges, and rewards. In general, a family is a group of people who have a common ancestor. However, it can be possible to form a family with the people of your choosing, regardless of whether you’re related by blood. If you’re interested in forming healthy bonds with your family members, it can be helpful to take responsibility, encourage healthy development and independence, be kind, make time for each other, communicate effectively, and practice healthy conflict resolution skills. Challenges and conflicts between family members may be alleviated by working with a family therapist online.

What is family?

A  family in modern society  isn’t necessarily about blood relations. Instead, it’s generally a group of people that function as a unit. Often, this includes parents and children, but there can be many different  types of families  to consider. Your  family of origin (the family unit in which you are raised) may not necessarily be your biological family. Whether it includes a brother, a sister, cousins, grandparents, an aunt, uncles, nieces, nephews, in-laws, or stepsiblings, no family may be exactly the same.

Having a family can result from one's desire to fulfill their  love and belonging needs . Family can also mean all the descendants of a common ancestor. Some people consider their friends to be their family. However, when we speak of family love, your love for your friends may or may not fit into this definition, depending on your relationship. 

What is love?

Love is a word that can be used in so many ways that it can be difficult to know which meaning is most accurate. We may say we love ice cream or skiing when what we mean is that we enjoy it. The word “love” is commonly used to describe romantic or sexual feelings and behaviors in a romantic relationship. Some people believe love comes from a higher power or is necessary for survival.

Some people may get tattoos to show their love for their family. Others post on their social media, and some may show their children love by spending quality time with them or buying them gifts. Only you may determine how you want to show love to your family by doing what feels authentic to you.

You can’t always choose your family

You typically choose the person you want to start a family with when you’re an adult. You might also choose children to adopt or bring other people into your family.

However, children usually have no choice about who is in the family group. As a child, you don’t necessarily get to choose your siblings, and you generally don’t get to choose your parents. Despite these limitations, family love often still flourishes. It may not always be healthy love, but it is usually a deep connection. Finding the light in difficult relationships and setting firm boundaries can also be signs of love.

Building family love

Healthy family  love can be a choice  that typically starts with the parents. It isn’t usually something that happens without thought and dedication. There may be several ways to build healthy family love throughout the lifespan of the family.

Form healthy attachments

Parents may have a unique opportunity to teach their children how to form healthy, stable attachments. By being a responsive caregiver, you can foster the secure attachment style that often leads to  higher social functioning  later in life. Along with better mental and physical health, a strong attachment style can give your child a greater capacity to form healthy attachments with others.

Take responsibility 

Each person in a well-functioning family may take responsibility for what is theirs to do. The parents normally need to ensure everyone’s physical and emotional needs are met until the children can assume responsibility or become adults.

Talking to other parents you admire or attending a parenting support group can help you sort out who needs to be responsible for what. If you still have questions, a family therapist may offer insight.

Encourage healthy development and independence

As children get older, they tend to develop new skills and abilities. They may have more opportunities to explore their world as they develop the independence to choose their activities outside the home. As a parent, you can encourage their development into emotionally strong, healthy adults. Here are some potential ways to do so: 

Give them the tools they need to learn.

Provide them with support as they find their own identity.

Allow them to move away from you emotionally at times while providing a safe space for them to return to.

Tell them you love them.

Show them your love through gestures, facial expressions, and physical affection.

Kindness can be undervalued. Still, it is often a hallmark of healthy family love. Not hurting others unnecessarily must usually be balanced with self-esteem for authentic kindness to flourish within a family unit. 

Make time for each other

A family that lives under the same roof but spends no time together may not have the opportunity to develop and maintain healthy family bonds. If the parents are so busy with their adult lives that they ignore their children, the family may not be healthy, and the children may experience challenges as a result.

More ways to build family love

Conflict resolution can be a major challenge for many families. Healthy families may build family understanding,  love, and affection by learning communication skills.  When families communicate well, there are typically fewer conflicts, and the conflicts that do occur are often resolved quickly.

In families with growing children, family love usually changes as they mature. Being prepared for these changes can safeguard your family's love. Your family can provide a strong support system for you. If you have healthy family love, you may contribute by helping other families meet their needs and satisfy their desires. 

Getting professional help with family love

Building family love can be a stressful full-time job in some cases. If you find yourself struggling to manage family relationships in a healthy way, talking to a licensed mental health professional might benefit you.

A family’s busy schedule can often be an obstacle to traditional therapy, though. You may have a full calendar of events lined up already. Perhaps there’s no time for yet another in-person appointment. Online therapy can be a viable option for busy families. With this alternative form of therapy, families can get help from a mental health professional from the comfort of their homes and at a time that works for everyone. 

This mode of therapy doesn’t generally sacrifice quality, either. A 2021 meta-narrative review found that families routinely experience comparable outcomes with family therapy online as they do in more traditional office settings. 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is family love?

Family love is generally the kind of love that exists within a family. Family love can be characterized by unique feelings, challenges, behaviors, and rewards. Unlike other relationships where you get to choose who you are with, you cannot usually choose your parents or siblings. However, you can build family love with people who are not biologically related to you.

What’s the true meaning of family?

Though family may frequently be described as a group of people with blood relations, it can mean more than that. In general, people who descended from a common ancestor are called a family. Even without such a line of descent, your friends who are not related to you by blood can be your family.

The true meaning of family can be found among people who function as a unit and are interested in each other’s well-being. Happy families can be alike in their willingness to celebrate each other. Overall, a family can be any family you create for yourself. This may be your biological family, or it could be other people of your choosing.

What are healthy family relationships?

Healthy family relationships can exist within a family where love and respect live, regardless of the variety of opinions and personalities. The family is normally there for each other in times of need. Perhaps you help your aunt remember to take her pills or take your mother’s dog for a walk each day. Healthy family relationships can involve working together to achieve individual and family goals.

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• Relationships and Relations

Sociology of the Family: Love and Relationships Essay (Critical Writing)

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The Kissing Booth is a romantic film that journeys viewers about Elle Evans and Lee Flynn, who have been great friends their entire lives. To maintain their unique relationship, the two devised a series of partnership rules that they swear to adhere to, notably rule no. 9 which prohibited either from dating or having an affair with their relatives, particularly Lee’s sibling Noah. Elle and Lee come up with the idea of creating a kissing booth for the school fundraiser carnival. The two struggle to recruit participants but convince a clique of fashionable females known as the OMGs to attend by falsifying Noah’s involvement. Elle is lined up to kiss a bookish child masked, but Noah intervenes, prompting him to her, and when she removes her mask, he repeats the act. Furthermore, Elle puts herself at a crossroads when Lee discovers she has intimate involvement with his sibling. Elle must decide whether to keep her relationship with Lee or pursue her affections for Noah. Notwithstanding breaking rule no.9 of her relationship with Lee, her romantic bond with Noah is rekindled when she resolves to track Noah before enrolling in college.

The film’s director defines love as that which develops mutually between the two individuals in love. Additionally, it alludes to the essence of affection and, more precisely, the features or conditions that define an essential connection in terms of its development, purpose, and maintenance (Lelaurain et al., 2021). The two individuals, Elle and Noah, develop an intense loyalty and fascination for each other. When the females learn that Noah is not truly operating the booth from the film, they grow enraged.

As a result, Elle is lined up to kiss a dorky child masked, but Noah intervenes, prompting him to kiss Elle, and when she removes her mask, he repeats the act. As she returns home, it begins to downpour, and Noah volunteers to give her a lift on his motorbike. However, as the rain becomes too severe, they are forced to stop. They seek refuge in a distant facility’s glass music hall. Elle embraces Noah once more, and he withdraws, and after exchanging stares, Noah enters for another kiss.

The dating system portrayed in The Kissing Booth is a going steady or romantically entangled dating system. Romantically entangled pair dates continuously, and the primary objective of this type of relationship, especially in college, is to provide company, and it is more of a necessity in high school (Albury et al., 2017). Thus, this is a consensual relationship in which the pair maintains everyday communication. The engagement is casual, with an outward declaration of love. Male-female communication is liberal or bidirectional in features of beginning actions and reciprocating (Albury et al., 2017). Frequently, a tangible emblem such as a lavaliere is exchanged, and sexual rules encourage extensive caressing. In the film, both Elle and Noah are high school students and are affectionate toward each other in various scenes within the movie. For instance, Noah constantly picks Elle and takes her to different places while riding her on his motorbike. A scenario is when Noah takes her to the one place he visited alone, Hollywood, and they romantically engage in sex.

Just as the speech was required before humans could communicate, human beings frequently need scripts to initiate a new social interaction (Klein et al., 2019). Additionally, social codes provide reassurance, allowing people to believe that their conduct is intelligible and desirable to others without recreating every circumstance (Klein et al., 2019). Understandably, scripts are not detailed instructions that individuals execute to the letter. Rather than that, they function to focus or position conduct, assisting individuals in locating their activity within a social context.

The social coding hypothesis is predicated on the assertion that using memorized scripts, humans generate significance from their actions, reactions, and feelings. Scripts establish focus and importance for reacting to sexual stimuli and interacting sexually inconceivably in sexual settings (Klein et al., 2019). Social scripts can be viewed as both social entities specifying what is acceptable within a society, and intrapsychic scripts, directing how to perceive, reason, and interact in specific contexts (Klein et al., 2019). These social protocols are taught through the experiences of people of a culture who already embraced them and via descriptions of how individuals act and respond in specific circumstances in the mainstream media.

Individuals depend extensively on the general features of social scripting early in a relationship since they lack the distinguishing characteristics of the other person’s codes. According to the video, the type of social scripting portrayed is complementary scripts with a low level of tension. In complementary scripting, both parties reasonably expect the other (Klein et al., 2019). Both partners have matching assessments of the other’s intentions and associated interpretations. Only a limited supply of explicit dialogue or bargaining is required. Elle has never been kissed ever before, and when set up at the kissing booth by the OMG girls, Noah kisses her, and she does not resist. Instead, she kisses Noah back as both have romantic feelings for each other even before that incident.

Different characters are tied to the film by the kind of work they do throughout the film. Specifically, Elle’s classroom teacher’s role was significant since the play takes place when Elle and other characters are in high school. The teaching job is essential to the film as it requires an instructor to enable the film’s continuity within the school environment. Additionally, Elle’s dad, Mr. Evans, is tasked with taking care of his two children, Elle, and her younger brother, after his wife succumbs to cancer.

Parents, instructors, learning institutions, and the mainstream press are the principal actors of gender socialization (Basu et al., 2017). Individuals acquire their gender views and eventually build their sexual orientation as a result of gender indoctrination. Lee, for instance, meets his best friend Elle through his mother, who, when he was born, met Elle, who was at the same time and in the same hospital. Ever since they grew up as close friends and did everything together to their adulthood.

The consequences of violating endogamous laws have varied significantly throughout civilizations, ranging from execution to moderate condemnation (Dousset, 2018). Elle and Noah are attracted to each other due to social unit considerations, and endogamy amongst individuals from the same peer class. Thus, college-educated individuals are more likely to get attracted to a fellow college student than high school dropouts. Since Elle and Noah are both high school students, their same social circles bind them together.

Culture relates to the social institution’s attitudes, habits, and traditions. People’s communication and behavior are significantly influenced by their prior experiences, perceptions, and social background. People’s socialization affects how they interact and how individuals converse has the potential to transform society. Persons of various nationalities adhere to diverse cultural standards, and these conventions have a substantial influence on how people in romantic relationships interact. Additionally, these standards influence other views and actions that have a considerable impact on relationships. These diverse influences might occasionally complicate romantic connections with someone from diverse cultural backgrounds. Indeed, even partners from apparently comparable backgrounds may encounter difficulties navigating cultural differences.

Over time, a wide range of physiological systems has evolved that make sexual activity generally joyful and effortless, while sexual discomfort and issues are infrequent. The central nervous system regulates the perceptions, feelings, and physiological functions associated with sexual behavior (Wang et al., 2019). The sexual behavior that exists between Elle and Noah in the film is the importance of protected sex. Sexual practices are essentially focused on procreation, and during most of the human development, sexual behavior was inextricably linked to pregnancy and parenthood (Wang et al., 2019). Once Elle is pictured purchasing a condom from a store, and as such, protected sex builds towards their relationship as it reduces the chances of pregnancy and the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STSs) between them. Additionally, there is increased trust between them hence creating a stronger bond in their relationship.

In conclusion, love and relationships are essential in individuals’ social lives across all cultural settings. From the film discussed in the paper, romantic love develops an intense loyalty and fascination between individuals. Furthermore, culture significantly influences how we communicate, and people of various nationalities adhere to diverse cultural standards. These conventions have a substantial influence on how people in romantic relationships interact. Therefore, family and cultural factors have proven to significantly impact the shape of personal norms and ideals, albeit indirectly.

Albury, K., Burgess, J., Light, B., Race, K., & Wilken, R. (2017). Data cultures of mobile dating and hook-up apps: Emerging issues for critical social science research . Big Data & Society , 4 (2), 1-11. Web.

Basu, S., Zuo, X., Lou, C., Acharya, R., & Lundgren, R. (2017). Learning to be gendered: Gender socialization in early adolescence among urban poor in Delhi, India, and Shanghai, China . Journal of Adolescent Health , 61 (4), S24-S29. Web.

Dousset, L. (2018). Endogamy. The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology , 1-1. Web.

Klein, V., Imhoff, R., Reininger, K. M., & Briken, P. (2019). Perceptions of sexual script deviation in women and men . Archives of Sexual Behavior , 48 (2), 631-644. Web.

Lelaurain, S., Fonte, D., Giger, J. C., Guignard, S., & Lo Monaco, G. (2021). Legitimizing intimate partner violence: The role of romantic love and the mediating effect of patriarchal ideologies. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 36 (13-14), 6351-6368. Web.

Wang, Y., Wu, H., & Sun, Z. S. (2019). The biological basis of sexual orientation: How hormonal, genetic, and environmental factors influence to whom we are sexually attracted . Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology , 55 , 100798. Web.

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Essay on Relationship | Relationship Essay for Students and Children in English

February 7, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on Relationship: Human is a social animal. To survive and stay happy, he needs to get connected with the people around him. To love and to be loved is the best feeling in the world. The feeling of this love and the connection between two people is what we call a relationship. Right from the family relationship, friendship, acquaintances, and romantic relationship, all are important at one or the other point of life. Having a relationship is thus one of the most important things in life.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Relationship for Students and Kids in English

In this article, we have provided a long essay and a short essay, along with ten lines on the topic, to help students write this essay in examinations. Given below is a long essay composed of about 500 words and a short composition comprising 100-150 words on the relationship in English.

Long Essay on Relationship 500 words in English

Relationship essay is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Having a relationship is very important in everyone’s life. To stay happy, share your feelings, feel loved, have a connection, and know yourself in a better manner you need to have a relationship. As you grow old, the relationship transforms. Thus, we can define relationships as a bond between two people based on mutual likes, understanding, need, or love. Since birth, humans enter into a relationship. Broadly, there are four types of relationships:

Family Relationship: This is the most basic kind of relationship. It comes into existence based on the blood, kinship, marriage, or even adoption. It usually includes family members and relatives like parents, grandparents, children, siblings, cousins, uncle, aunts, and other such family members.

Friendship: As a child grows, he starts meeting people and attending school. It is the time when friendship comes to existence. Based on mutual likes and dislikes, the child befriends. This relationship occurs at every stage. As we grow old, we do make new friends. But friendship is a reciprocal relationship based on trust, care, and faith from both ends.  Friendship is that special God-given gift to humans with whom one can share multiple resonating feelings.

Romantic Relationship: Human has been always hungry for love. It is usually a relationship based on a strong feeling of connectivity based on personality or some physical attributes as well. This relationship usually is seen between husband-wife. It is one of the closest and strongest forms of relationship.

Acquaintances: As we move across daily, we encounter a lot of people that pass by. They are neither friends nor relatives. They can be neighbors, a travel companion, someone you meet at the park, or any other such person. But if such a relationship is treated with respect and care, it can grow to friendship in the future.

Love and trust are such emotions that are most profound in humans. People interact daily which acts as the base for the formation of relationships. For having a good and healthy relationship, the person needs to focus on the basic four attributes. They are communication, trust, respect, and love. For any relationship to flourish and sustain, one needs to have the four pillars incorporated in the deep roots of the relationship.

Every relationship starts when two people communicate. Having a healthy communication is important to share problems and find a solution for them. In the absence of communication, the relationship fails due to mistrust and doubts. Secondly, trust is the foundation of any relationship. Every relationship starting right from family or friends, if the trust is void, then the relationship is bound to end or fall.

Mutual trust and loyalty can be gained when you share your true feelings. The third pillar is respect. In personal as well as professional world respect is very important. If a person respects others, then he gains respect from others. Treating others will respect and care not only gains respect for themselves but also creates a base for a long-term relationship. The last is love. If there is love, there is care. Every person searches for love in their life. Having a relationship full of love makes a person happy and relationship strengthens.

Relationships are not built in a day. They need constant focus and attention. When people have successful and healthy relationships, they bound to stay happy and satisfied. Apart, the quality of life also enhances. Relationships may take time but investing in them can lead you to ‘Happily Ever After’.

Short Essay on Relationship 150 words in English

Relationship essay is usually provided to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

A relationship is when two people bond or connects based on the feeling of mutual trust, likes, dislikes, or love. It can be a relationship between family, friends, neighbors, passerby, or any other acquaintances. Having a good relationship is very important to sustain happily. Relationships give a person a chance to get connected with the people around and understand the true self.

Broadly, the relationships are of four types. The family relationship is the relationship based on blood or kinship. The friendship is based on mutual like and dislike. The romantic relationship is based on love and attraction. Lastly, there is an acquaintance which is a relationship with people you encounter but they are neither your friends nor family.

The healthy and successful relationship is based on four pillars. They are communication, trust, respect, and love. These are important to sustain and flourish in all kinds of relationships. These pillars help you share your thoughts and feelings. By doing so, you are in a position to strengthen your relationship. Relationships take time to create and when they grow strong they are forever and you can claim you are in a position of’ happily ever after’.

10 Lines on Relationship Essay in English

• A relationship is when two or more people bond together based on mutual trust, love, care, and connection.
• It is of four types, namely, family relationship, friendship, romantic relationship, and acquaintances.
• Family relationship is based on blood or kinship. Friendship is based on mutual likes and dislikes. A romantic relationship is based on strong attraction and love. Acquaintances are ones you know or meet daily but are neither your friends nor family.
• The pillars of any successful relationship are communication, trust, respect, and love.
• To sustain any relationship, the four pillars need to be focused on.
• Communication in a relationship is important to share your feelings and build trust as well.
• Respect in any kind of relationship is a must. As said, if you give respect you get respect.
• Relationships need focus and attention to survive and grow strong.
• Good and healthy relationships take time to form. But once formed, they are to stay forever.
• To have a happy, healthy, and long lives, people need to have happy and healthy relationships.

FAQ’s on Relationship Essay

Question 1. What is the relationship?

Answer: The feeling of connection and love based on mutual trust and care between two or more people is defined as a relationship.

Question 2. Briefly explain types of relationships.

Answer: There are four types of relationships, namely, family relationship, friendship, romantic relationships, and acquaintances. Family relationship is based on blood or kinship. Friendship is based on mutual likes and dislikes. A romantic relationship is based on strong attraction and love. Acquaintances are ones you know or meet daily but are neither your friends nor family

Question 3. What are the pillars of a healthy relationship?

Answer: There are four pillars of a healthy and successful relationship. They are communication, trust, respect, and love.

Question 4. Why people need healthy relationships?

Answer: Human is a part of society. To have a happy, healthy, and long lives, people need to have happy and healthy relationships.

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Why 'A Family Affair' works so well as a Netflix romcom

Linda Holmes

Nicole Kidman as Brooke Harwood and Zac Efron as Chris Cole in A Family Affair. Aaron Epstein/Netflix hide caption

About seven minutes into the new Netflix romantic comedy A Family Affair , Zac Efron, playing a conceited, not-too-bright movie star who's just broken up with his girlfriend, is whining to his assistant (played by Joey King) that she needs to pick up his stuff from the ex-girlfriend's place. He left treasured items there, he explains. He left his autographed Jordans! He left his Himalayan t-shirt! And then he says, gravely, as if it shows the urgency of the mission, "I left my copy of The Courage to be Disliked ." And I said, in my living room, "Ha!"

The Courage to be Disliked is a real book . It doesn't actually endorse the practice of being a jerk; it's more nuanced than that . But this character, without a pinch of self-awareness, bemoaning the disappearance of a book called The Courage to be Disliked ? That's a very solid joke, very solidly delivered by Efron. He follows it up with, "I have several underwears there. And people sell those."

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Eventually, the movie star, whose name is Chris, has one too many fights with the assistant, whose name is Zara, and he has to go find her to make amends. But when he goes to her house, he finds her mother, Brooke (Nicole Kidman), a beautiful widowed author who lives in the kind of gorgeous and classy house that starred in most of the best Nancy Meyers movies . (It's sharply different from Chris' house, which is equally fancy but also ugly and impractical, as seen in an effective little bit about his absurd front door.) Brooke and Chris start drinking tequila, they hit it off, and Zara, who lives at home and observes few boundaries with her mom, eventually walks in on them upstairs in Brooke's bedroom.

Zara's dismay over her mother's relationship with Chris is not about the age difference (which goes mostly undiscussed), but about the fact that she's seen Chris go through his girlfriend-dumping routine enough times to fear that her mother might get hurt. What follows in the script from Carrie Solomon is one part romance between Chris and Brooke, one part ongoing clash between Chris and Zara, and one part mother-daughter story about Zara and Brooke. And honestly, in this film from director Richard LaGravenese, it all works pretty well!

Joey King as Zara Ford and Zac Efron as Chris Cole in A Family Affair. Tina Rowden/Netflix hide caption

Some of this — particularly an older woman getting involved with a younger male celebrity — may call to mind the recent movie The Idea of You , in which Anne Hathaway fell for a boy band member played by Nicholas Galitzine. I didn't care for that movie at all , in part because it wasn't funny enough, in part because the romance was unconvincing, and in part because the ending lacked emotional resonance. (It was based on a book with a completely different ending, and it turns out you can't just take a carefully built story and flip the ending on its head and have the result make sense.) That book wasn't written to be a romcom, but was adapted and wedged into the romcom box. This, on the other hand, is meant to be one — and it shows.

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Efron is a much more successful, charismatic, and (especially) funny lead than Galitzine (whom I'd liked in Red, White & Royal Blue ) opposite Hathaway in The Idea of You . And it's refreshing to see Kidman happily making out with somebody, at least temporarily making her way out of the haunted-sad-person rut she's been in for the past few years. Chris' relationship with Brooke feels real and brings out nice things in them both, beginning when she explains the Icarus myth so he can understand its connections to his movie franchise, Icarus Rush , which she's never seen. He certainly seems like a dope at first ("I'm Australian." "Oh, do you know Margot Robbie?" "...No." "I do."), but as he gets comfortable, he grows on Brooke, in addition to being, you know, very hot.

All the way back in 2012, I wrote that Efron was making an interesting play to follow in the footsteps of somebody like Ryan Gosling. (At that time, in his mid-twenties, Efron was appearing in a Nicholas Sparks film.) Gosling was also once a Disney kid, and he managed to grow into a very good dramatic actor, a very good comic actor, and a very swoony romantic lead. Efron doesn't have the Oscar nominations just yet, but he was excellent in a pure dramatic role in The Iron Claw in 2023, and he's funny enough here as the willfully goofy hunk that he might have been a pretty terrific Ken if Gosling hadn't been available — or a good Fall Guy .

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King is an established Netflix romcom lead herself, but she does a very nice job here, too. Besides the romance, particularly welcome is the strand of the story about Zara figuring out that the world is not all about her, even in her relationship with her mother. In a scene with her grandmother, played (skillfully as ever) by Kathy Bates, Zara starts to figure out what we all eventually must: Your parents are not only your parents, they are also human beings with lives and thoughts and wants that have nothing to do with you. She has a truth-telling moment with her best friend (Liza Koshy), too, about her problems not lying at the center of the universe, which gives the whole last act a very nice "What if somebody had forcefully told Rory Gilmore to get over herself?" quality.

Nicole Kidman as Brooke Harwood in A Family Affair. Tina Rowden/Netflix hide caption

It's too early to declare some golden age of streaming romcoms, because the ones we get are still wildly uneven, and because on cable, it's not as if they ever went away. But there's some star power here, and some budget, and some writing and directing, that suggests interest in the genre is picking up steam and getting good results.

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Our Favorite Relationship Advice of 2024, So Far

Whether you want to get comfortable talking about sex or become an ace apologizer, these tips are for you.

By Jancee Dunn and Catherine Pearson

Romantic relationships can be a source of deep joy and satisfaction — and also a real pain to navigate.

As reporters who cover relationships for Well, we’re fortunate to spend hours every week talking to researchers, couples counselors and sex therapists who are some of the leading experts on love and who have seemingly endless wisdom to share. (Are our own relationships better for it? You’d have to ask our partners.)

Here is some of the most helpful advice we have heard this year so far, whether you are looking to find new ways of connecting, to spice up your sex life or simply to strengthen your partnership.

1. Learn to give a satisfying apology (in six simple steps).

Saying we are sorry can be difficult because it requires vulnerability and humility, said Lisa Leopold, who researches apologies. She and other experts distilled a good apology to six steps :

First, say “I apologize” or “I’m sorry.” Using an “I” statement strengthens your apology by taking responsibility, Ms. Leopold said.

Second, explain why you’re sorry — being specific about what you’ve done can make the other person feel understood, said Beth Polin, another academic who studies apologies.

Third, acknowledge any harm you’ve caused.

Fourth, vow not to do it again (if that’s realistic).

Fifth, offer to repair the situation.

Finally, let the person know that you desire their forgiveness , not because you want to wriggle off the hook, but “because of how much you care about them,” said Karina Schumann, a social psychologist who specializes in conflict resolution.

For a show of remorse to be truly effective, it should be focused on the other person’s feelings and needs, not your own, Dr. Schumann said.

2. Embrace those awkward sex talks.

Some couples find the prospect of having a frank conversation about sex so uncomfortable, they’d rather split up than attempt it, said Jeffrey Chernin, a therapist in Los Angeles. But he often tells his clients that the only way to have better sex is to talk about it.

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‘a family affair’ review: nicole kidman and zac efron in a netflix rom-com that charms despite missteps.

The Richard LaGravenese-directed film centers on a widowed middle-aged writer having an affair with a younger movie star — who happens to be her daughter's boss.

By Angie Han

Television Critic

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Throughout A Family Affair , daughter Zara ( Joey King ) and mom Brooke ( Nicole Kidman ) argue over just what kind of a man Chris Cole ( Zac Efron ) is. To Zara, he’s a self-absorbed movie star boss who oscillates between unreasonable demands and threats of firing. For Brooke, he’s an attentive lover, the first man to reawaken her to the possibility of romance since the death of Zara’s father, Charlie.

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The first Chris we meet is the obnoxious one. Onscreen, he’s the Marvel-style hero of a terrible-sounding franchise called Icarus Rush ; offscreen, he’s a vain man-child pitching hissy fits at Zara. He calls her at odd hours to send her looking for protein powder, and makes her assemble gift baskets for his dogs with her own money. He runs through girlfriends like tissues, then sends her to pick up his stuff from their houses. He strings her along with the promise of an assistant producer credit, but continually insists she’s not “ready” to do much more than pick up his dry cleaning. None of these gags are especially fresh — Chris is simply every spoiled Hollywood stereotype rolled into one. But screenwriter Carrie Solomon comes at them with the wry fondness of an insider who knows just how ridiculous her industry can be.

All this Hollywood satire is merely set-up for the real plot of A Family Affair , which kicks in once Chris invites himself over to the home Zara shares with her mother. While waiting for her to show, he and Brooke get to talking over tequila shots. The next thing either of them know, Brooke is ripping open the very t-shirt that Chris, only the day before, had screamed at Zara for not treating more gently.

At first, the hook-up is played for laughs. Chris remains his ditzy self, wooing Brooke from lines with his own movies. (“This time I mean it,” he insists when she teasingly calls him out on it.) Zara is so startled to find her mother in bed with her employer that she goes full slapstick, choking on a grape and knocking herself unconscious. Fumbling to explain, Brooke accidentally invokes the same excuse Zara gave her for getting a forbidden eyebrow piercing as a teen: “It made sense at the time when the guy was putting it in.”

In fact, A Family Affair barely leans into the fairy tale of dating a rich and sexy A-lister. In contrast to The Idea of You , with which it shares a superficially similar premise, the film is largely unconcerned with the specific perks or challenges of dating while famous. Brooke is unfamiliar with Chris’ career, and she does not need him to whisk her away on vacations or bring her to fancy galas; she’s done well enough already to have her own cliffside mansion and closet full of designer dresses. Though Chris can’t so much as go for a grocery run without getting swarmed, the couple do not discuss what it might mean to go public with their relationship — and they never have to, since it somehow never happens. The biggest threat to their connection is Zara’s disapproval, not the gap in age and social standing.

Parallels are drawn between Brooke lovingly tending to Zara’s every need through a difficult childhood and Zara catering to Chris’ now. I’d point out that those situations are not remotely the same, and in fact have no business being in the same conversation — just as A Family Affair ‘s Hollywood material and its drama feel at times like they’ve come from two completely different films. But the lines are delivered with such heartfelt tenderness that for a moment, you might be moved in spite of yourself.

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‘A Family Affair’ Review: Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman’s Hollywood-Set Rom-Com Has No Heat

With a puzzlingly uncinematic look and clumsily paced relationship beats, Richard LaGravenese’s dull Netflix offering fizzles.

By Tomris Laffly

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What sets off Zara’s downward spiral is her job resignation, and the spontaneous romance that sparks between Chris and Brooke — the former, a lonely man worshipped but not understood by millions, the latter, jadedly single since the death of Zara’s dad more than a decade ago. Seemingly acting out of protective instincts for her mother — after all, she’s seen what a despicable womanizer Chris can be — Zara complains constantly that her mom is dating her ex-boss, dismissing both Brooke and Genie in their respective needs from her. Brooke thankfully finds the encouragement she doesn’t get from her daughter through a lovely relationship with her legendary editor Leila (Kathy Bates, effortlessly grounding the film), who also happens to be her mother-in-law.

In charting the growing closeness of Chris and Brooke, LaGravenese’s direction is oddly rigid and dull. Across the magical studio lots they stroll through and the private meals they have away from prying eyes, you almost beg the film to loosen up a little and let the beautiful leads organically relax into its rhythm. Instead, “A Family Affair” insists on staccato beats and synthetic visuals. It’s surprising that famed Robert Zemeckis collaborator Don Burgess is behind the film’s shallow, one-note cinematography. Indeed, “A Family Affair” looks so lifeless that you wonder whether it’s being purposely uncinematic, out to fulfill the prophecy of the catch-all phrase “content.”

The production design also leaves a lot to be desired: While Brooke’s idyllic home (the cryptic location of which so doesn’t look like L.A., by the way) is supposed to give off a lived-in Nancy Myers vibe with its fancy kitchen and serenely furnished living spaces, it looks like a showroom at best. Same goes for the Hallmark-card mountain lodge where the film’s main quartet spends Christmas. You’ve probably seen sitcoms with more authentic interiors.

In the end, everything falls into place much as one would expect. Friendships are restored (though poor Genie still gets the short end of the stick), love finds a way, and careers take off. Some of the film’s inside-baseball jokes about a town obsessed with soulless sequels and multiverses fortunately land. But the biggest joke seems to be on “A Family Affair” itself, for wasting Efron’s underrated talents and Kidman’s peerless range so clumsily.

Reviewed online, June 26, 2024. Running time: 111 MIN.

• Production: A Netflix release of a Roth/Kirschenbaum Films production. Producers: Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum. Executive producers: Alyssa Altman, Michelle Morrissey, Carrie Solomon.
• Crew: Director: Richard LaGravenese. Screenplay: Carrie Solomon. Camera: Don Burgess. Editor: Melissa Bretherton. Music: Siddhartha Khosla.
• With: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Liza Koshy, Kathy Bates.

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Millie Bobby Brown Opts for a Romantic—And Affordable—Honeymoon Dress

Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi are honeymooning in style—with Jon Bon Jovi in tow. The Bongiovi clan hit Porto Cervo, Sardinia in their finest summer vacation fashions.

Brown and Bongiovi secretly tied the knot in May. While we may not have the details of their wedding looks, we can at least enjoy their summery honeymoon style. The actor subtly continued bridal dressing in a white minidress with blue broderie anglaise and a scalloped hemline. Consider it her something blue and her something new. With its ruched bodice and flouncy tiered skirt, it’s a lively summer dress—and an affordable one at that. From Club L London, it costs $180, making it a reasonably priced option for those still in the market for seasonal wardrobe pieces.

Keeping with the bridal theme, Brown donned a pair of white Hermès Oran sandals, and she leaned into Mediterranean style with her rectangular sunglasses, gold hoop earrings, and woven purse.

Bongiovi, for his part, also embraced vacay style. He contrasted Brown’s blue with a pale pink seersucker button-up and pressed khakis, which he wore with Wales Bonner Adidas Sambas and slim shades. He wasn’t the only member of his family dressed to unwind. Like his son, Bon Jovi also opted for a lightweight button-up, in a blue that matched his new daughter-in-law’s dress. Meanwhile, Dorothea Hurley—Bon Jovi’s wife and Bongiovi’s mother, for those following along at home—wore a navy shirtdress and metallic T-strap sandals.

Looks like Millie Bobby Brown married into a fashionable family.

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Women Who Shaped History

A Smithsonian magazine special report

History | June 25, 2024

Meet the Forgotten Woman Who Revolutionized Microbiology With a Simple Kitchen Staple

Fanny Angelina Hesse introduced agar to the life sciences in 1881. A trove of unpublished family papers sheds new light on her many accomplishments

Corrado Nai

To study microorganisms in laboratory settings, scientists often rely on a perhaps surprising medium: agar , a jelly-like substance that, when mixed with other nutrients, supports the growth of bacteria and similarly small living things.

But agar hasn’t always fulfilled this function. Prior to the late 19th century, it was more commonly used as an ingredient in desserts and soups. At the time, researchers lacked a method to easily grow microorganisms (also known as microbes) as pure cultures isolated from other species—a crucial step in finding a cure for the diseases caused by these organisms. Solid substances like potato slices and coagulated egg whites presented several drawbacks, chief among them their high opacity. Gelatin offered some advantages, but it was easily consumed by microbes and melted at the high temperatures needed to cultivate bacteria . Adding agar to a nutrient-rich mixture avoided these problems, providing a transparent growth medium that wouldn’t be degraded by bacteria.

Agar’s introduction to the life sciences dates to a hot summer day in 1881, when Fanny Angelina Hesse proposed an unexpected replacement for the gelatin her husband, Walther, was using to study microbes in the air. According to a 1939 journal article , “the maddening liquefaction of gelatin ruined many of the experiments, and finally [Walther] began to seek new solidifying agents.” Hesse, in turn, suggested agar, “which she had been using for years in her kitchen in the preparation of fruit and vegetable jellies.”

Many puddings made in Indonesia contain agar, a gelling agent that, unlike gelatin, doesn’t melt at the blistering temperatures typical in the Southeast Asian country. Though not Indonesian herself, the American-born Hesse had learned about agar’s culinary uses from a neighbor who once lived in the then-Dutch colony.

A complex sugar obtained from red algae, agar (a name derived from “ agar-agar ,” meaning “jelly” in the Malay language) is so important to scientific research that during World War II, when faced with import restrictions from Japan, the substance’s main producer at the time, the United Kingdom recognized the shortage as a national emergency . Across the U.K., citizens started foraging alternative seaweeds in an effort to safeguard the production of vaccines and antibiotics.

Despite agar’s significance, few remember Hesse’s key role in microbiology history. Much of the available information about her life comes from two sources: the 1939 paper about the introduction of agar into bacteriology (the study of bacteria), co-written by Arthur Parker Hitchens and Morris C. Leikind, and a short biography published in 1992 by the couple’s grandson, Wolfgang Hesse. Popular articles about Hesse tend to portray her chiefly as a housewife, but newly resurfaced documents shared by Wolfgang’s children and detailed here for the first time reveal her skill as a scientific illustrator and scholar in her own right. The records will be soon deposited at the Museum at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin.

“Those kinds of materials are a historian’s dream,” says Colleen Puterbaugh, an archivist and public historian at the Center for the History of Microbiology Archives .

I first heard Hesse’s story around 2012, at a workshop in Berlin. What surprised me, over the years, was the realization that even people who use agar every day tend not to know her name. I became determined to learn more about the woman who changed the world thanks to an Indonesian pudding. This quest eventually led me to Hesse’s great-granddaughter, Ursula Angelina von Stockhausen. “Oh, joy of joy,” von Stockhausen wrote in an October 2023 email. “We found what we were looking for”: 11 original illustrations created by Hesse in the summer of 1906. Next year, my colleagues and I hope to build on these drawings and similarly overlooked sources to publish an original graphic novel about Hesse’s many contributions to microbiology.

Hesse (often called Lina) was born Fanny Angelina Eilshemius in New York on June 22, 1850. Her father was a wealthy Dutch merchant who immigrated to the United States as a young man, while her mother, a daughter of the Swiss painter Louis Léopold Robert , was born in Lugano.

Hesse’s parents married in 1849 and had ten children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Hesse was the oldest of the siblings. The artistic spirit ran in the family: She followed in her grandfather’s footsteps by creating scientific illustrations, and her brother Louis Michel Eilshemius found success as a painter in New York City.

Despite living in the U.S., the family had strong ties to Europe. After the upheaval of the Civil War, wealthy Americans frequently visited Europe in the summers, with Germany—particularly the city of Dresden, sometimes referred to as “ Florence on the Elbe ”—emerging as a popular destination. In September 1865, at the age of 15, Hesse was sent to a finishing school in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, to learn French, home economics and decorum, as was common for elite young women of the time.

Back home in the U.S., the family knew the German doctor Richard Hesse, who’d moved to Brooklyn to practice medicine. Richard introduced the Eilshemiuses to his Dresden-based brother, Walther, who’d served as a physician on a German ship traveling to and from New York in the winter of 1872 and 1873. Walther later drew on this experience to write a report on seasickness.

After meeting in New York, Walther and Hesse reconnected in Dresden. The couple married in Geneva in 1874, then settled in the German state of Saxony. A common cause united the duo: the desire to understand the invisible forces that make people fall ill.

As a county physician in the town of Schwarzenberg, near Dresden, Walther investigated the mysterious lung disease afflicting workers in nearby uranium mines. Two decades before Marie Curie ’s discovery of radium in 1898, radioactivity and its pernicious health effects remained poorly understood. Instead, Walther focused his attention on hygiene and dirt particles in the air.

To further his research, Walther studied under hygienist Max von Pettenkofer in Munich in 1878 and 1879. His next position was with Berlin-based bacteriologist Robert Koch , who advised him on the study of microbes in the early 1880s. It was through this final, long-lasting medical interest of Walther’s that the power of agar—and of Hesse’s insight—came into full force.

“Berlin was the Mecca of medical research in the 1880s,” says Benjamin Kuntz, director of the Museum at the Robert Koch Institute. “When Walther joined his lab, Koch was an unknown physician, and he’d just settled down as a young scholar. The house where Koch and Walther worked is still there.”

Agar is the breeding ground that allows microbes to grow, rendering them visible without a microscope. These tiny organisms were first observed in 1674, when Dutch merchant and self-taught scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek spotted what he called “little animals” in plaque scraped from his tooth. “There are more living animals in the unclean matter in the teeth in one’s mouth than there are men in a whole kingdom,” he declared after viewing the specimen under a rudimentary microscope. But seeing doesn’t equate to understanding. Up until the early 1880s, physicians hotly debated whether microbes could cause disease or if they were just byproducts of sick cell tissue.

According to Wolfgang’s 1992 biography, Hesse was Walther’s “major supporter in many different projects,” creating drawings of microscopic samples for her husband’s published papers and aiding him in the lab. In the summer of 1881, Walther, who was attempting to study airborne microbes, grew frustrated with the gelatin used to coat his lab’s glass tubes. “One day, [he] asked Lina why her jellies and puddings stayed solid at these temperatures,” Wolfgang wrote. “She told him about agar-agar.” Stable at high temperatures, resistant to degradation, and easily sterilized and stored for lengthy periods of time, agar enabled long-term cultures , in which microbes can reproduce under controlled conditions, making them easier to analyze.

Walther sent a letter detailing the discovery to Koch, who was trying to determine the cause of tuberculosis, an infectious disease then killing roughly 1 in 7 infected people in Germany. On March 24, 1882, Koch held a highly praised presentation in which he proved that tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium , paving the way for better diagnosis and treatment of the disease. (The anniversary is commemorated annually as World Tuberculosis Day .) A few years later, in 1890, Koch wrote , “One could also indulge in the hope that in the not-too-distant future, the pathogens associated with all contagious diseases could be found.”

Popular accounts of microbiology history sometimes attribute the first use of agar in laboratory settings to Koch. The Nobel Prize website , for example, notes that the scientist “invented new methods … of cultivating pure cultures of bacteria on solid media such as potato, and on agar.” In his 1882 lecture , Koch mentioned agar’s role in discovering Mycobacterium tuberculosis but failed to acknowledge the Hesses’ contributions to his research. The couple themselves never wrote a report about agar, which might explain why their names are virtually unknown today.

Though Koch publicized agar’s applications, he didn’t immediately recognize its superiority as a microbial growth medium. For years, scientists ( Walther included ) continued to debate the merits of gelatin versus agar. At a time when women had no place in the lab (and almost nowhere beyond the kitchen), Hesse’s achievement was unassuming, everlasting and—as is often the case in scientific disciplines—gradual.

“In the Hesse family, this contribution to bacteriology was hardly ever mentioned,” Wolfgang wrote. “Lina never spoke about it, probably because she was a very unassuming person.”

Hesse died in December 1934, 23 years after her husband, who died in July 1911. The 1939 journal article offered a brief overview of her pioneering career but noted, “We know little of her early life.” The 1992 biography, based on a longer unpublished account written in German, was stripped of many personal details during editing and its translation into English. The cover of the journal in which the essay appeared features one of Hesse’s stunning scientific illustrations.

An unassuming parenthetical in Wolfgang’s biography alludes to these artworks’ existence, stating, “The author is proud to possess his grandmother’s original drawings.” This sentence eventually led me to Wolfgang’s children, who shared 11 illustrations drawn by Hesse for Walther’s last publication . A series of plates with splashes of watercolor, the images document the dilution of fecal samples to quantify intestinal bacteria growing on a nutrient-rich agar plate. Though they look hastily created, they’re accurate and informative.

The Hesse family also shared unseen family portraits, as well as the full biography written by Wolfgang. To tell his grandparents’ story, Wolfgang drew on scientific and personal documents preserved by Hesse, as well as his own memories of his grandmother. (Walther died before Wolfgang was born in 1915.) The unpublished biography brings to light new details about Hesse’s early and late life. From Wolfgang’s perspective, readers meet a loving grandmother who enjoyed telling stories and spending time with her grandchildren, often surprising them at Christmas with her special puddings.

The newly uncovered materials paint a portrait of a placid, humble woman who took care in preserving her husband’s life’s work. Hesse never spoke about her role in introducing agar to the life sciences, though at least one scholarly work linked her name to agar during her lifetime. This might explain why her mark in collective memory has been so different from others who introduced great innovations or made grand discoveries—and didn’t hesitate to act upon their grandeur. Koch, for one, lamented in his 1905 Nobel Prize lecture that his warnings regarding tuberculosis had “been unheeded.” Leeuwenhoek added the prestigious-sounding suffix “van” to his name after he achieved fame.

Agar is still essential today. It has been the breeding ground for countless world-changing discoveries, from antibiotics to gene editing tools like CRISPR . Recent shortages of seaweed due to overharvesting sent waves of alarm through the scientific research community, which lacks real alternatives to agar. No one knows this better than lichenologists, who study the symbiosis between fungi, algae and other microbes that form lichens . “Culturing is a crucial skill for lichenologists,” says Lucia Muggia , a scientist at the University of Trieste in Italy. “For a study published in 2018, we tested an alternative gelling agent, alginate. And while we didn’t see many changes in how lichens formed under these lab settings, agar was still more practical to handle, so we stuck with it.”

We are creating a graphic novel about Fanny Angelina Hesse, the forgotten woman who introduced agar to the life sciences... & we need your support! Please help if you can! https://t.co/Jg02RKN9YG Wonderful team includes @jens2go @matteofarinella @eliza_coli @JoVerran & many more! — Corrado Nai (@jan_corro) June 12, 2024

Hitchens and Leikind, the authors of the 1939 journal article, pointed out that “lesser innovations and discoveries are commemorated with the name of the innovator.” A short report published in 1887 by Julius Petri, for instance, made that scientist a household name, forever associated with the glass dishes that often hold an agar-based growth medium, despite the fact that other scholars boast stronger claims to the invention.

“Could not ‘plain agar’ from now on be designated as ‘Frau Hesse’s medium?’” Hitchens and Leikind asked. “Her contribution to bacteriology makes her immortal.” The authors might have been more successful if they’d suggested calling agar plates “Hesse plates”—the counterpart of Petri dishes. Eighty-five years after the article’s publication, Hesse’s name is sadly still unknown to most.

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Corrado Nai | READ MORE

Corrado Nai is full-time parenting and part-time writing. He has a PhD in microbiology and used agar every day for over ten years. He is currently writing a graphic novel about Fanny Angelina Hesse’s story and legacy, which can be supported through Kickstarter .

Home / Essay Samples / Sociology / Family Relationships / Strengthening Family Relationships: Strategies and Insights

Strengthening Family Relationships: Strategies and Insights

• Category: Sociology , Life
• Topic: Family Relationships , Relationship

Pages: 2 (738 words)

Views: 1041

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Types of Family Relationships and Its Importance

Building good relationships.

• Trust: This is the foundation of every good relationship. When you trust your partner, you form a powerful bond that helps you grow and communicate more effectively. If you trust your friends, you can be open and honest in your thoughts and actions without the fear of being snitched. You don’t have to be keep watching your back every time. Why on earth will you be friends with someone you do not feel safe with? That is self-sabotage if you ask me.
• Mutual Respect: When you respect your friends, you value their principles and personality. You will accept them wholly for who they are without making insulting comments or actions to malign or ridicule them.
• Mindfulness: This means taking responsibility for your words and actions. Those who are mindful are careful and deliberate with what they say or do so it does not hurt their friends negatively.
• Welcoming Diversity: People with good relationships not only accept diverse people and opinions, but they welcome them. For instance, when your friend offers a different opinion from yours, you take the time to consider the validity of their views without getting unnecessarily worked up.
• Open Communication: Communication is the bedrock of every human interaction. We communicate with people every day through the simple exchange of words. The better and more effectively you communicate with those around you, the richer your relationships will be. All good relationships depend on open, honest communication.
• Tolerance: There is no man or woman on the surface of the earth that is completely perfect. We all have our weakness and imperfections. Your friends do and so do you. Make up your mind to tolerate and forgive their little misbehavior and personality flaws. Learn to ignore some insignificant offences. You do not need to fret over everything.

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