Preface Event #1

Dear Preface Planning Committee,

            I attended the Preface event, “Breaking up is hard to do: A closer look at intimate relationships” and Frances Jarratt-Hortis was the speaker of the night. The event was on September 20, 2012 from 6 PM to 7 PM. Frances Jarratt-Hortis talked about being in love and being in relationships as college students. We watched a few YouTube videos about being in a relationship while in college. She also asked the audience a lot of questions and did a poll with our answers. I thought the event was perfect for college students who are in relationships.

            The event was definitely a lot more different than I thought it was going to be. I pictured a speaker giving a lecture and giving us statistics on college romances. But that was not really the case. She was very active with the audience, asking us questions about our own relationships and letting us answer honestly. It was a very fun environment, which I really liked a lot. Love and relationships are something every college student is bound to run into at some point in their lives, so I believe that this event really benefited people.

            The only thing I wish the speaker had done was give more facts. Out of everything we talked about, she only gave us a few facts about relationships. She told us that 75% of college couples do not even get married; she gave us the warning signs of a toxic relationship, and some other little things. Everything else we talked about were just opinions, which is great because it is good to hear other people’s opinions and what they believe. But I think some more facts would have been really good.

            I found at least one connection with the event and Sway. In Chapter 4, the Brafman brothers talk about the diagnosis bias and how it affects lovesick college students that are in a new relationship. The students ignored the warning signs in their partner and chose to continue in the relationship, thinking that it would work out in the end. We all believe that nothing like that would ever happen to us. Most likely, it will happen to a majority of college students, maybe even me.

            I’m really glad I attended this event because I feel that it was very beneficial for me. As a college freshman, I’m going to be experiencing new things. I’m 99% sure that at some point or another, I will meet a guy and fall head over heels in love with him. Now, I feel better prepared to go into a relationship, knowing what I want and what will be a deal breaker for me. Also, I know the signs of an unhealthy relationship and know that I need to get out of it. Overall, this was a very interesting event and I feel good about attending it. Other than more facts, I would not change a thing about the event.