The New Pope

With the new papal enclave finally coming to a close after the election of Pope Francis, I believe there needs to be some changes made within the Catholic Church.  Firstly, I believe the Church needs to modernize their rules and beliefs and keep up with the ever changing world around them.  I believe the Church needs to have a different and more positive outlook on gay marriage and become more flexible around this.  Even though God created men and women to join together and reproduce and it is said in the Bible, the Church should not take it so literally and not prohibit others happiness.
Also, I think the Church really needs to stay on top of the Church sex scandals and really put them to rest.  It is terrible and sickening enough that a person cannot even trust their own priest, and those accused of scandals should have a greater punishment.  Such scandals taking place in the Church exemplifies those apart of the Church sneaking around and going against the rules, which needs to be ended immediately.
I also think the new Pope should help modernize the Church in ways such as having women priests and allowing priests to marry.  This would be a significant milestone for the Church and women should be allowed to have the same opportunities given in the Church as of men.  Even though priests is primarily a male's job, society in the last 20 years has changed immensely that is giving women different opportunities and the same opportunities as men, and I think the Church should take part in the change as well.

Dating: What's the Point

Dating and hooking-up still continues to be an ongoing argument between adults and teenagers on what is or is not appropriate.  From my opinion on this topic simply states, adults need a reality check.  Meaning no offense to this statement, I am justly saying that hooking-up is more praised in society today through media and celebrities, and dating has become almost "abnormal" for a teenager.  As the article states, hooking-up has a wide range of definitions between teenagers and adults, but hooking-up depends on the person. Personally, hooking-up does not mean immediately sexual intercourse, but it is actions that take place on the 4th date or so.  To me, hooking-up is not just a small kiss on the cheek or lips, even though that is what parents want to hear.  Hooking-up to me is passionate kissing that can sometimes NOT ALL THE TIME lead to something bigger, depending on both person's motives.  For example, I was abruptly introduced to hooking-up when I was a Freshmen and went to the Prep mixer with my friends.  Not knowing what to expect, my naive mind assumed it was a chance to meet guys and hang out with friends, not grinding and gross hook-ups.  Because it was such a different and scary environment for me, I called my mom to pick me up early to go home.  Unfortunately, I was one of the few who left the mixer early; everyone stayed to participate in the hooking-up scene.  Yes, hooking-up is not something a parent wants to hear their child taking part in, but it seems to be such a norm in society now that even 14-year-old Freshmen are taking part in hooking-up. 
Personally, I prefer dating over hooking-up.  I do not like hooking-up because I am a sensitive girl who believes in love and romance and fairy tales, and do not want to be taken advantage of willingly by a guy that I may not ever talk to again.  That make's me uncomfortable and me being the romantic that I am, would want to stay in-touch with the guy after the hook-up, when he probably does not want to talk to me.  With my experience of being in a relationship for a year now with the same guy, I realize how immature hooking-up is and how happy I am being in a relationship with a guy I can trust and create memories with. Hooking-up and dating all depends on what a person wants on the inside and what their form of fun is, but for me hooking-up is not worth it and I prefer a relationship.