Marvin Hinton Essays - Interpersonal Relationships,

Marvin Hinton English 101.46 03/01/00 The Expository Essay During life, a significant factor is the relationship with another. There are many aspects to a relationship that will make it strong or long lasting. Looks may seem to be important but in the long run they prove not to be. Looks can be changed through surgery and can fade with age. There are four qualities that should be found in a good strong relationship. These four factors will never change no matter what kind of relationship one is in or what one looks like. The four factors that make a good relationship are commitment, trust, caring, and communication. In any relationship, if any of these four factors are missing then the relationship will not last long. Commitment is an important factor in building a strong and successful relationship. Commitment keeps a relationship together through the good and the bad times. Whether a partner in a relationship is suffering through hard times, the couple if committed will pull through. A strong relationship that is committed will make it through the major and the minor crisis of life. A minor crisis that could put a strain on a relationship could be considered as something simple such as the breaking of a date or one person having no money. A major crisis may be one partner going off to war or having to leave town for several months on business. If the relationship is committed then a couple will survive these crisis. Commitment is a step in building a strong relationship. Marvin Hinton 2 The second part of a successful relationship is trust. Trust is like the "I love you" of a relationship. Trust means that when one partner wants to go out for a night on the town with his or her friends that they will not cheat. When a couple is out together for a night that the other partner will not be flirting with other people in the room. A couple that trusts each other will give each other space to do their own thing. Trust allows a relationship to grow because there is not the constant worry of what the other party is doing. Trust is when there are selected responsibilities that each partner may have and makes sure are fulfilled. Responsibilities such as making sure the trash is taken out or the bills are paid on time. Building trust in a relationship could even consist of making sure that if there is a dinner date that both parties are on time. Even though destroying trust can happen in an instant, building trust takes lots of time. Building trust in a relationship takes time and effort while destroying it could be as simple as cheating or not showing up when a date is scheduled. The third part of a successful relationship is caring. There is no way to truly describe what caring is but it is an intimate part of any relationship. Caring is a feeling or emotion. Caring is a feeling or emotion that cannot be readily described in words but still a feeling. Caring is missing your partner when they are away or being sad when they are not feeling well. Caring in a relationship is an emotion that can only be described using other emotions. When two people care for each other in a relationship form a bond which is hard to break even when common sense tells them that they need to. This bond is so strong that even abusive couples will stay together. The couple thinks that they care for each other enough that the abuse does not matter. Caring is the fabric of building a strong relationship. The fourth and most important part of a relationship is communication. Communications is the problem solver of a relationship and could also be the destroyer of Marvin Hinton 3 a relationship. Communication is important because the beginning of any relationship. Any relationship starts with communication because that is how you meet the person. A relationship will not get started if the communication is not there. Communication separates a purely physical relationship with no meaning from a true strong relationship. Communication in a relationship should be honest. Communication makes two people one. When a couple knows each others likes and dislikes communication is strong. Communication lets a couple talk about their problems and can help resolve many of them. In a relationship with no communication a small problem can cause a rift which will lead to a break up. This is why communication is an