Dinner at the Takallou's

Over the years I have discovered that dinner time in my family is a lot more relaxed than most everyday family dinners. Although we try too, we don't have sit down dinners everyday due to our schedule's which are not easily lined up. We normally have sit down dinners three times a week at home, and go out once a week. For us, dinner time is a time to catch up, see how everyones day has been, and eat. We don't stress much about presentation either, our dinner's normally consist of self serve and all you can eat. Our typical dinner consists of rice and various types of typical Persian stews, however my mom tries to change it up by adding different foods from other cultures such as tacos, curry, or pasta. Unlike dinner's with other family that I have attended, we keep it super casual provided a calm and open space to simply talk and catch up with each other. A few things that I notice are a change in discussion, assigned seats, and stricter etiquette. Dinning at friends houses has made me realize how different each family is and how we should respect their own rules or etiquette they run by.

Sarah Sonia Takallou

My full name is Sarah Sonia Takallou. Their are not many other Sarah Takallou's out there so I embrace it in every way I can. To start, my first name is really nothing too special or sentimental. There are 818,553 people in the U.S with the first name, so I do my best to make it own and embrace it in my own way. It's not really something that stands out or shocks people, however it's grown on me over the years. Simple and apparent. My parents chose it because they thought it sounded sophisticated, strong, and presidential, but also serves as cute and girly due to it's Greek meaning "princess". Sarah a common Americanized name however can also dualize with posing as an Iranian name by adding an added stress on the second A. My middle name is more accustomed with my Iranian back round. I was handed this name down my great grandmother due to her wisdom and kindness. I don't use it often or refer to myself by it, however it's nice to know it's their and where it comes from. Finally, my last name is something a little more nontraditional and noticeable. It neither sounds Persian or American, quite honestly I'm not sure where it comes from. Defined, "tak" means unique and "lou" means a grouping, so we like to construe our last name as a "one of a kind family". Having such a diverse name like this one can lead to some challenges. Over the years I have heard nicknames from "Tackle-you" to "Talk-alot" and even sometimes "Tickle-you".  Besides that, I've heard every mispronounced version of my name their is from people that don't know me. Despite how weird and quirky my last name sounds, it's a name I hold and am proud of. It shows how I am and groups me with the family I am apart of and honored to represent. My name, Sarah Sonia Takallou, is something I posses and have made my own over the years. Although it was handed down to me, I hope I did my part by using it well and transforming it to fit my own personality.

What Identify's You Best

While both my parents are Iranian immigrants, my brother and I were raised under an American household here in California. My parents came to America from Iran for educational proposes, as well as the Iranian Revolution in 1979. My dad came at the age of 16 in pursuit of a better life and college experience, and my mom came when she was younger with her family, both not knowing a single word of English. From Iran, they carried with them something that they could never let go of, their native culture. 

Coming from an all Persian background, I have been influenced by a number of Persian cultures and traditions that were carried out through my family. We celebrate a number of Persian holiday's in my house such as Persian New Year and Eid in March. Like most Persians, I am very close with my family and love drinking tea with candies. Although I do respect and love celebrating my heritage's culture, I identify myself as more American and Westernized. I am so grateful to come from such a diverse background such as Iran, however growing up in California, I see myself more accustomed to American-like ways of living, more casual and less conservative. Overall, my Iranian background is something I will always hold onto and cherish because it will always be apart of me, but I do not completely identify myself as a perfect Persian.

A Life Worth Living

Make your life worth living, because you have the power to do so. I believe life is about the built up adrenaline rush that follows up with taking risks and exploring new things. Without taking risks and living under constant rational decisions, we live on an ongoing treadmill with no climax or culminations. Although it may seem irrational to swim with sharks or jump out of an airplane thousand of feet above ground, both dangerous and puts your life at high risk, people still do it for the rush that it comes with. Humans were not designed to constantly make rational decisions just to simply live, its the irrational decisions that make life worth living. When making decisions that make you feel excited, scared, or anxious, you know you are living a life worth living.

Only Idiots Don't Have Contradictions

Throughout my life I have come across contradictions that I dig myself into, whether knowing it or not. One of my biggest contradictions that I face almost everyday is procrastination. Although I know starting my homework earlier is best for me and I hate being stressed out when leaving homework to the last minute, I often do anyways. I don't know how or why this happens but it always does. I even point out other people's procrastination without acknowledging my own problem with it first. In the past trying to resolve this problem,  I have made a number of homework plans and schedules outlining when to do my homework on time. After realizing that not even planning and my will to correct the contradiction within procrastination, I have come to terms with it and decided to live with this paradox in my life.

Contradictions are a normal part of life that everyone obtain, even if they don't realize it. Everyone has either been wrong about something they were sure about, hypocritical, or deceptive at some point in their life. It's not something we control and we can't be blamed for it, "only idiots don't have contradictions" (McCandless).

Therapy Duty

What a day in the office I had! My nine a.m. session with Pettrucio and Kathrine couldn't have gotten any worse. The two are so perfectly alike, they can't bear to stay in one room together without a fight. The two were so severely in need of therapy I could barley recognize them as a couple. Both headstrong, outspoken, and verbally (sometimes physically) rude. Any who, to start, I recognized some unusual behavior between the two...well unusual for a supposedly happily married couple for the very least. As soon as they walked into my office they were bickering about some hat the Pettrucio didn't like, which to be honest did in fact resemble a walnut. When I asked them their names Pettrucio introduced himself first then as Kathrine was about to open her mouth he overpowered her by his overarching voice introducing her as Kate. When Kate added that her name is not Kate, but Kathrine, her lovely husband told her to bite her tongue. Katherine the powerful, outspoken women she is responded by striking him further leading into an even bigger argument. Stuck in the middle of the two, being on opposite sides, I noticed a recurring theme from just a few minutes into meeting the delightful couple. From this first encounter with the couple, I automatically identified a sense of an attempted single sided dominance in the relationship. As the session continued the bickering got louder and more serious, I asked to talk to the two separately to get some real answers.
As for Petruccio, the obscene male in the relationship, had an interesting view over Kathrine. Or is it Kate? We will go with Kate for now. When I asked him how he thought his relationship with Kate was going, he responded with a an interesting tactic he made up on how to work it out. Petruccio told me he wishes to "tame her", the shrew, being Kate. He told me he would do this by acting out against every minor detail and to starve and tire her out so she will come to him and eventually submit to him. I have never in my 20 years of counseling have heard such mockery. Thank goodness they came here because this man must be nuts.
Moving on to Kathrine. As disgusted as I was while talking to Petruccio, my visit with Kathrine went much more smoothly. It does in fact seems as if she does truly love him despite calling him a "beslubbering beef-witted barnacle" give or take a few times. Other than that she says she does want to work on their relationship however she will not loose her voice.
After examining this bitter sweet relationship I gave them a set of long and short term goals to work on in order to turn the two into a happy couple. The first and most important is treating each other with respect and as equals, rather than property and owner. The second being that the two must work on communicating rather than yelling at each other. Third, and lastly, is that the two need to understand that since they are so equally loud and outspoken, they need to work on agreeing with each other to an extent while keeping an opinion of their own.
Well my job for today is done. What a relief I need a nap!

More Than a Name

A name symbolizes much more than just a word labeled onto you. It is something that you were given at birth permitting you with a sense of individual identity, and is worth holding onto. The tradition of the women in the relationship giving up her maiden name after marriage can easily be asserted to problems, including gender inequality. This controversy behind the tradition goes way back, showcasing how women are inferior to men by giving up there name, expanding on their spouses legacy and robbing them off their family tie. Although a single name throughout a whole family is easier and creates a closer knot between siblings and parents, it also takes away from the identity behind the wife's maiden name. Even though it is the tradition is for women to change their maiden name once married, there are other options such as using a hyphen or just keeping it as is. Thankfully, today we modernized the tradition by giving the women opportunities as to what they would like to do in regards to their name. Today, I don't think this is as big of a deal considering women of our generation are given the upper hand to choose and there are many other traits in which define a person other than the name originally labeled onto you.