Divorces

That night they broke the news we weren’t going to be the same as a family anymore. Things were going to start to change and my sister and I would be spending the weekends with my father, but the rest of the time with my mother. Half of all American children will witness the breakup of their parents’ marriage. Of these children, close to half will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage. Divorce tends to focus on the two main parties involved, but the psychological effects of it span much further than just the parents. Through my personal experience of my family going through a divorce, to being on the outside looking into a divorce happening to someone close to me, and how society views divorces.
Experiencing a divorce is something nobody ever wants to go through. It is one of the worst things for people to experience. My parents got a divorce when I was 15 years old. The divorce wasn’t too hard on me because I was old enough to understand what was going on, but my sister was 11 years old and really struggled through this time. My sister, Brittnee, never knew what to do, she didn’t want to pick a side and make one of them mad. She always thought she wasn’t making the right decision and my parents would make her feel guilty. We would talk to each other all the time about the situation and I would try to help her though this rough time. Even though we were each other’s outlets, I had a few more. I would go to my best friend, Andrea, and my grandma if I ever needed to vent, a hug or a shoulder to cry on.
Being on the outside of a divorce, even of someone with whom I am very close, is a completely different experience. My boyfriend, TJ, and his sister, Emily, are going through the same thing my sister and I did. It is completely different being on the outside looking in. I see all of the emotions that my sister and I went through. Now I am the outlet for both of them. I feel like I can understand them while I am giving them advice because I know what they are going through.
Even though the psychological effects on children are often overlooked, we can’t forget about the psychological effects that society has on actual parties involved, whether it be through social media sites, television or tabloids, or peer to peer interaction. For example, the Katy Perry and Russell Brand divorce. Not only did she have to go through the mental and physical part alone, but everywhere she looked society was talking about her and the whole situation. Katy couldn’t turn the channel without hearing everyone