My cousin (20M) and me (18F) practically grew up together to the point that we consider ourselves siblings. Our parents usually have the two of us making preliminary discussion before buying anything big, and that's something that happened.

Now he's a tech guy, so that is his sphere. Sometime a couple of years ago, he built his own computer with an emphasis on gaming. He then pitched to NY father about building a computer for me this time, with an emphasis on content creation. My father agreed and we went and bought the pieces.

He built it in front of me and I sat on the side, bringing him stuff when he asked for it. For someone who knew next to nothing about tech (my sphere is animals and creative writing), it was very enlightening to see all the different pieces and how they came together to form one working monolith.

Not only that, but whenever curiosity got the better of me and I asked what a particular part was, he'd give me an extensive explanation about it.

I found that all these pieces actually had their own stories, but when put together, worked like magic.

This is what a family is, a computer.

Each part of the computer is a working piece in its own right, but when they are all put together, they form a computer. This doesn't mean that any piece is less of a working individual piece.

This is what a family is; it is a working monolith in which every member (piece) is an individual in their own right, but when they come together, they make a working family. Each piece has it's own sphere of work, and all serve to compliment each other.

This is when the self improvement part of RPW comes in. Before we even think about giving ourselves up to the idea of something bigger than ourselves, we need to first be individuals in our own right. We need to first work on our own before we can fit into a family.

Keep in mind, this doesn't always mean having a career. In fact, it differs from woman to woman. For some, it does mean a career, for others it could be going on a spiritual getaway or trying out a new hobby.

All in all, you need to first be an individual, a human, a person and a woman before you can even begin to carry the title of girlfriend, wife or mother.

Some food for thought, but how many of you have this dynamic? How many of you are working pieces that fit perfectly into a bigger concept?