Gina Nespoli
Sep 27 2006 12:00AM
On Sept. 20, Pensacola Junior College hosted “Relating, Dating, and Mating.” The presentation was about healthy relationships with family, friends, and that special someone. Ellen Gootblatt, a nationally known speaker, spoke sternly to her audience. Her main motto to the audience was to treat themselves well and make themselves fabulous before reaching out to anyone else.
Gootblatt touched on subjects not usually discussed at a college, such as, intimate romance, sexuality, men’s issues, and women’s issues.
“I’m liberal when it comes to adult issues, but conservative when it comes to teenagers,” Gootblatt said.
Jessica Marshall, 21, works in the Student Center and had been planning for this presentation all week.
“I was going through a bad breakup so it came at a perfect time,” she said. “I just wish everyone had heard her, especially young women.”
Marshall said the presentation was “very informative” and opened her eyes on what a healthy relationship was.
“Ellen said something that my mother used to tell me, ‘People that are bringing you down in your life need to be dropped’ and that really hit home with me.”
One of the topics was not changing the person you are with. Gootblatt said, “It’s a package deal, flaws and all.” It’s something many teenagers and adult women need to hear, which is the reason Gootblatt chose to speak at PJC.
Gootblatt said, “Be smart from the get go, and never invite nonsense into your lives.”
