In theory, people make decisions about how to engage, romantically or otherwise, with other people based on a set of criteria by which they evaluate the other person's qualities. In some situations an individual may consciously think about the criteria, or qualities, that they are looking for in that individual and then evaluate whether the person meets the criteria. In most cases, however, the person does not consciously think about this process, but simply "knows" whether he likes the other person or not. In some cases, the most important criteria, at least initially, are superficial attributes, such as race, appearance, or material wealth. Furthermore, the individual will sometimes know intuitively that the other individual is not suited to starting a relationship but is overwhelmed by the superficial appearance. For all these reasons relationships sometimes fail as the initial assessment may be based on qualities that are not truly the most important for a lasting relationship. I will try to show that, based on two characters from AmericanKnees, their relationships failed, or at least struggled, because they did not explore the other person's most important qualities. A second subthesis of this discussion concerns the relationships chosen for individuals. For example, a mother, father, or sibling would fall into this category. In these situations, the individual does not make the same type of evaluation since no decision is necessary to become involved in the relationship. However, at some point in an individual's life, they actually recognize that a relative meets or does not meet the most important criteria for a lasting relationship. In these cases... middle of the paper... making fun of my mother... and I was ashamed." This shows how humiliated young Beccah truly was during this episode. She even admonishes herself since she didn't do anything to protect her mother "from the sharp teeth of children." characteristics that she didn't like and that made Beccah's life much more difficult. She intuitively knew that her mother didn't have some of the qualities she wanted and this frustrated her tragic circumstances), it's clear that she was angry, frustrated and embarrassed at times - and on some level wished she could have had a different parent.