Amir's Guilty Conscience

Amir needs to be atoned first for simply watching Hassan get physically and sexually assaulted and doing nothing to stop it. He also needs to be atoned for later lying to Ali about when after being asked if he knew if something happened to him. The guilt of everything is eating away at Amir; every time he looks at Hassan he gets a headache, not because he's truly sick, but because his subconscious is letting him know that what he did was wrong and he should come clean and ask for forgiveness. Poor Hassan has no idea and thinks he did something wrong to Amir which is causing him not to want to play with him anymore. It isn't fair to Hassan what he's doing to him; he gets beat up and raped for Amir's sake and yet he is still trying to be his friend and Amir doesn't know how to handle his emotions. He lashes out at Hassan hoping he'll lash back to make things better, but with the kind heart that he has, he does the opposite which is even harder on Amir. He needs to just give Hassan a break and clear his conscience from the guilt and just let him know what happened. If Hassan is as kind and loyal to Amir as he has always been up to this point, he should still be that way after he finds out. Hassan has the right to know why his friend won't play with him anymore, especially when it's not his fault; he's been through enough.

Atonement

Atonement: satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.

I believe that atonement for past sins and mistakes is possible, if the proper actions are taken and for certain situations. If you accidentally do something, and you make up for it later like you spill something, or you run into someone and knock them down then atonement is very possible. However, if you intentionally bring harm to someone whether verbally or physically, I feel that atonement is very difficult, especially if you are not sincere about it. I think it can also only truly work when the person that did the wrong thing and the other person involved forgive (one forgives the other, and the person forgives himself) then atonement can work, otherwise, there's no way to truly be atoned for the action.

Mistake At Sea

I made a mistake on the last night of my cruise vacation once, back when I was about 15 or 16. My parents told me to come to the room around 11-12:00; they also told me not to go into anyone else's room either. So my friend Taylor and I went to the club then got sick of it ad went to chill with our friends in one of their rooms. Taylor left me and went back to the club, but I was sick of it and stayed in the room. We were chilling in the room talking and joking and what not and lost track of time. I finally got service back in my cell phone after not having any from being out at sea. It was beeping like crazy telling me that I had about 9 voicemail messages. I realized they were from my parents telling me I would be in big trouble when they found me. I quickly left the room and ran back to mine and I ran into my dad on the way back who looked worried and then furious when he saw me. Apparently they thought I was kidnapped or killed or something and thrown overboard because I was MIA (to what I thought was only 1:00) but in reality it was 5-6:00am. They sent out my picture and had the whole cruise staff looking for me, and Taylor wouldn't tell them where I was because he was mad that I didn't want to go back to the club. I made the mistake of not caring about my rules and curfew my parents set for me. I was grounded for 2 weeks after we got home, but they were more happy that I was alive and safe rather than being mad that I didn't listen to them.

Preview to: What if...All the Boys Wanted You

The Front Cover
•Title/Author/Awards- What if...All the Boys Wanted You by Liz Ruckdeschel and Sara James; no awards
•Picture/Words- four strips of pictures (different people doing different things) top- a girl's shoulders wearing dressy attire and pearls, second- a girl's hips in casual attire just resting on a wall, third- a girl's knees wearing soccer socks on a field running in front of a goal, and bottom- a girl's feet trying on different shoes.; words- top corner: "a choose you destiny novel".
•What do you think the book is about? Topic/Big Picture? I think, judging by the cover with each picture showing something different, that it is either about four different girls that are friends and they are dealing with life situations together, or about just one girl with different sides to her.
•Jot down 2 questions you have. "What does the cover pictures have to do with the story?" "How does the title tie into the message of the book?" "What IF all the boys wanted you?"

The Back Cover
•Synopsis or Plot Preview? Hayley has a whole new look but the same problems and people to deal with as in the book before this one -"What if...Everyone Knew Your Name". Queen bees Coco and Whitney want to groom her to become the next Coquette now that they've kicked Sasha to the curb, but is she exactly ready to remake herself in their images for a shot at popularity? Meanwhile, free-spirited Sasha's dad is MIA, and she doesn't know how to deal. She starts to cope in some seriously unhealthy ways, but can Hayley help bring her back to reality? Funny, artistic Irene is ready to head off to San Fransisco with Hayley, but if Hayley can't make new friends and keep the old who will she choose?
•Review/Praise/Acclaim? Overall what is your impression. I think this is a very interesting book that I might be able to relate to in one way or another.
•Does the back cover reveal anything about the story (time period, characters, setting, etc.)? If so, jot down some notes. It reveals the characters and their various struggles throughout the story, as well as their relationship with Hayley. It reveals part of the setting- San Fransisco and in my opinion it's in present day.

Inside the Book
•Copyright/Publication date? 2006
•Is there a dedication? no
•Table of Contents? Chapter Titles? #’s? no table of contents; each chapter has a title that tells an overall summary of the chapter along with a subtitle that breaks it down more specifically, for example "Skip School, There's a reason schools are called institutions".
•Open to a random page and read a few paragraphs. What is the author’s writing style? The authors write in detail and use a lot of dialog.

OVERALL IMPRESSION
Based on your preview of the book, what do you think it may be about? What types of characters, issues, themes, etc… do you think you will encounter? What sort of background information (already known or researched) do you think you will need to understand the story? Write down 3 questions you hope to have answered by the end of the story. I think it will a be good book filled with friendship, betrayal, and more.

The Beginning of the End

It was about two o'clock on a cloudy Thursday afternoon. Tensions were very high and everyone was alert and ready for the unexpected. The battle ground is always a dangerous and nerve racking place to be; one never knows what the future holds, what the enemy is planning, what's around the next corner, or when the time comes to realize this might be the end. Each soldier lives in the moment, in the here and now, the next minute is never promised in war so time is of the essence. Actions must be taken quickly, but at the same time, within a well thought out plan -one thing goes wrong, the whole squad could be blown to the sky. I told each and every one of my men to live by this rule: kill, or be killed. The opposition will not spare your life when they are fighting for their own, there is no reason for you to spare their's. My apologies, I seemed to have digressed. Anyway, tensions were high and everyone was alert and ready for what was to come. We weren't sure when the last and final battle would begin, we just knew as soon as it started that we would have to be the ones to finish it. We lay hidden behind some rocks so that we were not in sight of the other side. It was quiet...too quiet. All I could hear was the water rushing down the stream and the quick, faint breaths from my men as they anxiously panted waiting for something to happen; it was the calm before the storm. I sent one of them around the side of the bank as a look out to check if we could move forward. He slowly and very cautiously crept around looking every which way, trying not to be seen, not make any sharp movements, and not to make a sound. He realized there was nothing to fear, he yelled and signaled to us that the cost was clear (thought it truly wasn't). I was about to sent my troops forward but i noticed something falling from the sky. As it came closer into my focus i realized what it was. It hit the ground about two feet from my lookout and exploded shooting dirt, dust, and rocks into the air. I ordered him to return on the double, but once the bomb fell, guns were fired in his direction. I wasn't sure if that would be the last time I would ever see him, but I'll never forget the startled look on his face during the ambush as he frantically charged back to the safety of the troop. I knew in that instant that the other side had initiated the first blow, final battle had begun...

Does Evil Stand a Chance?

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.
- Edmund Burke

I agree with that statement. There will always be good vs. evil, and I feel that the only time evil stands a chance to win, is when good people don't take a stand at all; when they sit back and do nothing, anything can happen. Evil can win by doing bad things, but they also have an advantage when good people see it and don't do anything to stop it. In my opinion, if you let it happen, you are just as bad as the person doing it. You don't necessarily have to take action yourself, but you could at least notify someone who can.

What should I do?

When making a decision, I take into consideration every possible outcome, both good and bad. I work out a plan on how to go about doing something, if it is possible to achieve, I will usually make th decision to go through with it; if not, I will most likely decide against it, or come up with a new plan. For instance, when deciding on colleges, I had to make a decision upon where to go. So I sent out applications to the potential places I wanted to go to. Once I got into about four or five of my choices, I had to make a decision to pick one. I took into consideration the education, location/distance from home, the campus, dorms, places around it, food, etc. It was possible to go there, and it met all of my needs and wants, so I decided on going to IUP. Another decision I had to make, was about religion -since my parents practiced different religions. When I was old enough to be whatever I wanted, I had to fgure out whether I wanted to practice Judism or Christianity. I realized that I related more to the Christian faith, plus my father isn't very religious, I didn't have a Batmitzvah, and I couldn't read Hebrew, so I went to church and got baptized. I have been practicing Christianity ever since.

Recipe for Diaster

1lb. of Eastern Persian
1oz. of Muslims
1oz. of Sunni
1oz. Shi'a
1oz. Hindus
1oz. Sikhs
1 drop of a Jewish man
1tspn of European influence
1 cup of oil
1/2 cup of opium
1 pinch of terrorism
1 tbsp of Buzkashi
a handful of goats
1oz. of Civil War
1 cup of military
a pinch of an Afghan President
0 cups of salt water (landlocked)
2 cups of plains
a handful of moutains
1oz. of gold
1oz. of silver
1oz. of zinc
1oz. of salt
1oz. of coal
1oz. of lead
a drop of black, a drop of red, and a drop of green (flag)
shake well (frequent earthquakes)
Fat free (since 3 millions refugees fled the country/recipe)

Spring Break

My cousin turned 21, so we went to Club 27 down in Philly and got lost, so we used the GPS to find out way to the club (on foot). I hung out with my boyfriend every day. We watched movies like Babylon AD, went mini golfing in the cold, partied at our friend's house, and had dinner with our families (we spent Passover with my family, and Easter with his). I also finally found my dress for prom!