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!

Ind. Reading- Prompt 1

I disliked the book as a whole. It had a good message of love and passion, but then again it had a message of old age, pain, decay, and death. I felt that eve the message of love was a bit confusing; if you truly love someone, even if you go away and come back, that love should remain strong and true, but if it does in fact fade and you find a new love in someone else, you can never really let go of the previous love. Florentino never let go of his feelings, and I find it quite puzzling that Fermina could just move on like it never happened; that makes me question her feelings for Florentino from the very beginning because in my opinion, true love never dies so maybe she merely liked Florentino. I also did not care for Florentino's character. He seemed too desperate and too needy of Fermina's love, even when she clearly wasn't going to give it to him. I understand his feelings for her were strong, but I do not understand why he kept trying for such a long time, getting hurt time and time again. If that were me, I would have given up when I knew for a fact that it was over. Though I admire that the author made him determined to get her back, I didn't appreciate how h went about doing it. Love letters are fine, but showing up to the man's funeral, not to pay his respects, but to attempt to gain the affection of his widow is unacceptable; I admire his intentions of love, but I do not respect his actions.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 5

As crazy as he was, I admire Florentino's passion. That truly moved me. Though he spent most of his life wanting, chasing, desiring, and hurting only with the fear of old age creeping up on him, I think it was charming that even after all those years, he still attempted to win back the love of his life. One usually only hears about those actions in books or movies though, but I feel that it still makes an impact on me even if it's not real. I would love to have someone fighting for my love even for a day, let alone fifty-one years, nine months, and four days. A girl can only dream; but that's what books like this are for -to provoke the mind, move the reader, and stimulate a reaction from events that could happen in the real world, but are very rare to come by.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 17

Elements of a Story

Plot: Florentino falls in love with Fermina; Fermina goes away. She comes back and he wants to start their relationship back up again, but she lost interest in him by that time and revoked her promise to marry him. She then married a wealthy doctor. He spent most of his life trying to move on but couldn't. He loyally and patiently waited for the day that he could make his move and get her back. That day came when the doctor died; that was the beginning of the end of both Florentino and Fermina's lives.

Setting: small coastal town in South America from the late nineteeth century to the early 1930s

Main Characters: Florenitno Ariza, Fermina Daza, and Dr. Urbino

Symbols: love, passion, heartbreak, old age, decay, death,