Ocean Breeze

I make decisions throughout my entire life basing them on my personal values. Depending on what I value in my life is what contributes to whether my decisions are selfish or based on others as well as myself. Actions based on our decisions can also represent our personal self-esteem and our global awareness of organizations and support for illnesses. In the short story Cancer the author Janice Deal based the characters decisions and values as being very selfish and portrayed the character as having a low self-esteem.

I feel that in the short story Cancer, Janine made all her decisions based on selfish reasons and did not consider the consequences of her actions. Janine told all her friends that she was suffering from Cancer because she valued the attention from those around her. I do not understand why Janine could lie about suffering from a disease that kills thousands per year. I enjoy pretending to be the character in a story, thinking about how I would react in the situations of the character. I reacted very strongly when Janine actually stopped wearing makeup and physically began to make herself appear ill. I have never experienced cancer personally but my uncle is currently a cancer survivor. My uncle was diagnosed with cancer in his eye causing him to go through surgery getting his eye removed. I was only 8 years old at the time of the surgery but I remember all the stress and pain that cancer caused on my entire family. Even though I was young I tried to be a support for him and let him know I was praying for him. In Cancer, Janine did have support from her friends but the fact that she was lying made me react very negatively to the story. From a personal perspective I feel that allowing loved ones to believe you are suffering from a disease is worse then actually experiencing the disease. When my uncle was diagnosed with cancer there was not just pain that he was personally experiencing but my family and I were also dealing with pain and worry for someone we love. In this short story I really compared the plot to my personal experiences I have dealt with in my life. The author very much gives the audience a feeling of selfishness in the decisions and values of Janine. I interpreted from the author’s writing that Janine valued the advise from books and magazines as much as she valued the attention from others. I got the message that she needed to be the center of attention and very much valued that attention in her life. I have many personally values that are important to me including honesty, love, and support from my friends and family. Janice Deal did not give me the idea that Janine’s values were similar to mine. Janine obviously did not value honesty for she lied to all her friends and family about her physical health.

As I read a short story I try to understand the characters actions and decisions more in depth then just the obvious physical situations. I have read the short story Cancer quite a few times and I have realized that her value for personal attention may be more serious then just selfishness. I have personally experienced having a low self-esteem because I am scared I won’t be accepted as who I am as an individual. In the short story, The Michelle I Know by Alison Lohans, Michelle was actually suffering from Cancer. The author portrayed Michelle has having a low self-esteem because she had no hair and was no longer physically attractive. The Michelle I know allowed me to compare Michelle’s values to Janine’s in Cancer. Janine valued the attention from others and though I feel this is a selfish value it made me consider that that decisions represents a metal illness. I would personally never make a decision to lie about my physical health and Michelle, in The Michelle I Know would also never lie about suffering from Cancer. The author gave me the thoughts that Janine’s fake illness was based on a low self-esteem, a need for attention. In my opinion Janine’s lies represents a sign of a possible mental illness requiring professional help. A personal value represents who an individual is and Janine’s values were completely selfish and her decisions portrayed those values. When I first read this short story I was angry that Janine could be so selfish as to lie about having an illness like cancer. As I continued to reread the story and compare it to stories like The Michelle I know I realized that her decisions might represent a deeper personal problem. The other section of the story that the author gave the idea of a mental illness was when Janine said, “Stop eating doughnuts, no more popcorn at night, I have to lose weight- it is part of the dream”. Personally in my opinion Janine is actually convincing herself that she has cancer and is reenacting a dream. These statements, decisions and values portrayed throughout the story are more serious then her striving for attention. Janine’s actions represent a deeper problem and I really think she is suffering from a more emotional, metal illness and not a physical one.

Cancer is a disease that has killed millions of human beings all over the world. I have heard speeches and heard stories about young and old who have survived and lost their lives to cancer. Just recently I attended a leadership conference in Morniville where a presentation was given to teenagers all over Alberta on cancer. The women giving the presentation talked to us about cancer and organizations that help humans all over the world fight the disease. One of the main ways of support for cancer was shaving heads or dying hair pink. Globally around the world humans dye or shave their own personal hair to support and help those unfortunate enough to have to fight the illness. During the presentation that woman had her 8-year-old daughter up on stage with her. The daughter was a cancer survivor and having her up on stage really helped me understand the importance of organizations around the world. I have learned about so many global organizations that help cancer victims. My friends and I have discussed getting pink in our hair to show that we know about the global help and support needed. Cancer is a horrible disease and personally my values do include love, support, trust and care for every human being equally. Janine in Cancer did not have the same values as me because my personal values are based on others as well as myself and Janine’s values were based all on herself.

Janine’s decisions and values in the short story Cancer by Janice Deal were based on very selfish reasoning’s and decisions made portrayed Janine has having a very low self-esteem. Values are what personal decisions are based upon and those values are how I personally support my everyday decisions. Individuals are distinguished through values, and decisions. Decisions are based on values, which allows me to look at a decision and find possible personal problems through the actions of those around me.

Mr. Sader told me to create a portfolio of all the best work I had done in the year 2008. I didn’t really understand what a portfolio is used for so I searched portfolio on the internet. I discovered that a portfolio is used to plan, organize and document education, work samples, and skills. By doing a simple search I really understood what my assignment meant and I was no longer just pretending I understood. Throughout the year I have been told to use my own personal voice throughout my posts. At the start of the year my voice was not very clear throughout my writing but I really feel that by the end of this year I have begun to start to use my own voice in my writing. As I began to learn how to express my personal voice I have also grown in showing what I value most in my life throughout my posts.

At the start of English 10 we began our year by studying Julius Caesar. During Julius Caesar the main situations that I focused and still focus on is how different the characters acted around different friends and acquaintances. Julius Caesar especially acted extremely different when he was privately with his wife Calpurnia and when he was publicly with her. In the post, Act 2 segments, I expanded on specific facts that proved the change of personalities Julius Caesar had when he was with different acquaintances. Shakespeare really focused on the pressures that Caesar received to act a certain way among different peers.

There are various life pressures that I personally and others my age deal with daily. I am pressured by my peers to act, and look a certain way. If I do not act and look the way others want me to then there are consequences of being teased or causing yourself harm including drugs, alcohol, and sex. In the novel The Chrysalids and Something Wicked This Way Comes the authors very much focused on the consequences that can occur from our decisions. By reading these novels I learned about how important it is to base choices on the consequences that may occur. Consequences need to be considered because going back in time is not an option to fix mistakes.

In the short story, An Empty Frame, the author very much focuses on the pressures humans put on one another and how much we judge. I really noticed while reading this short story that when a personally is different then others judge them as being insane or completely ignore their existence. In the story the doctor does not judge his patient but listens to every word spoken and ends of believing the patient is sane. I really think highly of the doctor because he did not have a judgment before he knew all sides of the story and found out the truth.

This year I have not only grown in my writing by learning from my own personal mistakes but I have learned from others as well. By reading posts of my classmates I am able to learn their opinions and grow in my writing through them. I really value the options of my classmates so their help and teachings I value immensely. Reading posts of my classmates helps me realize that I am not alone in my thoughts and that they also deal with similar life pressures. I have also been able to put my own voice into my work through listening to messages in song lyrics. There are so many powerful messages in a song and those messages really help me state my options to the rest of the world. If everyone cared about those around them, then the world would have so many less consequences and I have really learned that through lyrics. As a teenager I am also really influenced by the television shows and movies I spend my time watching. The drama, One Tree Hill, has so many life lessons that really help me understand how important decisions in my life are and there are consequences that I always need to consider. I can relate to situations the characters experience on the show allowing me to almost be able to learn from their mistakes so I don’t have to deal with consequences so severe. I also very much enjoy watching films. Titanic is a film that helps me see personal values and how much they differentiate between characters. I really value my family and my friends in my life and I think these values are very much portrayed in this movie.

By doing a final portfolio of my grade 10 year I realized how much I have learned and grown as a writer and even as an individual. I have really grown in starting to feel confident in expressing my personal thoughts and opinions in my writing. By reading all my assignments throughout the year I have realized that I am getting closer to finding my own personal voice. I have numerous personal values that are very important to me. Though my assignments I have grown a stronger opinion of my values and how much I value the opinions and support from my friends and family.

As a teenager I find it much easier to pretend to be someone I’m not then to let others see who I really am. I have not really found who I am as an individual yet and since I don’t know who I am, it is much easier to just act like those around me. When I write a post it is easier for me to put myself in another characters position then to write about myself. This is why I did well and enjoyed writing the post, Insanity. My post called Insanity was based on the short story, The Empty Frame. When I wrote this post I put myself in the position of the doctor in the short story. It was really easy for me to write about how I would feel as the doctor and what my reactions would include. It was almost strange how I could write so easy about how the doctor would feel in situations but I cannot put in words how I feels about my personal situations.

In this post I wrote in the perspective of the doctor. I could have written from the point of view of the patient but I could feel more comparison for the doctor when I read the short story. In the story there was a patient who went to see a doctor because he was told he had lost his sanity. I wrote how as the doctor I would have listened to every detail the patient explained to me and not judge until I knew and understood all the facts. This is what I would personally do as a doctor in this situation and that is why I chose this post as my best. I could use so much voice in this post by just putting myself as the doctor. I find that even though I am not a doctor, the decisions I would make as an individual would come through if I were a doctor in the future. I can go into so much more depth pretending to be someone I’m not because it is personal but not giving away secrets. I have to start being more open with showing the world who I am.

In my final paragraph in, Insanity, I wrote that I feel others need to be accepted as a person and not judged by their physical self. The patent in the story only wanted to be seen as a human being with passions and talents. I feel that judging others is what human beings do the best in their lives. I personally judge others in every way. I judge others even in ways like how they dress and I know that it is wrong to judge. Physical images are not important and when I was writing this post pretending I was the doctor I realized how unfair it is to judge. By putting myself in the doctor’s shoes I knew that I would not have judged the patient but found out details about his problem, trying to find a solution. There are numerous ways to interpret the story, The Empty Frame but personally I interpreted as a message about judgment.

Throughout my life I would have to say that making decisions is what I spend most my time doing. Life is full of decisions, life altering decisions and simple choices like what to pack for lunch that day. When I make a decision usually my decision is based some what on the pressures I receive from those around me. In Nicole’s post, The Pressure To Excel, she talks about decisions and the pressures receives from peers to make a certain choice. Nicole also supported her post with the short story A Rose For Emily, by William Faulkner. Nicole talked about how Emily made numerous of her decisions based on selfishness. I agree that this story does very much support examples of making selfish decisions. Miss Emily murdered her boyfriend because she did not want him to leave her and be alone. There is a balance that I try to find when I make decisions. There must be a balance between making decisions based on pressures from others and what I personally need.

Nicole had a statement in her post that I really agreed with. She said “It is always easier to just believe what someone has told you instead of taking the time to find out the true story for yourself”. This statement I feel I really need to personally start doing more. There was a situation in school where there was two girls in my class who were best friends. I remember that one weekend one of the girls wanted to get together and watch a movie but her best friend said she couldn’t because she had too much homework. The next day the girls in my class heard that the girl had gone to a party that night instead of doing homework. I judged the girl and did not even take the time to talk to her and find out details. About a week later I found out that the story was a lie and she was actually home studying all night. I really realize now that I need to take the time to find out the true story for myself, like Nicole said in her post. The pressures I get to judge my peers for what they do with their time may not be true. I need to make my decisions based on what I know for sure as the truth and what I need for myself personally.

The choices I make as an individual makes who I am as a person. By reading Nicole’s post, The Pressure to Excel helped me realize others deal with the same pressures as me. I am pressured by my family and friends to get honors in school but in Nicole’s post I found out she has similar pressures from her family and friends. Teenage girls like Nicole and I need to pave our own path in life and not give in to the pressures of our peers. It is so easy to pretend I am someone I’m not but I need to start making decisions that reflect who I am individually.

Titanic is a film that has always allowed me to release all my emotions. When I watch a movie I actually put myself in the situations of the characters. During Titanic the ending scene when the ship begins to sink is always the scene that makes me react the strongest. There are various scenes that I could learn from but the scene that I always focus on is when Jack puts Rose on the wood piece from the ship to keep warm. I knew right away then even though Jack told Rose he would be okay in the water that it was a lie. Jack gave up his life in order to save the woman he loved. During this scene the safe boats were not full and there was thousands of bodies screaming in the ocean. I don’t understand how any human being with a conscience could watch others drown and freeze to death in front of them when there was room in a boat beside them.

Witnessing floating bodies surrounding a sunken ship would definitely cause a need for lifelong therapy. Personally I would rather die trying to save lives then watch others die, doing nothing. I have never experienced seeing floating bodies in an ocean but I have seen the body of my grandma. At her prayers I remember that I made it through the entire prayers without crying because I wanted to be strong. While we were leaving the casket was opened just for the family and when I saw her body I couldn’t hold back the tears. It made the whole situation real for me. I understand that it is different seeing a body of a loved one but for myself I think the emotions I felt seeing a dead body would be the same for anyone. In Titanic the wealthy folks were the ones who had the privilege of getting into a safe boat and it really showed them having attitude of the wealthy deserve to live while the poor do not. I disagree with this thought because human are equal and when a tragedy happens money shouldn’t matter before lives.

When Jack saved Rose over himself it really showed to me that he was a more compassionate, giving person then the wealthy on the boats. When my uncle was in an avalanche he was snowmobiling with two firefighters. When he was buried under snow the two men with him dug for him for 45 min. When they retrieved him, the snowmobile had squashed him and he was gone. They could not deal with his death so they did CPR on him for an hour and a half before they could accept he was gone. This story related to Titanic because the two firefighters forgot about themselves and used every possible life saving technique they could to save who they loved. Jack loved Rose and he too did what he could to save her life. Even if love were not involved I would still try and save others if I had the option.

I love to watch television because it helps me relieve stress. I get extremely stressed from every simple situation that goes or may go wrong. One Tree Hill is a show that I always watch because the plots are always intense and interesting keeping me engrossed. There is one main episode of One Tree Hill that pulled my attention for weeks after watching. A troubled teenager, Jimmy, that was tired of being teased or feeling invisible decided to bring a gun to school. The students were trapped inside the study hall with the shooter while the entire town waited outside the school praying the students would be okay. Previously on the episodes Dan, a fathers to Nathan Scott the basketball caption, was attempted to be murdered in his car dealership. Dan believed that his younger brother, Keith Scott, was responsible for attempting to kill him. During the chaos Keith Scott entered to school trying to stop Jimmy but Jimmy ended up killing himself. Dan Scott then entered and picked up the gun from Jimmy’s side and murdered Keith.

I personally can watch this episode and discover numerous life lessons that the show was trying to portray to the youth in the world. Jimmy was just a regular teenager who wanted to fit in with the other students in the school. I can say from personal experience that it is hard to feel accepted from peers. There are always cliques and groups that evolve in schools and when a student is not included in any clique or group then usually they are teased or ignored. I try to include others in activities I involve myself in because to me a smile or just feeling welcome can make a day good or bad.

I have had experiences in feeling left out of a group. In elementary I remember that there was a group of girls that were considered the cool kids. Whenever I would try and talk or hang out with them I would feel cut out or not welcome. They would leave when I approached them or huddle in bunches not allowing me to hear a word they said. It really hurt me that I couldn’t be part of that clique. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I continued to be unwelcome and alone. The way my peers treated me played a huge impact on my self-esteem. Teasing can also lead to tragedies like suicide demonstrated in the episode of One Tree Hill. The decisions of the students to not include Jimmy had the consequence of losing a classmate forever.

In this episode I not only thought more greatly about acceptance but also about love. I am amazed and almost frightened that Dan Scott murdered his younger brother. I have two sibling, a younger brother and a older sister, who I love deeply. I get very angry with Marisa and Andre almost daily but when it comes down to life and death I would probably risk my life for theirs. The love that is created in a family is huge and murdering a loved one is the most horrific situation I can discover. The decision to kill Keith was a decision that had so many consequences for Dan, if discovered. The consequences would include jail time, loss of family and friends, and being feared by those surrounding you. I cannot even imagine considering making a decision like Dan. I not only would be afraid of the consequences but the guilt would probably be unbearable. I remember that one winter my mom was outside shoveling massive amounts of snow alone and I felt so guilty that I went out to help her. I think a human being that can kill their brother does not have a
conscience and that really scares me.

Music has always been able to allow me to forget about the stress of life and just relax. Artists write songs about personal occurrences and dreams portraying those messages to those who listen. When I first heard the song If Everyone Cared by Nickelback I loved it instantly because it had such a powerful message behind the lyrics. I personally feel that when an artist sends out a message through a song it is way more effective then any newspaper, television, or radio broadcast. When I read the newspaper or hear a news segment I only remember it for a brief time frame and then I forget what the message of the broadcast was. I listen to songs a million times and when an artist leaves a message in their songs I rarely forget. Every time I listen to If Everyone Cared I hear the message and because it is portrayed through a song I find it much more powerful and effective.

The lyrics in this song that struck me the most was “ If everyone cared and nobody cried, If everyone loved and nobody lied, If everyone shared and swallowed their pride, Then we’d see the day when nobody died”. These lyrics state exactly what I feel the world needs the most. Human being always have a tendency to make decisions based on what would benefit them personally the most. I also make my decisions based on myself but I also try and think of those around me as well. I always feel that when I go out of my way to show a friend that I care about them they treat me with the same respect and compassion back. I know that the world would slowly become a better place if kindness were the focus. If Everyone Cared is a song that I completely agree with and sends out a message that I hope others also hear.

In my life there has been so many world tragedies including hurricane Katrina, the tsunami, and 9/11. I remember in grade 4, I went to school and every student in my class was gathered around talking. My teacher stood in front of my class and told us about how terrorists has attacked the world trade center in New York causing both building to collapse. I was only 9 years old and I could tell that millions of citizens all over the world were affected. After school I also remember that I was driving with my mom to piano lessons when she asked me if I had heard any news that day. We discussed 9/11 for a while and I remember that my mom seemed very upset. This whole situation scared me because all I heard for months and months after were about deaths, and terrorists. I didn’t and still don’t understand how a human being could commit suicide so that they could kill thousands of citizens.

I really try to show my friends and family that I love and care about them. If everyone cared about one another like the lyrics Nickelback sang then I really do feel the world would be at peace. I am really scared of murder and to me war and terrorist attacks are murder. If everyone in the world would cared about one another there would be way less tragedies and hatred. I hate having the memories of 9/11 and the less tragedies that children and even adults have to experience the happier humans will be throughout their lives.

I have always been scared of natural disasters because they are so uncontrollable and unpredictable but within the last few months I have grown an even greater fear of them. In the past year I have dealt with losing my grandma and my uncle within ten months. My grandma died from a heart attack in her 80’s, which was horrible but at least she lived a good long life. An avalanche took my uncles life in the spring of 2008. He was only in his 40’s and didn’t deserve to die so young. Every morning I now always wake up scared that we will get another phone call saying someone I love is gone.

Personally I feel that losing my uncle in an avalanche was the worst possible way to lose him because a natural disaster is a disaster you can’t prepare yourself for, it just happens and takes lives. He did die doing what he loved, snowmobiling, but the pain that my family and I went through was an experience I really don’t want to ever experience again. I always hear of hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, avalanches and other natural disasters taking lives but when it happened to me personally it changed my fear of them forever. There are consequences in every situation and decision. Consequences can be considered before making a choice but when it comes to natural disasters some consequences cannot be predicted. The decision of going snowmobiling in the mountains had the consequence of taking away my uncles life.

If I could go back in time I would go to the Easter break right before my uncle left to go snowmobiling in the mountains. I wish I could have spent my Easter with him because he always loved holidays and spending time with his family. One of my greatest memories with my Uncle was on Christmas Eve this past year. My mom always buys unsalted soda crackers, so at Christmas my uncle asked my siblings and I if we wanted a snack, jokingly offering crackers. I love salted crackers because it is a treat for me so Marisa, Andre and I got really exited and ate salted crackers and milk. My uncle thought this was hilarious that his two nieces and nephew were so exited over salted soda crackers. Every holiday, or time after that when we would see him, he would always give us salted crackers or make a joke about them. I love thinking about memories involving him and I really wish I had a memory of the Easter before he past away.

I remember hearing friends and family saying that they wished they could have time to say goodbye. I really think that is what differentiates deaths. Deaths that happened unexpectedly are much harder to morn then those that we expected. My first reaction to making decisions is what consequences am I going to have to deal with after the decision is made. I wish I could have realized that our decision not to see my family at Easter would have caused us the consequence of never seeing my Uncle again. Not every decision has a consequence we can predict and I just unfortunately figured that out. I always thought you could predict every consequence of your actions but I was wrong. If I could go back in time I would definitely want to have spent my uncles last Easter with him and be able to say goodbye.

Suffering from cancer can cause you to be unstable emotionally, physically, and mentally. Every decision we make throughout our lives is based on life pressures and what you personally value in your life. The decisions you make and your values distinguish who you are as an individual and determine where your life will lead you. Every decision has a consequence but if you are following what you value in life then your decision is worth choosing. True friends should find out specific details of a friends actions as well as being there for them as support.

In Cancer by Janice Deal and The Michelle I Know by Alison Lohans the decisions made by Janine and Michelle where all based on their personal values. In Cancer, Janine told her friends she was suffering from cancer because she enjoyed and valued the attention she was given by those around her. In The Michelle I Know, Michelle was suffering from cancer and valued the attention from others to help her get through the disease. I really reacted strongly in Cancer when Janine started to convince herself she was truly sick. She stopped wearing makeup and had circles under her eyes. As a friend of Janine’s I would personally try to talk to Janine alone and let her know that I am there for her as support. There are times in life when your friends may not always tell you every detail of their lives but when physical health is involved as a friend you should look for detail. Numerous humans think that a friend should never pry in others businesses but I think in a case like Janine’s a true friend should pry. Janine was visibly sick but no one had actually talked to a doctor or seen her physically leave the doctors office. Michelle also very much values the attention and support from her family and friends. I very much value the support and love from my family and friends and to me I would need those that I love to hold my hand through hard times.

The physical support of friends and family may not be enough to help a friends survive an illness. In both short stories, Janine and Michelle both value attention but Michelle seems to value the opinions of her family and friends then Janine. Janine values attention from others but also values what she reads in books and papers. The author in Cancer portrayed Janine’s values as much more selfish then the author in The Michelle I Know. As a friend I would actually go to the doctor, talk to her family and try to find out more details on a friends illness. By finding out these details, in the story Cancer, I would discover that Janine was lying about suffering from Cancer. If a human being would be so selfish as to lie about suffering from an illness as huge as cancer then I think they are more then just physically sick. This lie could be showing that Janine has a very low self-esteem causing her to seek for the attention of others to boost her confidence. This lie could also represent a mental illness, or emotional problems that need to be helped through a professional. By discovering this you can actually help a friend more than if you just trusted them without asking any questions. Once the truth is out Janine could get therapy and help from professionals to help her emotionally and mentally. I also noticed that Michelle also has a low self-esteem in, The Michelle I Know. Michelle’s confidence is low because of chemotherapy, loss of hair. Michelle is already in the hospital so as a friend of hers in that situations I would just be there as support and treat her just like any other girl in the world.

All decisions made by humans are based on what they personally value in their lives. Where our lives lead us is all dependent on our decisions based on our values. In the world today the decisions that we make as teenagers are completely different then the choices we will make as adults. Teenagers very much value attention from those around them like in Cancer and The Michelle I Know. Teenagers value the opinions of their peers, and friends then their families. All teenagers are pressured by their peers to act, look, be certain way. These pressures are based on movies, television and magazines which since we value the opinions of our peers, teenagers try to act and look that way. I am currently a teenager and I can say from personal experience that I do value the opinions of my peers. I do have many other personal values like honesty, which is very important to me along with many other values. The fact that the general population of teenagers values the opinions and attention of there peers that is when problems begin. Teenagers start to get into drugs, and alcohol just for the attention of their peers. Our personal values do lay a huge impact on our everyday decisions. In Cancer, Janine valued both physical materials like books as well as attention from others. Michelle valued to love and support from her family and friends. These values influenced the decisions each character made throughout the stories. In both stories they valued the opinions of their friends and as friend I will always find out specific details so I can help them in every way possible.

When a friend takes the time to find out details about your life to make sure you know they are there for you then that is a true friend. The personal values of both Janine and Michelle very much differentiated their decisions. Each character based their decisions of what they personally valued the most in their lives. The consequences of their decisions could have ended friendships and trust but because of their values that overruled the consequences. I personally think a true friend will look into details in order to make sure a friend is all right.

Every decision made throughout our lives may affect us physically, psychologically, and emotionally. As human beings we are making decisions almost every second of our lives. Some decisions don’t majorly affect us because we are only choosing what to wear that day, or what to eat. Whether a decision is big or small you must look at the consequences that your decision may have. Every decision made not only affects you personally but will affect the people around you as well. At times in your life others around you may make decisions that you cannot control. Humans at a higher power make laws, and rules that you cannot change. There are decisions though that are completely yours to decide.

In A Rose For Emily, by William Faulkner and I’ve Got Gloria, by M.E. Kerr decisions play a huge part in the characters actions. In A Rose For Emily, Miss Emily was a very troubled woman who made numerous decisions that affected her entire community as well as herself. Miss Emily had a lover, Homer Barron, who she found out was gay. Purchasing arsenic, Miss Emily murdered Homer and kept his corpse upstairs in her bedroom where she slept with him. I reacted very strongly to this scene in the story because the decisions Miss Emily made were horrific and very dangerous. The decision Emily made to kill Homer was a decision that would change her life as well as Homer’s. There are numerous ways to base your decisions, you can base your decisions on selfish reasons or base them on what is best for everyone not just you personally. Miss Emily based her decisions on selfishness. This decision ended Homer’s life and if caught Miss Emily could spend a lifetime in jail. In I’ve Got Gloria, Scott Perkins also made decisions based on selfishness. In this short story Scott’s math teacher lost her dog Gloria who she loved immensely. Scott had failed math and wanted revenge on Mrs. Whitman. Scott calls Mrs. Whitman and told her he had Gloria and would not return her unless he was given one thousand dollars. This decision to me was very selfish because Scott did not look at how his decisions affects others and only based his choices on what made him happy. Both Scott, and Emily did not look at how their decisions would affect others but only looked at what they personally wanted and based their decisions on only that.

In my life I have always hating making decisions for the fear of possibly making a wrong choice. In my life there has been decisions that are made for me or pressured on me by family, friends, and leaders of higher powers. As an infant you don’t even have to decide on what to eat, drink, or play because your parents make all decisions for you. As you get older you start to make more decisions for yourself distinguishing who you are as a person. I am now at an age when I need to start deciding what I want to do as a career for the rest of my life. This decision I can only make for myself and I really try to look at the big picture and not only at my personal gains. If decisions were only based on selfish reasons like in A Rose for Emily and I’ve Got Gloria then the world would be a very unhappy, greedy place.

All decisions have consequences that will affect us and those around us. Family and friends influence decisions but when the final choice comes around, the choice is completely yours to decide. As you grow and mature, your decisions start to show others who you are as a human being. Every decision will shape who you are as an individual and how the people around you respect you as a person. Consequences of your decisions may not always be as horrible as going to jail for murder but could be as simple as losing respect or trust from a loved one. Decisions are an important part of our lives and when making them we need to be sure to look at how it will affect us and what the consequences of the decisions will be.