Free Will

I believe that freewill is more plausible because every one has a choice in life. Even though there are standards to follow, one can still choose to be obedient or be rebellious. Also, everything we do in life comes from our mind, and no one can control our mind but us. Our mind is such a great form of freewill, that we can even choose to think or not. For example, Micheal Vick is in prison because of his crime of the dog fighting. However, no one chose for him to go to prison, it was his own choice. Because not only that he could have controlled the dog, but he could control his thoughts about the decision he made. He new this was an illegal act, and that he would get penalized for it. Therefore, he basically chose for himself to brake the law, and be punished for it.

Freewill overrides both destiny and determination because one simply needs freewill (mind) to even follow his/her destiny, and to believe in what her/his determinism is.

"If ya White, ya alright, If ya Brown stick around, but if ya Black, get to the Back!"-(Battle Royal)

Battle Royal is a story about a Black-American male fighting battles to find success in America. Many of the battles that he's fighting through are disproving the racial stereotypes of a black male. Those stereotypes include being uneducated, undirected, and unsuccessful. In the story, he tries to disprove these stereotypes by striving to earn a scholarship to get into college, and succeeds. When he had received his award, the man said to the narrator, "Keep developing as you are and some day it will be filled with important papers that will help shape the destiny of your people" (Blacks). This means that if he continues to strive for success, he will also disprove the images of a common Black male. However, it's going to take more than one black male achieving to disprove the stereotypes of a black male. The title "Battle Royal" reflects the meaning of the story by one having to fight greatly to receive what they want. The narrator fought greatly, not only to receive an education, but to reduce himself from the stereotypes of Black men.

The old man with enormouse wings

The old man is a fallen angel: because at the beginning of the story, Pelayo found this old man with his face down in the mud while suffering in pain. This proves that the old man probably had fallen out of Heaven. This old man also acted as a guardian angel in the story. Before the old man had appeared in Pelayo's and Elisenda's backyard, the story mentioned their child having a fever. However, when the old man with wings is held captive in their house, suddenly the child was healed. Even though the old man with wings acted as a regular helpless individual, and was treated like one, he had provided many provisions and successions for the family. For instance, the family bought a mansion with the money they earned from using the old man as an "attraction," but still kept the old man in the chicken coop; not realizing the blessing this old man was in their lives. After the old man was cured from sickness (by the first sunny days), he began to develope into a real angel, and flew back into heaven leaving Elisenda to feel positive about the angel. This story proves that one doesn't realize how special something is, until it's gone forever.

The Cathedral

The drawing of the Cathedral is a perfect ending to this story because it shows the irony of Robert's blindness. Even though Robert was blind, he visualized the general description of a Cathedral by drawing the details, instead of listening to the narrator's descriptions. The drawing of the Cathedral symbolized trust. While drawing, Robert was holding the narrator's hand while the narrator's eyes were closed, and trust was the only way for them both to finish the drawing without physical vision. The drawing of the Cathedral also symbolized confidence, and certainty. When Robert had asked the narrator about how the Cathedrals on television appeared, the narrator wasn't sure how to describe them to Robert. However, when Robert insisted for the narrator to draw a Cathedral instead, Robert constantly told the narrator to be sure of himself about the details, and stop "fudging." The reason Robert wanted him and the narrator to draw the Cathedral instead, was to give them both complete aspects of a Cathedral by knowing how one is created. When Robert and the narrator were drawing, Robert made sure that the narrator had included all the details of the Cathedral. For instance, the details of the roof, and the curve of the windows; this all gave Robert a better vision of a Cathedral.

Second and Third Draft

We only have been dating for a week, and I knew something was moving way too fast. I really didn't get to know her that well, but she said that she loved me already. I, of course, said that I loved her too, but I personally didn't feel true love. Which brings me to the point that I believe true love waits.

I met her at the mall one Saturday, and obviously was attracted by her physical appearance. We had exchanged phone numbers, and were hanging out the next day. After that, she suddenly started to call me ,"baby" and I guess that meant we were dating. The chorus from the song "Slow Motion" by Karina Pasian says, "Why can't I love you in slow motion, Take my time, Take away the pressure on my mind, Really get to know you But rewind....;" And that's how I felt, I really had pressure on my mind, and wanted to be patient with the "love" part of our relationship. I didn't want to tell her how I really felt about us rushing into something that we didn't know anything about. I have to admit, we were still young, thinking that we knew what real love really is. Of course we're going around hugging and kissing so everyone could see; well, until I found out she was pregnant. When I found that out, I felt like not loving her at all. I knew I used protection, but I was still accused of being the father of her child. Now it was too late to decelerate our relationship. We were going too fast, and now crashed into something that can never be avoided or forgotten. Well, while I'm worrying about the major mistake that I have caused in this relationship, she suddenly tells me that the baby's not mine. I then felt relieved, but at the same time disappointed. However, the disappointment grew in me more, because even though I wasn't responsible for the child, I had still caused a major mistake: And that mistake was rushing into something that takes time and patience, And that something is love. I still remember my Grandmother saying "Birdie wait a little longer, 'til your wings are stronger." I believe that quote has nothing to do with love, but it has a lot to do with patience, and so does love. Love lasts forever when two people take time to understand each other, trust each other, and accept each other. Patience doesn't only refer to love but to life in general. Like when birds wait until their wings are strong enough to fly forever, we should wait until our relationships are strong enough to love forever; And this I believe...