Choices

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip with Jay Wurts
Chapter 2
Literary Term: dilemma

"I had a powerful urge to run home, but somehow I overcame it. Leaving the trench before the shelling stopped would have been suicide-- even silly young farm girls knew that. I did not have a weapon, but it would be easy enough to goad the soldiers into shooting me, or for that matter, to grab the barrel of one rifle and pull it against my chest. Still, I did not want my own mother to die because of my heroism or bad luck. Over and over in my head I repeated her advice for just this situation: If you're too smart or too dumb, you'll die-- so play stupid, eh?" (48, 49).

The terrible reality of the war finally caught up with Le Ly. Le Ly is faced with a dilemma and has to choose between jumping outside of the trench before the shelling stopped and risk getting hit or waiting in the trench and getting shot by soldiers. She decided to stay in the trench, and she was picked up to be interrogated and questioned by the Americans. Although she was overcome with pain physically and emotionally, Le Ly stayed true to her mothers advice and played stupid. Making the right decision or choice is a constant obstacle we encounter in our lives. We make choices on which movie to see or which outfit to wear. More important decisions include which college to go to or which occupation to go into after college. We have to start making the right choices and decisions now to meet our goals for the future

I have to make a choice this year on which college I am going to commit to for basketball. There are so many elements to consider: academics, the coaching staff, the team, the campus, location, and the size of the school. Finding the college that is right for me in all of these catagories is difficult. Some are stronger than others in these areas. I have narrowed my favorites down this summer and I hope I make the right decision on where to go!