You Never Know When Your Actions Can Hurt You

       Have you ever been in a situation where you just don't know what to do? Anita in Before We Were Free taught me that sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to just let it happen. She shows me this in many problems that come her way.

         One way that Anita solves her problem by just being silent and just by going with the flow is  when the police come to her house. At first she has no idea what to do because this has never happened to her before. In addition she didn't even know what was going on. She goes with what everyone else is doing, stays quiet, and eventually the police are out, and the decoys are released. This shows that if you be quiet, go with what everyone else is doing, and don't ask questions your problem will be solved.

         Another way where Anita solves a problem by just going with the flow and staying quiet is when her cousin leaves to go to New York City. At first she doesn't know how to react because it all just happened so fast. She can’t get the words out to say goodbye because she doesn't believe this was it. So she just stays quiet, stays close to her mother and holds her crying in until she gets home. This shows that sometimes the best way to be strong is to as well be quiet and stay close to the people you know. You never know when your actions can hurt you.

         In late October of 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed New York. I was sitting on my couch with my family listening and watching the horrific view outside our warm house. My mother finally decided she had enough of the natural disaster outside and decided to make some warm popcorn to lift our hearts. My whole family went into our kitchen when we heard a huge BOOM! outside. We all jump but acted like we didn't hear it and just went along with our business. My brother on his phone seeing all of the facebook statuses, my sister on her phone as well checking the facebook statuses, and my mom watching the television about the news around New York. The wind outside was pounding against my window like a never eating drum beat. Rain filled the streets flooding the road. I think it was around 9:30 when my sister glanced outside and noticed the huge tree covering our house. My sister yelled “MOM, CAM, BRANDON COME” We all hurried over to the window to see the huge tree blocking our view and all the branches and twigs covering our stairs and door. My mom was so confused about what to do at the time. Me, my sister, and my brother all just stayed quiet and returned to what we were doing. Eventually the storm passed and the workers came to clean up the tree. Sometimes I wonder what could have happened if one of us decided to go outside and check the tree, or if someone didn't just stay calm. Would my family still be here today?