Diary Entry

1/2/2015

Dear Diary,

I woke up in the morning to the early sunlight in Lahore. My breakfast consisted of a simple egg and toast combination accompanied by a glass of refreshing Mango Juice. My family decided to visit a historic site, an enormous fortress, from the Mughal Empire that day. We toured the great walls of the fortress, and saw the beautifully constructed palace from within, as well as the great deal of graffiti that covered the walls. 

Our next and final stop was the Minar-e-Pakistan tower, where we took a picture of our family. We were supposed to go to another museum in Pakistan that day, but were unable to due to terrorist threats in the country. 

I hope to come back one day and be able to openly tour the great deal of places in Pakistan, without fears of terrorism blocking my way.

Signed,

Moze Malone

Erika's Quote from Daniel's Story

“We must live, and when this is all over, we must work to make the world a better place.  And if we die, we will die knowing that it was not our fault, that we did our best, and we can go to our deaths in dignity… I want you both to live…And to remember...You must choose love.  Always choose love.”  

This quote reminds me of a movie called Unbroken. The movie followed a soldier named Louie who was stranded at sea for a long time, and was later found and imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II. In the movie, Louie suffers great hardship, goes to great lengths to survive at sea, and is cruelly punished at a Japanese prisoner camp, but instead of giving up, he remembers his life before being a soldier, of how he was a Olympic runner back then, and how he loved his family. These memories encourage and inspire him to go on, instead of letting his life slip away. In one incident, Louie is forced by his captor to hold a heavy ramp of wood up, and if were to give up, he was to be shot. But his determination showed in his eyes, and he refused to drop. The warden, infuriated and embarrassed in front of all other prisoners and soldiers, beat up him up, scared by the show of strength that he had just witnessed. When the war ended, Louie returned home to his family, grateful to be back. Louie chose love instead of defeat, and in the end, Louie's determination and hard work paid off.