Something out of nothing

Dont do drugs! Ive got a story to tell you why. I remember like it was yesterday,
even though it was yester-year. One day as I was walking to my room, I hadnt noticed
my roommate Shauna calling me on my cell. When I saw that I had a missed call from
her, I called her back. Hey boo, did you call me? By the way, I was put on
speakerphone. She said yeahh and jumped right to it: Did you take $100 from
Shadae? Shadae is one of her close friends that come over sometimes.
First of all, even if I was a thief, thieves dont snitch on themselves! But anyway,
I told her that I do not steal from people and that I never would steal from her or someone
close to her, and that was the truth. Shauna, however, emphasized how I was the only one
in the house, in addition to my two best friends on the night before, but I still did not do
it. And I knew for sure that my girls do not steal. I was thinking to myself Why would
she accuse me? She knows Im no suspect, and its been that way since the day we moved
in together. I told her that it had to be in the house somewhere still because there was no
way it was gone if I was the only extra person in the house. Nahh, someone took it out
of her wallet, Shauna added. So it definitely was gone. After that, I didnt know what to
say, but I did tell the truth.
Shaunas direct approach didnt make me feel bad or anything. Think about it: if
you thought someone stole your money or a friends money, youd act fast about that
situation. I felt she had put me on speakerphone so Shadae could hear my assurance,
because I was sure Shauna pled for me that I didnt do it, before she called.
I thought that would be the end of it after I answered all of her questions, but it
sort of wasnt; I didnt care, but I had a feeling that her friend didnt believe me. I mean,

if I was in her shoes, Id be mad too cause I can stretch a hundred bucks! After that,
Shauna didnt have any more questions, so we hung up. What I wasnt thinking about
was how on the night before, Shaunas friend Shadae and her boyfriend were popping
Zans to get high. About an hour later, I invited my best friend Maya over for pizza. I
explained to her what had happened, but all she had was empathy considering that we did
not know who stole the money. Danng, thats crazy! she added. And I know she mad,
cause I can make a hundred dollars go a long way! I just shook my head. I know girl.
Anyway, we were listening to music just minding our own business when I got
another call from my roommate, Shauna. When I picked up to greet her, she asked me if I
had read her text message. I replied, No, hold on, Ill look now. What I read was
Shauna nicely asking me to go to Mayas because her friend Shadae, who lost her money,
said she was going to come up to my apartment and try to start something. I knew this
girl was crazy, not because of the fact that I had seen her lose her temper, but because she
seriously thought she was going to put her hands on me. At first, I was a bit confused. I
asked Shauna if it was that serious where I actually needed to leave.... my own house. I
really didnt take her money, Shauna. She replied and said, I know you didnt take her
money, boo. Its just that if she comes at you, Im going to hit her a** too. At first, I
agreed to go.
When we had hung up, I went to the living room where Maya was, and told her
about the phone call. Forget her, Debbie! This is your house, forget her! Just at that
moment, I had remembered something else. I was cooking a delicious Red Baron pizza in
the oven. I definitely couldnt leave then. Im just gonna Shauna and tell her Im gonna
stay, cause I got this pizza cooking, anyway! Maya was right, however, that really was

my reason to stay. So that tells you I wasnt scared of this chick, and I didnt really know
why I had agreed to leave in the first place. I texted Shauna and told her about the pizza,
but she didnt respond. I cant lie, I was anxious about the tension that was to be
whenever they came back. I was in my room with Maya, enjoying a slice of that delicious
pizza when Shauna, with Shadae and her boyfriend, returned. Shauna walked by my
room and said that shed talk to me later, shook her head, and went in her room. I stayed
in my room. I didnt need the drama. But there was no drama with me, cause I never stole
anything, so the anger towards me that Shadae had was pointless.
It was close to 1:30pm, and I had to leave to catch the bus for my 2:00pm class
that day. On my way out, of course I had to pass Shadae in the living room. She only
gave me eye contact, but it was a little evil. I just smirked at her a little. She looked away
and laughed like she was trying to be intimidating it didnt work.
Walking to the bus I had asked Maya if she had seen that little gesture. Did you
see what Shadae did? When we were walking out the door, she gave me an awkward
stare, and laughed like she was trying to be funny! Mm! coming from Maya, Girl,
forget her.
Its like Shadae was in her own world, mad for nothing. In reality, I was just
trying to get to class. She just looked stupid, and that stupidity would later be confirmed
with what Shauna brought up that evening. When I came home and settled in, Shauna
came in my room and we had a talk about all of the nonsense.
She had told me not to worry about her friend and stressed how stupid it was of
her to take the night she lost her money. The stuff she was on causes anyone whos on it,
to not remember anything that happens while theyre under its influence. Anything could

of happened to her money. She could have taken it out herself and maybe she accidently
dropped it, who knows? What I did know was that she wasnt careful with her decision
and it turned into something, yet nothing. At the end of the day, I slept well. So, the moral
of the story is dont do drugs, cause you might make something out of nothing.
Now From the beginning to the end of my story, all of the anger that was fixed on me as
the situation progressed was meaningless. I am proud of my reaction to this scenario. I believe I
reacted the way I did because I knew better by not feeding into the nonsense. I knew better
because I just acted off my true personality. Coming from my viewpoint at the time of the
conflict, I felt that the whole situation could have been avoided, and I felt that everything was
building off badly from a false accusation. My perspective was influenced by the irresponsibility
of someone. I wasnt going to let that someone provoke something out of me when all of it was
unnecessary. Considering the way my personality was, it would have been out of my character if I
reacted in a negative way.
My family played a huge role in the shaping of my opinion. I have two sisters and three
brothers. With that being said, although we grew up together, we had different personalities
certainly, but I had always been the peacemaker and mediator like my Mom. Also, out of six kids,
I was the fifth born. Growing up, I always watched how my sister got in trouble from the schemes
she pulled and how she always argued with my Mom. Being the youngest, I wasnt much of a
rebel. I was always the calm one, hence my composure in my narrative; I was not going to let
anyone punk me down, but I still was calm about the situation.
My Mom and Dad always talked about discretion, thinking before acting, and we always
studied the Bible so my siblings and I could look at situations more spiritually, which definitely is
a reason why I didnt react in a bitter fashion when I was accused of stealing the girls money, or

when I was told that the girl was plotting against me. I was just always taught to not overreact
about situations, even when I should. Other cultural factors that played a role in shaping my
opinion of the conflict were school and the consequences that would rise if the school were to get
involved. I was not going to be foolish and get arrested for a stupid fight. Even my friend that was
mentioned in the story helped shape my opinion. She stressed that I didnt need to worry about the
contention. She of course believed me and felt that the problem was out of hand and
simultaneously not of great significance, during the whole conflict. Her maturity, our friendship,
the way she was raised, in addition to her warm personality were cultural factors that influenced
her perspective.
The reactions of other characters in my narrative did vary and also changed with the flow
of the story. My roommate approached me directly and asked I stole her friends money. As soon
as she could get in touch with me, she just got right to the point. Although her approach was
straightforward, I understood her perspective: She was a close friend to both the girl who
suspected me of taking her money, and me. She just wanted to solve the problem quickly as
possible. She believed me when I told her I did not do it, and moved on. Her reaction changed
when her friend wanted to inflame the situation some more. She would harm her friend if her
friend harmed me, which is why she acted as a mediator and wanted to keep us separated to avoid
anything stirring up. Friendship was the most prevalent cultural factor that influenced my friend
and roommates actions. They didnt want anything bad to happen to me, especially if I was
innocent.
The cultural factor that influenced the perspective of the girl who was plotting to harm me
was money. She lost a lot of it and wasnt very happy. It wasnt appropriate, but I understood her
perspective too: She was angry about her money being gone, and she acted according to that

anger, but she was wrong. I believe she had a different upbringing than me. She was ready to get
physical without thought. That was her persona.
Every person in society has his or her own persona. We may experience similar
processes, however, the way we individually undergo those processes, varies. Everything
we believe in and dont believe in is learned. No one has the SAME upbringing, and the
way every person learns is different, which is why there can simultaneously different
perspectives at the exact same moment in time. Everything we see changes us a little,
everyday. The quote What you see, you become, emphasizes that from different
circumstances, people have different perspectives. As we grow, we individualize based on
how we keep those perspectives.
The perspective I had at the time of conflict has not change at all since it
happened. The reason I feel this way is because I wasnt wrong at all in this
circumstance. Also, when the conflict died down and Shauna told me not to worry about
her friend, and that she believed me, that really had an effect on my perspective. That was
one more person on my side, which influenced my perspective to stay the same. I was put
into the conflict only because I was present at the time the money was stolen. Even when
it isnt vice versa, I like to be mature in all matters. I have never been a violent or hostile
person, and I still am not a belligerent person. That kind of stance doesnt solve anything.
The perspective of my best friend also has not change since this conflict occurred. Not to
sound boastful, but we were the good guys through all the contention.
Although my viewpoint about the situation is the same, some of the relationships
between the characters in the story and I, have become stronger since this predicament.
For instance, my roommate and I have grown closer and we also have gained more trust

for one another. I know that if a friend of hers were to question my trustworthiness again,
she wouldnt hesitate to have my back. Another change in her perspective is that now she
feels that in the position she was in during the conflict, which was right in the middle of
two girls she was both friends with, she should have hindered the escalation of the
incident before it reached the peak it did.
I really agree with the change in her perspective. Because she knew Shadae better
than me, she shouldnt have let Shadae threaten me at all.
I even confronted Shadae a while after the conflict and assured her face-to-face
that I wasnt the type of person she thought I was. I noticed that her perspective of the
situation has definitely changed since the incident. She admitted that her actions werent
responsible, and I respect her for that.
Each time I analyze this incident, Im urged to add a little more detail to present to
the reader for better clarity. Historical analysis causes me to view the conflict differently
considering it was a long time ago, in addition to also considering the fact that overtime,
we may go through other experiences that cause us to reflect on old situations differently,
because of a change in perspective.
Instead of referring to this conflict as a lesson learned, Id rather refer to it as
confirmation to a lesson already learned. What I mean by this is that although this
happened sometime ago, we cant forget that my perspective at that time was also
developed through earlier dilemmas and through lessons from stories my parents would
tell me for my own good. The lesson that was confirmed was that I should always stand
my ground especially if I am telling the truth, and to stick to the truth. Something that I
would want others to take and understand from this situation is that if YOU make a

choice that does not result in your benefit, then it is also your responsibility to own the
choice you made without blowing things out of proportion. Conflicts occur when we act
fast before thinking about all the aspects of the problem. They intensify particularly when
those who are liable lack maturity about the facts. A change in thought about conflicts
simply occurs when we mature and move on, or when we learn lessons from them.

Process Notes Questions

1. I really enjoyed the method of writing we used to write this paper. It definitely
was something different. I cannot say that I have had an instructor that
introduced this method to me. To write this paper, we broke parts of it up into
pieces, which really helped in carefully structuring this narrative. A common
method of writing that I have used in the past did not require as many steps. I
would much rather use the method that we used for this paper.
2. Revisions such as making sure the story is clear and thoroughly developed by
not going off on a tangent is important. It is also important to make sure that
the structure of the paper is in order with enough detail to grab and keep the
readers attention. The readers reaction should always be considered when
revising a paper.
3. My classmates response opened me to a new idea. She also helped me with a
couple of grammar errors and her response gave me the notion that I should
add just a little more detail to my story. At that time, she was my audience
and with the help of her evaluation, I really took into consideration how she
felt as the reader, and I applied corrections based on her assessment.
4. How would you still like to improve this paper if you had more time?
I believe my paper could still be formatted cooler. I feel that if I had more
time, I could narrate my story even better by reordering the analysis of
different perspectives and cultural factors in a more capturing fashion.
5. What was your most difficult choice to make when you revised your paper?

6. As previously mentioned, if I had more time with this paper, I would reorder it
just a little more. With that being said, I feel that my most difficult choice
involved putting all of the pieces of the story together to make the narrative
and analysis whole.
7. What are you most proud about during this process?
Im glad that the process came to a good end. The turnout of the whole paper
is what I am proud of. I liked analyzing my narrative more than actually
narrating the story. Narrating the story was easy and hard. Easy, because I
witnessed the conflict and could write about what happened, yet hard, because
I did not want to lack good detail. When we began to analyze the different
aspects of what we wrote about, it opened new ideas and explanations in the
process of formatting the entire piece.