Analyzing Personal Conflict Management Styles Essay Example for Free

Analyzing Personal Conflict Management Styles Essay Conflict management is the detriment of many teams or groups in accomplishing its goals. This is because most people do not understand the different conflict styles and how to apply the rules and principles associated with the style you may be dealing with. In this paper I will analyze three of the five management styles discussed in the textbook Communication in Small Groups. Avoidance and competition are two styles that I believe have the greatest effect on hindering a group or team from accomplishing its goals. Collaboration, however, is a style that I believe is most effective in assisting a team in attaining its goals. This is a style that I use not only in my professional life but also in my personal life and have seen the difference this style of conflict management makes on individuals who are approached with this technique. Avoidance, according to the Collins English Dictionary is â€Å"the act of keeping away from or preventing from happening. † This definition sums up the reason I believe that of the five conflict managing styles, this one is among the top reasons some teams fail at achieving their goals. Whether it is just that a person does not like confrontation, are afraid to voice his or her true opinions out of fear, or simply do not want to hurt another person’s feelings, the simple fact remains that the team may not be aware of everything they need to consider. They miss the opportunity to be more objective in reaching an educated decision on the goals the team is trying to attain. This can also lead to members of the team feeling as though a member does not care and give them reason to discount whatever input that member may have. It is important to remember that there are certain instances when avoidance is needed to move the team along. For instance if what is causing the conflict is something trivial that will not have an adverse effect on the ultimate goal of the team it is likely a good idea to avoid it. It may be also be a good idea to use this method temporarily to give a team time to gather their thoughts on an important issue they need to resolve, but cannot get certain members to be objective or reasonable because they are standing firm behind their point of view. Competition is a conflict management style exactly opposite of avoidance. This is a very confrontational style, which characteristics consist of forcefully persuading others that their position is the only correct position. A person who exerts this style in most cases seeks to win with the intent of another person losing. They want control and work to achieve it no matter what. This type of style is infectious to a team. It is hard for a team to work at attaining a common goal if the level of competition in the team is such that no one can agree. Competition often leads to unethical ways of trying to persuade others in the team like shouting, or even threatening. These types of behaviors lead to defensiveness and distrust as members may feel as if they are forced into a decision rather than arriving at a decision on their own. Again, just like with all management styles it is not always a bad thing to be competitive. When working as a team it is important to remember the goals of the team and be mindful that the actions taken are working toward that goal. No matter how right a person is individually, he or she must find a way to get the rest of the team to agree that their point of view is correct or the best action for the goal the team is trying to accomplish. Otherwise, they will accomplish nothing and alienate themself from the team. The other members of the team can again feel as if that member does not care about what is best for the team and discount his or her ideas as one sided. Of all of the conflict management styles, collaboration is the style that most researchers agree is the best for achieving the goals of a team. â€Å"To collaborate is to have a high concern for both yourself and others† (Beebe Masterson, 2009, p. 52). This common belief among users of this style drives them to search for answers using all of the tools at the team’s disposal. The different dynamics of the team become assets. They see the differences that distinguish the members of the team as points of view are respected and viewed objectively. Differences like a male versus a female’s perspective, race, culture, and even social or economic status are viewpoints that give all in the team a bigger picture of the different issues they may need to consider when coming to a conclusion about how best to achieve their goal. Though this style is thought of as the best route for teams to use, it is lso one of the most difficult. Even a person who has a natural talent or personality that promotes this style of conflict management has to practice to be effective using this style in a team setting. A person cannot be judgmental and must be sure not to take anything said personally. This is something that most if not all of the team members must have an awareness of. All team members have to feel comfortable with the results and with what was given up from their own personal point of view to arrive at the team’s decision. This style is also very demanding so it requires a good amount of patience. Depending on how quick a decision is needed it is not always possible for a team to achieve and some in the team may not believe that their best interests were achieved. I realized through this research that I am a person who naturally uses the collaboration style of conflict management in many areas of my life. In my relationship with my wife, I use collaboration as a way to strengthen our alliance in running our household. Feeling as if we are a team benefits the decisions we make for our family. Our children see us as united in our decision making. This is something we had to work to achieve and collaboration was the key to its success. We had a competitive style at first and our children would use that fact to split us up on decisions that we made pertaining to them. I could break that cycle by focusing on putting our ego’s aside. Our discussions were no longer about who was right or wrong. It was a process that started with accommodation to show I was willing to take the first step. That eventually grew into compromise, which is what most couples strive for. Finding a middle ground gives most couples the sense that they are working as a team. Collaboration, however, is the ability of that team not to find a middle ground, but actively work to agree and the best plan or action together by understanding and processing each other’s viewpoint to come up with decisions together. It is a style that comes in handy when training my children on the importance of being responsible and accountable for their actions. Collaborating on goals so that they are part of the decision-making process empowers them to believe they have control over what decisions they make. In my school and professional life collaboration has proven to be a way to drive for results. Team members work better when they are at ease in their decision-making, and everyone is comfortable with each other. Disagreements work themselves out with little stress because of the trust established through everyone’s willingness to collaborate on the goals set in place. Because the goals were set together, everyone has a vested interest in its outcome and most want that outcome to be a successful one. When I do encounter a person on my team with a conflicting style, I tend to take some time away from the situation to evaluate the best course of action for our progress. I take into account the level of importance our issue may have on our ultimate goal and what if any ethical issues are involved. Collaboration, though it is my favorite approach, is not always the approach I may use to resolve the issue. I am not one to avoid the issue entirely, but I have had to use accommodation, compromise, and even competition depending on what the issue is and what personality I am dealing with. In conclusion, you can see that there is no one way to manage conflict. I believe that being able to adapt to the different conflict styles will assist a person in overcoming conflict. Collaboration best supports a person who is adaptable and best supports a team’s objective because it focuses on the goals of the team by giving each person on the team’s needs equal importance.

Government Influence on Media Debate

Government Influence on Media Debate Mass media is the vital means which keep people informed about event and news over the world. It is one of the most important stages to communicate and transfer information. Obviously, people receive external and internal news anywhere even they busy by listening radio and/or reading newspaper, magazine and internet. That mean mass media is the most powerful tool of communication. There are many kinds of media such as newspaper, radio, television and internet. It is useful for entertainment, advertisement and news around the world. Mass media has positive and negative impacts on the audience. That mean should be censorship to assess mass media and make it suitable for all audience. It would argue that some people believe that government should not influence on the mass media. However, others think that the government should control the mass media. In my opinion, I think that the government should have responsibilities and duties to control mass media. In this essay will write about advantages and disadvantages of mass media. Then I will discuss about the government should involve in regulating forms of influence on news, violence program, advertisement, sexual themes and education. After that I will mention some suggestion about media. Mass media has positive and negative effects on the people. There are many of advantages of media. First of the advantages, it helps you to increase your knowledge by reading articles in newspaper or watching TV program. Second, it keeps you inform about news internal and external world by listening to radio. Third, it helps you to improve your skills such as reading and listening. Moreover, magazine or TV advertisement obtains best offer for perfect product. On the other hand, if you followed the media extensively it could cause negative impacts such as media may cause obesity because setting long time read, watch or listen. Furthermore, children or young might learn bad habits like smoking or eating drugs because they imitate hero in film. In addition, people may miss some skill like speaking fluently because they learn to read and write with media. In many places around the world people believe that news take part in human life. The people want to know every events that happen around them. Therefore, mass media makes report daily and monthly to keep people informed. Also it reflects the news in best way to affect on people and make them happy to follow the broadcast. Audience might not trust any information sent to them by newspaper or television because fake news influence on the true news. Sometimes the media broadcasts the events in different way or it changes some parts in this events to attract people. Producing fake news may led to make serious problem between people and government entire the country or between two countries. The government should contribute many efforts to regulate the mass media by providing censorship for all kinds of media. Moreover, encouraging the media to make news in easiest way to understand it clear. That means the media not allows to establish programs or report without assessment from the gove rnment. For instance, when the newspaper and/or television produce report they need to have permission to establish it. Watching horror films and excessive violence programs seem good way to spend free time for young people. They set at home or they go to cinema to watch these program in terms of fun and entertainment. These programs design to make you concentrate on the events and try to think what could happen at the end. In this kind of program may show crime unreal like monsters or real but fake film like murder kill people. Excessive watching horror and violence cause many problems for young people especially children as the following. First of all the attitude, mood and behavior will change to worse such as speaking of young uncivilized because they imitate the film. Second, it might make children less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, be more fearful of the world around them and be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others. As result, the government should notice that and teach the parents to look after their children and keep them away. The government shoul d obtain the instruction of any program by provide legal age to watch it. For example, some films indicate the suitable age to watch the film to prevent children from any violence. In many companies around the world use the media to advertise their product. The companies pay huge amount of money to show the product in the media. Usually they target children in advertisement which help them to sale goods. They create best broadcast by using famous hero use this product which attract children to buy it. Also, they use carton film to advertise product by doing unbelievable thing. That might make children believe that unhealthy food make you strong. Watching a lot of advertisements cause negative effects on children such as child believe every think in the media and do not realize the broadcast made for commercial and get money. Therefore, in my opinion the government should limit the advertisement or reduce time broadcasting. Moreover, the government should encourage companies to make broadcast with positive goal such as encourage children to eat fruits or mention in broadcasting some benefits of vitamins. In the visible media use attractive and sexual people to show the program like television and internet also in magazine they use photos of beauty girls. This kind of show to attract people and make them concentrate in the program. Companies provide beautiful girls an handsome boys in terms of fashion. The companies effort the worker more attractive to attract people and sell product. For instance, the companies use semi-naked girls to advertise hair care products, shaving blades and creams and/or body soaps. Some of the boys and girls do strong diet to be slim like the actors or actress. This may cause negative effect on their life such as cause some disease. Moreover, the people tend to watch romantic films which contain a lot of sexual themes. Also, some adult watch sexual films in terms of entertainment. However, the children will watch most of unacceptable themes in television or internet. This will encourage children to do earlier sex and do not care about wearing naked cloths. Because the children do not know sham and they think do right. This issue should solve by government. The government influence on the media by provide suitable age to watch and delay the broadcasting until mid night to be ensure children sleep. The mass media source of information for people so it work hard in terms of education which is the important concept in our life. Media provide variety programs to educate people. There are many program in history and culture in different countries. These broadcast to keep you informed about your traditional culture. Moreover, mass media will increase your knowledge by providing a large number of competition programs. There are many channel provide documentary and scientist material to give you view about the nature. Also, some magazine and newspaper provide different subject and games help you to think. These programs useful for all ages for example children may learn to read and write through TV or magazine. I think, the government keep encouraging mass media to improve the part of education. Furthermore, the government should give the media motivation to work hard and to keep going. Before the end of this essay I would mention some useful suggestion to help us to get benefits of media. First of all, the government should encourage people to read books by giving people pursuers about importance of media and how we use it in correct way. Second, the people should notice list for good program also do not concentrate on TV or internet only but you should read. Third, the parents should look after their children by deleting some channels from TV or band TV at the midnight and help them to understand the correct way for the media. Finally, I would say you should do sport to keep your mental awake. To sum up, me and some people believe that mass media plays a fundamental role in our life. It seems that mass media is the quick way to connect between the government and individuals. Therefore, the government should control mass media to promote education and development target also to protect young people from misleading habits.

A Muslim Experience Of Going To Church

A Muslim Experience Of Going To Church This week I visited the St. Bernard church located on 143rd and Parker Rd in Homer Glen, IL. My friend came with me, she is also Muslim. We actually visited it twice. The first time it was like 6 pm, and it was dark out. We thought it would be open because our mosque is always open. So we went and as we were pulling up, we got scared. It was dark, and all I saw was crosses, and when I was getting ready to open the door to see if anyone was there, I just freaked out and left. I dont know why, but it looked to us as if it was closed. I really thought there would be someone sitting there or something. But then my friend and I went the next day in the morning. As we arrived at the church the next morning we saw a lot of families, and people getting together. They all seemed so happy. At first I was all excited with my pen and notebook, then I was kind of shy and scared to walk in, I really dont know why. Everyone was really nice, so we walked in. The first person that came up to me was a girl that my friend knew from high school she was really surprised to see us there, so she stuck with us and made it less awkward for us. She said Sabreen the first thing you need to know is Catholic means universal that should be a great way to start your essay. I liked that, I never knew that. It was pretty loud in there. Everyone was talking and laughing. I was very surprised to see how loud it is; because I always thought that a place of worship would be quiet. In my place of worship, the mosque, it is really quiet and everyone whispers. We consider it to be very inappropriate to be loud, unless everyone is ready to go home. But I noticed when the prie st started talking everyone became quiet; similar to the mosque when the Sheikh gives a lesson/lecture everyone becomes quiet. The gathering was motivating. The melody was a bit loud and from time to time it completed me to feel awkward again I mean it was one atmosphere I have by no means existed in. At Mosques, there truly are not any melodic gadgets and as I mentioned it is a lot calmer. Anyway as I walked in I had to say the WOW. There was stained glass everywhere. I mean everywhere. It was so beautiful. And there were people around the holy water they started dipping their hands in there. It was so cool. Ive heard about holy water before. We Muslims also have Holy water our Holy water is ZamZam. It is only located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. But there are bottles of ZamZam now where we can buy at some Islamic stores. We consider it to be so pure. And everyone that goes to do pilgrimage goes by the holy water and starts drinking and also dipping their hands in it. There were many sc ulptures of diverse volumes and forms. In Islam, There are no sculptures because it is an offense. It is also an offense to have any images in spite of of what they describe in a Mosque, where the church was fully enclosed in pictures. The pictures were so beautiful; I cannot even describe them they were just outstanding how they were made. I have learned a whole lot from this experience. I talked to many people; many of them were very nice, and willing to share with me about the Catholic Religion. I learned that Catholics consider with the intention of Christ is the messiah of the aged proofs called Messianic prophecies. In an occasion recognized since the personification, the Church educates people on that, throughout the control of the sacred strength, the lord developed into joint by means of soul natural world as soon as Christ was considered in sacred Virgin Mary. Christ is understood, so, to be in cooperation entirely delightful and completely being. People follow Christs teachings and his wisdom. Similarly to Muslims we follow Prophet Mohammads teachings and wisdoms. It is so interesting how hopes and dedications for Virgin Mary are a division of Catholic faithfulness but are different from the devotion to God. The Church embraces Mary, as an everlasting virgin and as a mother of God. So what I understood was that Virgin Mary was so important to them it was more of respect then worship towards her their beliefs consist of her clean and tidy formation with no blemish of a sin and physical supposition into paradise at the finish of her existence. Catholics believe Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, they believe in the rebirth the spirit of Jesus was joined up to His corpse by His individual heavenly authority. Muslims believe that When Jesus was on the cross, he never died, and that Alllah (God) took him up to heaven and put a person that looks like him instead. We believe that Jesus is up in heaven with Allah right now, Also that when Jesus comes down one day, that will be on the Day of Judgment. Some people thought I was thinking of converting, this religion is really interesting but I dont think I will convert. I mean I grew up knowing all about Islam, and in this class I have learned about many other religions. But I am sticking to Islam, because I feel like it is the right religion for me, more like I know it is the right religion for me. After I went home many of my friends and family thought I was going to get into an argument with someone about being wrong or something. I tend to be a very defensive person. But I really wanted to understand the different religions out there. I really want to go to a Jewish synagogue one day and see what the Jews believe; I mean you dont believe it till you see it right? I read all these essays, and the books, and researched about many religions, but I really want to start experiencing them. This experience was beyond awesome. Sabreen

How We Acquire Knowledge :: Education Educating Essays

How We Acquire Knowledge When I think about knowledge the first thing that comes to my mind is education. I believe that knowledge comes to people by their experiences in life. In other words, life is an instrument that leads me to gain knowledge. Many people consider that old people are wise because they have learned from good and bad experiences throughout their lives. Education requires work, dedication and faith to gain knowledge. We acquired knowledge through the guidance of from parents, role models, college/University teachers and life experiences. When we were little our parents had to guided us because we did not have the ability to live by ourselves. Sometimes, for some people, their parents taught them or they sent them to school to develop their knowledge. Parents helped their children to do their homework. They encouraged them to continue their early education. Parents help their children to build confidence in their life. A child with confidence is able to has a positive attitude in school. Also, help the child to be positive in his leaning. Many children have problems learning in school because parents do not give them support. Instead, they tell them that they are not good nothing. Also, parents help to build ways of learning at an early age. When we were, little we did not know how to study, how to read. Our parents found the best way to learn the basic education. As students, knowledge is very important to guide us to continuo our education. A way to acquire knowledge is to have a role model in our lives. In this society almost every child, adult and elder has o had has a hero in their lives. It is very important to have someone to admire because it helps to increase our interest in education and eventually it will lead us to gain knowledge. Role models make the students to feel positive that they will be able to fulfill their dreams. For example, I grew up in a Christian family. My role model since I was a little girl was Jesus. I wanted to be like him, and follow all his teachings. I knew that I could gain knowledge through his words. I know that most religions have a leader that most of the people follow. In schools, teachers can be role models. Many students want to be like their favorite teacher.

Cloning, Triumph or Tragedy? Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Clone G

Cloning, Triumph or Tragedy? The creation of life through scientific experiments is not a new concept. The idea has been in existence as far back as two hundred years. Mary Shelley was far ahead of her time when she brought the human like creature to life in her writing of "Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus." The story of "Frankenstein" was written as a myth, yet it continues to leave the world intrigued today. The idea of creating human or animal life is now in the making, except there is a twist to creating this new life. It is known as cloning, bringing an exact replica of cells to life to create an animal or a human that is already in existence. Though human life has not yet been a part of cloning, the cloning of one lamb has recently occurred. The advantages to cloning as well as many ethical dilemmas will be discussed, According to one document, "The technology to clone is simple, though far from perfect." Various views will also be shared from J. Michael Bishop ¹s"Enemies of Promise." Scientists will express their beliefs in the advancement of technology and the use of science in today ¹s world. Many definitions of cloning have been brought to light by groups and organizations. The American Medical Association defines it as "the production of genetically identical organisms via somatic cell nuclear transfer." Cloning is the method of producing a baby gene that has the same gene as its parent. The idea of cloning all began in 1997 with embryologist, Ian Wilmut, from Roslin Institute in Scotland. He and his colleagues were the first to clone a lamb they named "Dolly." Before this experiment was proven successful, cloning was thought to be an impossible endeavor. It is true that the technology to clone does exist, but ... ... it is human failure that causes problems in our society. People need to think harder about the reality and the effects cloning could have on society before cloning itself becomes real. If human cloning ever does become legalized and takes place, I surely hope that science doesn ¹t take the bad  ³rap ² for it, but the failure of humans instead. We saw Victor Frankenstein ¹s failures, we saw other accounts of failures. Maybe we should learn from the various examples, that human life is extremely fragile and to distort it could change the human race forever. Works Cited Bishop, J. Michael.  ³Enemies of Promise. ² 237-242 Farnsworth, Joseph (2000, April) To Clone or not to Clone. http://farnsworth.tripod.com/Humancloning/cloning_m.htm Marty, Martin (1997, May) A Wolf in Sheep ¹s Cloning. http://thelutheran.org/9705/page26.html Shelley, Mary.  ³Frankenstein. ² 231-235

Dreamweavers Essay

Hinabing Panaginip/ Dream Weavers Reaction Paper Hinabing Panaginip or Dream Weavers, a documentary video directed by Fruto Corre is about the life of the people from Northern Cotobato; the T’bolis. The whole process of making the old T’nalak; one of the most remarkable creations of the T’bolis, was presented in the video. The T’nalak fabric holds a very special place in T’boli culture. It is always present in really important turning points in a T’boli‘s life such as birth, marriage, and death. It has also often been referred to as â€Å"woven dreams†. T’nalak is made of Abaca fibers which traditionally has three primary colors, red, black and the original color of the Abaca leaves. The colorant of the things used in making this traditional cloth are naturally dyed boiled in with bark, roots and leaves of plants. It is said that the T’bolis create T’nalak because they believe that following their dreams is a must. They had to do what is indicated in their memories. The designs that they clearly see in their dreams have certain meanings and requirements. With this, T’nalak has become their sacred treasure. The T’bolis expressed everything in the T’nalak: their dreams, beliefs, myths and even their religion. T’bolis consider it taboo to cut the cloth because they strongly believe that doing so will make them severely ill. They respect T’nalak weavers a lot like how they do to their warriors. The undenaiable quality of the fabric is a rich legacy of creative art handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. Perhaps, the artistic and spiritual dedication of the T’boli women of Lake Sebu made the existence of T’nalak last for centuries. But as time goes by, urbanization has forced most tribe members into poverty. Mo dernization became a threat to their culture. Watching the documentary video made me feel proud and sad at the same time. As a Filipino, I am very proud to have the same nationality as these  very talented, hardworking and passionate people. They really made me want to salute them for they deserve a â€Å"You’re the best† award. I was amazed on how people can be that artistic. I have never imagined that a used ballpen could become a bead to produce necklaces! But I was disappointed because I realized that these days, people would not want to buy our own products. In fact, people would buy imported ones instead. Before, one T’nalak is equivalent to a horse or a house. But now, one T’nalak only costs about two to three hundred pesos. See how things change in a matter of time? I still believe that no matter how hard it is to survive in this era, the T’bolis will still keep their culture intact. I pray that their artistic spirit will not only last for another century but for eternity.

The Return: Nightfall Chapter 39

â€Å"We won the battle, but not the war,† Elena said sadly. She thought it was the day after their fight with the kitsune twins. She couldn't be sure of anything except that she was alive, that Stefan was gone, and that Damon was back to his old self again. â€Å"Maybe because we didn't have my precious brother,† he said, as if to prove it. They were driving in the Ferrari, trying to find Elena's Jaguar – in the real world. Elena ignored him. She also ignored the soft but vaguely annoying hiss that came from some device he'd installed that was not a radio, that just seemed to play voices and static. A new kind of Ouija board? Audio instead of all that tedious spelling? Elena felt herself shiver inside. â€Å"You did give your word to go with me and find him. I swear it by – by the Other World.† â€Å"You tell me that I did, and you're not a liar – no, not to me. I can read your facial expressions now that you're a human. If I gave my word, I gave my word.† Human? Elena thought. Am I?What am I? – with the kind of Powers I have? Even Damon can see that the Old Wood has changed in the real world. It's not an ancient, half-dead forest anymore. There are spring flowers in midsummer. There's life everywhere. â€Å"And in any case, it will give me plenty of time to be alone with you – my princess of darkness.† And we're back to that again, Elena thought wearily. But he'd leave me here stranded if I once suggested that we had laughed and walked in a clearing together – with him on his knees to adjust my footstool. Even I'm beginning to wonder if it was real. There was a slight bump – as nearly as one could tell from Damon's style of driving. â€Å"Got it!† he cheered himself – and then, when Elena turned, ready to wrench the wheel to make him stop – he added coolly, â€Å"It was a piece oftire , for your information. Not many animals are black, arched, and a few tenths of an inch thick.† Elena said nothing. What was there to say to Damon's quips? But deep down she felt relieved that Damon wasn't given to running over furry little animals as an amusement. We're going to be alone together for quite some time, she thought – and then realized that there was another reason she couldn't just tell Damon to dry up and die. Shinichi had put the location of Stefan's cell into Damon's mind, not hers. She needed him desperately, to take her to the location, and to fight whoever was keeping Stefan captive. But it was fine if he had forgotten that she had any Powers. Something to save for a rainy day. At just that moment, Damon exclaimed â€Å"What the – † and leaned forward to adjust dials on the not-radio. † – peating; all units be on the lookout for one Matthew Honeycutt, male Caucasian, five foot eleven inches, blond hair, blue eyes – â€Å" â€Å"What is that?†Elena demanded. â€Å"A police scanner. If you want to be able to really live in this great land of freedom, it's best to know when to run – â€Å" â€Å"Damon, don't get me started on your lifestyle. I meant what was that about Matt?† â€Å"It looks as if they've decided to bring him in at last. Caroline didn't get much revenge yesterday night. I guess she's taking a shot at it now.† â€Å"Then we've got to get to him first – anythingcould happen if he stays in Fell's Church. But he can't take his car, and he won't fit in this one. What are we going to do?† â€Å"Leave him to the police?† â€Å"Don't, please. We have to – † Elena was beginning, when in a clearing to the left, like some vision sent to approve her scheme, the Jaguar appeared. â€Å"That'sthe car we're taking,† she told Damon flatly. â€Å"At least it's roomy. If you want your police scanner doo-hickey in it, then you'd better start uninstalling it from this one.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"I'll go get Matt. I'm the only one he'll listen to. Then we'll leave the Ferrari in the Wood – or dump it in the creek if you want.† â€Å"Oh, the creek, byall means.† â€Å"Actually, we may not have time for that. We'll just leave it in the Wood.† Matt stared at Elena. â€Å"No. I won't run.† Elena turned the full intensity of her blue eyes on him. â€Å"Matt, get in the car.Now . You have to. Caroline's dad is related to the judge who signed the order to get you. It's a lynching, Meredith says. Even Meredith is telling you to run. No, you don't need clothes; we'll get clothes.† â€Å"But – but – it's not true – â€Å" â€Å"They'll make it true. Caroline will weep and sob. I never thought a girl would do this to get revenge, but Caroline is in a class of her own. She's gone nuts.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"I said, get in!They'll be here any minute. They've already been to your house and Meredith's house. What are you doing at Bonnie's, anyway?† Bonnie and Matt glanced at each other. â€Å"Uh, just having a look at Bonnie's mom's car,† Matt said. â€Å"It's on the fritz again, and – â€Å" â€Å"Never mind! Come with me! Bonnie, what are you doing? Calling Meredith back?† Bonnie jumped slightly. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Tell her good-bye and we love her and good-bye. Take care of the town – we'll be in touch – â€Å" As the red Jaguar pulled away, Bonnie said into the phone, â€Å"You were right. She's pulling a Straight A away. I don't know whether Damon's going – he wasn't in the car.† She listened for a moment and then said, â€Å"Okay, I will. I'll see you.† She hung up and got into action. Dear Diary, Today I ran away from home. I guess you can't really call it running away when you're almost 18 and you take your own car – and when nobody knew you were home in the first place. So I'll just say, tonight I'm on the run. The other slightly shocking thing is that I ran away with two different guys. And neither of them ismy guy. I say that, but†¦I can't help remembering things. The look in Matt's eyes in the clearing – I honestly think he was prepared to die to protect me. I can't help but think about what we once were to each other. Those blue eyes†¦oh, I don't know what's wrong with me! And Damon. I know now that there's living flesh under the layers and layers of stone he's wrapped around his soul. It's deeply hidden, but it's there. If I'm being honest with myself, I have to admit that he touches something deep inside me that makes me shiver – a part of myself even I don't understand. Oh, Elena! Stop right now! You can't go near that dark part of yourself, especially now that you have Power. You don't dare go near it. Everything is different now. You have to be more responsible (something you're not at all good at!). And Meredith won't be here to help me be responsible, either. How is this ever going to work out? Damon and Matt in the same car? On a road trip together? Can you imagine? Tonight, it was so late and Matt was so stunned by the situation that he couldn't really take anything in. And Damon only smirked. But he'll be in demonic form tomorrow, I know he will. I still think it was a great pity that Shinichi had to takeWings of Redemption from Damon along with his memories. But I firmly believe that, deep down, there's a tiny part of Damon that remembers how he was when we were together. And now he has to be worse than ever to prove that what he remembers was all a lie. So while you're reading this,Damon – I know you'll get hold of it somehow and snoop – let me tell you that you were nice for a while, actuallyNICE,and it was fun. We talked together. We even laughed – at the same jokes. And you†¦you were gentle. And now you're going, â€Å"Nah, it's just another Elena-plot to get me to think I can turn around – butI know where I'm going, and I don't care.† Does that ring a bell, Damon? Have yousaid those words to someone recently? And if not, how do I know them? Could it be that for once I'm telling the truth? Now I'm going to forget that you're totally besmirching your honor by reading secret things that don't belong to you. What else? First: I miss Stefan. Second: I didn't really pack for this. Matt and I swung by the boardinghouse, and he grabbed the money Stefan left for me while I grabbed an armful of clothes out of the closet – heaven knows what I've got: Bonnie's tops and Meredith's pants, and not a decent nightgown to my name. But at least I also got you, precious friend, a present Stefan was saving for me. I never really liked typing in a file marked â€Å"Diary† anyway. Blank books like you are my style. Third: I miss Stefan. I miss him so badly that I'm crying while I'm writing about clothes. It looks as if that's what I'm crying about, which makes me seem insanely shallow. Oh, sometimes I just want to scream. Fourth: I want to screamnow.It was only when we got back to Fell's Church that we found what horrors the malach had left for us. There is a fourth little girl I think may be possessed like Tami, Kristin, and Ava – I couldn't really tell, so I couldn't do anything. I have the feeling that we definitely haven't heard the last of this possession thing. Fifth: But worst is what happened in the Saitou house. Isobel is in the hospital with raging infections in all her piercings. Obaasan, as everyone calls Isobel's grandmother, was not dead as the first paramedics who got there thought. She was in a deep trance – reaching out tous . Whether some of the courage I got, some of the belief in myself, was really due to her, is something I'll never know. But in the den was Jim Bryce. He had†¦oh, I can't write it. He was the captain of theb asketball team! But he hadeaten away at himself: his whole left hand, most of his right-hand fingers, his lips. And he had put a pencil through his ear into his brain. They say (I heard this through Tyrone Alpert, the doctor's grandson) that it's called Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (sp? I only heard it said) and that it's rare, but there are others just like him. That's what the doctors say. I say it was a malach making him do it. But they wouldn't let me in to try to take it out of him. I can't even say he's alive. I can't say if he's dead. He's going to a sort of institution where they keep long-term cases. We failed there. I failed. It wasn't really Jim Bryce's fault. So he was with Caroline just one night, and from there he passed the malach to his girlfriend Isobel and to his little sister Tami. Then both Caroline and little Tami passed it along to others. They tried to give it to Matt, but he wasn't about to let them. Sixth, the three little girls that most definitely did get it were all under the orders of Misao, from what Shinichi said.They say that they don't remember anything about decorating themselves or propositioning strangers. They don't seem to remember anything about the time of their possession, and they act like very different little girls now. Nice. Calm. If I thought Misao gave up easily then I would be sure they'll be all right. Worse is the thought of Caroline. She was a friend once and now – well, now I think she needs help more than ever. Damon got toher diaries – she kept her own diary by recording herself on video, and we watched her talk to the mirror†¦and watched the mirror talk back. Mostly it was her own image that showed, but sometimes, at the beginning or end of a session, it was Shinichi's face. He's good-looking, if a little wild. I can see how Caroline might fall for him and agree to be his carrier of malach in the town. That's all over. I used the last of whatever Power I know I have taking the malach out of those girls. Caroline, of course, wouldn't let me near her. And then there were those fateful words of Caroline's: â€Å"I need a husband!† Any girl knows what that means. Any girl feels sorry for another who says it, even if they're unfriends. Caroline and Tyler Smallwood were going together until about two weeks ago. Meredith says Caroline dropped him, and that kidnapping her for Klaus was Tyler's revenge. Butif before that they'd been sleeping together with no protection (and Caroline is dumb enough to do it), she could certainly have known she was pregnant and been looking for another guy by the time Shinichi turned up. (Which was just before I – returned to life.) Now she's trying to pin it on Matt. It was pure bad luck that she said it happened on the same night the malach attacked Matt and that that old man from the Neighborhood Watch saw Matt drive home and pass out at the steering wheel as if he were drunk or on drugs. Or maybe it wasn't just luck. Maybe that was all part of Misao's game, too. I'm going to sleep now. Too much thinking. Too much worry. And, oh, I miss Stefan! He would help me deal with the worry in his own gentle but keen-sighted way. I'm sleeping inside the car with the doors locked. The guys are sleeping outside it. At least, that's how we're starting – at their insistence. At least they agreed on that. I don't think Shinichi and Misao will stay away from Fell's Church for long. I don't know if they'll leave it alone for a few days, or weeks, or a few months, but Misao will heal and they'll come back for us eventually. That means that Damon, Matt, and I – we're fugitives in two worlds. And I have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow. Elena