I used to be very pessimistic about the world, floating around life muttering phrases to myself like, "hope for the best, expect the worst," and thinking to myself that the world was a place dominated by humans who were ruthless predators that prowled the earth, stalking their next victim. "There is definitely more bad than good in the world," I would think to myself, "just look at every war, they're perfect proof of the evil of humanity." But the world soon slapped me hard across the face with the truth, and my sensitive pride and ego swelled from the pain of being so terribly wrong. People began showing me that the best things in life come in small packages, and that all that is good is truly just as numerous as all that is evil. But this pessimistic mindset, regardless of my generally joyful demeanor, is the one that I took with me to Boston, nine of the most life-changing days of my life.
   

 I went to Boston in the summer before my junior year to a medical program. One of those day, my friends and I decided to go buy some coffee at Starbucks before lunch and after a workshop. We had planned this since the day before, when we were shopping at Quincy Market and Fenway Hall, since we knew we were going to need a mid-day wake up call from all the restless days and sleepless nights we had already been through. So right after the workshop, just as we had planned to, we set out to Starbucks, which was just in the boundaries of where we were allowed to go to. With no wind to keep us cool, the smoldering dry heat beat down on us, and the beads of sweat rolled down my back and face. I was sweating like a pig. I was honestly afraid my deodorant would fail m at any moment and just let me smell like an onion. Now, it's not like I'm not used to heat. I live in Miami, and heat and humidity are not a good combination, but at least I get to wear shorts and a T-shirt. In Boston, I had to wear long pants and a blouse because I had to wear business casual clothes - definitely not the most heat-appropriate clothing. When we finally got to the Starbucks, after what seemed like forever, I swung the door open and immediately the fresh air poured over us, the cold breeze caressing my sizzling face. The sweet, strong smell of coffee filled the air, and I was in paradise. My friends started ordering first while I looked for my wallet in my bag. After frantically searching through my tiny bag my wallet, I realized that I had left my wallet in the American Eagle shopping bag from the day before, which was in my closet all the way back in my dorm room, which was at a lengthy walking distance. But by then, one of my friends was standing next to me waiting for her order to be prepared, and the other had just finished ordering. When my friend finished her order, the young man taking orders asked me what I would like to order, to which I replied, "I don't have any money, I'm sorry." But then he asked again "But what would you like to order?" I looked at the menu for a quick second and shyly squeaked in a question-like intonation "Cafe latte?" I was confused at why he would ask me what I wanted if I didn't have any money, until I saw him tell the man preparing my friends' orders to prepare a cafe latte as well. That's when I realized he was preparing me a drink for free.
     

For free? I though that kind of stuff only happened in stories that you see on the internet, stories that were usually fictional or that happened to some really pretty girl, not something that could happen to me. I was shocked, questioning if I was dreaming. It couldn't have been happening, not to someone like me. It couldn't have been real. But it was real, and it was happening to me. I joyously thanked the guy several times to make sure he knew how grateful and ecstatic I was. That's a memory I will cherish forever.

It is through many experiences like this one that the world slapped sense into me and showed me how wrong I was. Without the darkness of the night sky, the stars can't shine bright and fraught their twinkling beauty, just as a truly good deed can only shine at its brightest against a backdrop of negativity. Good and evil go hand in hand. There is animal cruelty, but there are also those who protect those animals and make sure they are nursed to help and feel loved. There are shooters, but there are also those who jump to save the lives of their loved ones or even a stranger. There are genocides, but there also those who protect the persecuted. Without the evil in the world, these heroes can't standout, however ordinary or extraordinary they may be. And there is no such thing as pure evil, just like there is no such thing as pure good. Even though the Nazis did conduct a genocide, they had also helped the German people before World War II by lowering unemployment rates and creating Volkswagen, or the "People's House." Good and evil work in a balance, just like everything else in the world. In the field of science ranging from chemistry to physics, there is a balance everything. In chemistry, all elements in a chemical equation have to be equal on both sides because one side can not have more elements than the other, as matter cannot be created or destroyed. In physics, all the forces in the world acting on any object at any given moment cancel out, meaning they all balance and cancel each other out. Without good, there can not be good. The world is a balance, a balance that is crucial to life.