Uc-Davis Case Essay Example for Free

Uc-Davis Case Essay Personal statement (250 words) Your Personal Statement provides an opportunity for you to share perspectives and experiences that you believe will be most informative as the Admissions Committee evaluates your candidacy and writing ability. Before settling in the city, my family was one of those rural families struggling to make a better life. I witnessed how my uncles were forced to become migrant workers. My cousins, therefore, became left-behind children. Unconsciously, my career vision stems from those memories. Now that I grew-up from a rustic kid to a well-educated girl, I intend to exhaust myself on creating values for rural families through my business specialty. Holding this determination, I studied to the top in my major and got a 3.76 junior GPA. Also, I demonstrated great enthusiasm in leadership experiences. â€Å"Rekindle†, the organization I cofounded and lead, now has 65 members and reached over 10,000 books sales volume. We donated all our profits to the charities. After 3-year professional study, I found the access point of my career path. Small to medium-sized rural business growth is an irresistible trend in China and it increased farmers’ income by establishing the relationship between farmers and outside markets. Actually, after the crisis in 2008, 850,000 Chinese migrant workers chose to return to their hometown and set-up village or township enterprises. But, deficiencies in entrepreneurial knowledge and financial services made those businesses vulnerable and professional helps are required. Thus, setting-up a world-class, China-based cooperation providing sustainable financial services for them has become my career objective. My cooperation will dedicate to create a reproducible pattern that empowers rural families to create values and transform themselves. Post-graduate accounting study is vital to making this a reality. And I believe MPA’s program in UC-davis is a great guide. I believe that with the top-notch academic environment, UC-davis My experiences as the cofounder of â€Å"Rekindle†, the class president and the vice administer of Student Union have fully stretched my communicational skills and leadership abilities. Born to be self-disciplined and having strong self-awareness, I know what I need are a top-notch academic education and a group of people sharing the same goal with me. I believe UC-davis is uniquely equipped to guide me toward my objectives. And a business degree is about more than spreadsheets and cash-flow analysis. I believe earning a MAcc’s degree will facilitated me find a reproducible pattern that empowering the rural families keep on transforming itself. Business is about creating and capturing value, whether its for a stockholder or a stakeholder. Not all value can be monetized, though, and at the Wake Forest Schools of Business, you’ll find students who work to create value for those who have never seen a boardroom. Finding a reproducible pattern that empowering the rural families keep on transforming and creating values themselves is what I desire for.

Analysis of Strategic Management at Hotel

Analysis of Strategic Management at Hotel INTRODUCTION Why are some companies successful, while so many other businesses fail? Some organizations may just be lucky. They may have the right mix of products and/or services at the right time. But even if luck leads to success, it probably will not last. Most companies that are highly successful over the long term effectively acquire, develop, and manage resources and capabilities that provide competitive advantages. For example, McDonalds enjoys outstanding brand recognition and a world class operating system. Marriott enjoys these same benefits in the lodging industry. Successful companies have also learned how to develop and manage relationships with a wide range of organizations, groups, and people that have a stake in their firms. The emergence of a fiercely competitive global economy means that firms have to expand their networks of relationships and cooperate with each other to remain competitive. McDonalds investment in Chipotle was a cooperative venture. As Steve Ells, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Chipotle noted, Weve enjoyed our relationship with McDonalds since the beginning and appreciate the support theyve shown in funding Chipotles growth over the last seven years. Still, weve always operated independently, and that wont change as McDonalds Continues to reduce its investment in Chipotle and focuses on its core business. Strategic management is a process through which organizations analyze and learn from their internal and external environments, establish strategic direction, create strategies that are intended to move the organization in that direction, and implement those strategies, all in an effort to satisfy key stakeholders. Stakeholders are groups or individuals who can significantly affect or are significantly affected by an organizations activities. An organization defines who its key stakeholders are, but they typically include customers, employees, and shareholders or owners, among others. Although larger companies tend to use the strategic management process, this process is also a vital part of decision making in smaller companies. Firms practicing strategic planning processes tend to outperform their counterparts that do not. In fact, executives have reported higher levels of satisfaction with strategic management tools and ideas than with most other management tools. Furthermore, 81 percent of companies worldwide reported doing strategic planning. In North America, the figure was even higher (89 percent). Hospitality firms also benefit from strategic planning, as suggested by a recent study of hotels in the United Kingdom, which found that business performance was positively associated with the thoroughness, sophistication, participation, and formality of strategic planning processes. An example of how strategic analysis can help guide business strategy is shown in Starwood Hotels Resorts efforts to launch a new product. This book also recognizes that there is a difference between the strategic planning process and strategic thinking, and that both are a part of effective strategic management. The strategic planning process tends to be a rather rigid and unimaginative process in many organizations. Strategic thinking, however, leads to creative solutions and new ideas like Starwood Hotels launch of the Heavenly Bed. As illustrated in the Heavenly Bed example, a firm that injects strategic thinking into the strategic planning process has the best of both worlds. THE ORIGIN OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT The increasing importance of strategic management may be a result of several trends. Increasing competition in most industries has made it difficult for some companies to compete. Modern and cheaper transportation and communication have led to increasing global trade and awareness. Technological development has led to accelerated changes in the global economy. Regardless of the reasons, the past two decades have seen a surge in interest in strategic management. STRATEGIC THINKING AT STARWOOD The Heavenly Bed, first launched by the Westin brand of Starwood Hotels Resorts, has transformed the bed, a basic feature of any hotel room, into a luxurious object of desire, enhancing the revenues of the chain and leaving many hotel operators to follow suit with copycat linens and custom bedding of their own. The strategic process at Starwood began with consumer analysis and product testing. First, Westin commissioned a study involving 600 business executives who travel frequently. The results showed that 84 percent said a luxurious bed would make a hotel room more attractive to them. What is more, 63 percent said a good night s sleep is the most important service a hotel can provide. Half of those surveyed said they sleep worse in hotels than at home. After testing 50 beds from 35 lodging chains, Westin developed its prototype all white Heavenly Bed with a custom designed pillow top mattress, goose down comforters, five pillows, and three crisp sheets ranging in thread count from 180 to 250. Once the product was designed and tested, the fi rm introduced the bed with a carefully planned marketing strategy. USA Today ran a story on the front page of its business section. The same day, 20 pristine white Heavenly Beds lined Wall Street up to the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Inside the Stock Exchange, Barry Sternlicht, the then Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels Resorts rang the opening bell and threw out hats proclaiming, Work like the devil. Sleep like an angel. Meanwhile, at New York s Grand Central Station, 20 more beds graced one of the rotundas there, and commuters disembarking the trains were invited to try them out. Similar events were staged the same day at 38 locations across the United States, tailored to each city. Savannahs event featured a bed floating on a barge down the river with a landing skydiver. Seattles event took place atop the Space Needle. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Traditional Perspective As the field of strategic management began to emerge in the latter part of the 20th century, scholars borrowed heavily from the field of economics. For some time, economists had been actively studying topics associated with the competitiveness of industries. Industry concentration, diversification, product differentiation, and market power. However, much of the economics research at that time focused on industries as a whole, and some of it even assumed that individual firm differences did not matter. Other fields also influenced early strategic management thought, including marketing, finance, psychology, and management. Academic progress was slow in the beginning, and the large consulting firms began to develop their own models and theories to meet their clients needs. Scholars readily adopted many of these models into their own articles and books. Eventually, a consensus began to build regarding what is included in the strategic management process. The traditional process for developing strategy consists of analyzing the internal and external environments of the company to arrive at organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). The results from this situation analysis, as this process is sometimes called, are the basis for developing missions, goals, and strategies. In general, a company should select strategies that (1) take advantage of organizational strengths and environmental opportunities or (2) neutralize or overcome organizational weaknesses and environmental threats. 10 After strategies are formulated, plans for implementing them are established and carried out. Figure 1.1 presents the natural  flow of these activities. The first of these ideas was that the environment is the primary determinant of the best strategy. This is called environmental determinism. According to the deterministic view, good management is associated with determining which strategy will best fit environmental, technical, and human forces at a particular point in time, and then working to carry it out. The most successful organization best adapts to existing forces. Some evidence suggests that the ability to align the skills and other resources of the organization with the needs and demands of the environment can be a source of competitive advantage. 12 However, after a critical review of environmental determinism, a well known researcher once argued: There is a more fundamental conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing analysis: the strategy of a firm cannot be predicted, nor is it predestined; the strategic decisions made by managers cannot be assumed to be the product of deterministic forces in their environments. On the contrary, the very nature of the concept of strategy assumes a human agent who is able to take actions that attempt to distinguish one firm from the competitors. Basically, a large firm may decide not to compete in a given environment. Or, as an alternative, the firm may attempt to influence the environment to make it less hostile and more conducive to organizational success. This process is called enactment, which means that a firm can influence its environment. THE PRINCIPLE OF ENACTMENT The principle of enactment assumes that organizations do not have to submit to existing forces in the environment; they can, in part, create their environments through strategic alliances with stakeholders, investments in leading technologies, advertising, political lobbying, and a variety of other activities. 14 Of course, smaller organizations are somewhat limited in their ability to influence some components of their environments on their own. For example, a small restaurant firm may have a difficult time influencing national government agencies and administrators. However, smaller organizations often band together into trade groups, such as the National Restaurant Association, to influence government policy on pressing issues like minimum wage, immigration policy, and health care costs. Also, they may form alliances with other entities. The Global Hotel Alliance is one example, in which Omni Hotels, Kempinski Hotels Resorts, Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts, Rydges Hotels Resorts, Marco Polo Group, Dusit Hotels Resorts and Landis Hotels Resorts have joined forces to compete against the mega chains. In addition, even a small firm may be able to exert a powerful influence on its local operating environment. The key to enactment is understanding that a firm does not necessarily have to adapt completely to the forces that exist in its operating environment. It can at least partly influence certain aspects of the environment in which it competes. DELIBERATE STRATEGY VERSUS EMERGENT STRATEGY The traditional school of thought concerning strategy formulation also supported the view that managers respond to the forces discussed thus far by making decisions that are consistent with a preconceived strategy. In other words, strategy is deliberate. Deliberate strategy implies that managers plan to pursue an intended strategic course. In some cases, however, strategy simply emerges from a stream of decisions. Managers learn as they go. An emergent strategy is one that was not planned or intended. According to this perspective, managers learn what will work through a process of trial and error. 16 Supporters of this view argue that organizations that limit themselves to acting on the basis of what is already known or understood will not be sufficiently innovative to create a sustainable competitive advantage. In the first week of launching the Westin Heavenly Bed, 32 guests called to ask where they could buy the bed. A light bulb went on. Westin executives put order cards with a toll free number in every room. Then they started placing catalogs by bedsides and desks and set up a web site. By June of 2004, Westin had sold 20,000 pillows $ 75 for the king sized version and 3,500 bed/bedding combos, at $ 2,965 each, enough to spread the idea throughout Starwood, with the Sheraton, St. Regis, and W lines all turning into retailers. The unanticipated success of the Heavenly Bed has spawned a new business companies that help hotels run their retail arms. Boxport, a spin off of San Francisco based hotel procurer Higgins Purchasing Group, operates web sites and catalogs for several chains that now sell Bedding of this example of emergent strategy, it is not a good idea to reject deliberate strategy either. One of the strongest advocates of learning and emergent strategy recently confessed, We shall get nowhere without emergent learning alongside deliberate planning.Both processes are necessary if an organization is to succeed. When Starwood first launched the concept of the Heavenly Bed in 1999, the strategy was a deliberate effort, but the opportunity to provide retail sales was an unintended outcome, and this unforeseen opportunity led to an emergent and highly successful retail strategy, as the above example shows. EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING In summary, scholars have determined that both adaptation and enactment are important to organizations. They should adapt to environmental forces when the costs of enacting (influencing) the environment exceed the benefits. However, they should be proactive in creating their own opportunities. In addition, organizations should engage in deliberate strategic planning processes, but they should also be willing to make mistakes and learn from them as they chart a strategic course. In other words, strategy should be both deliberate and emergent, and firms should both adapt to and enact their environments, with the situation determining which option to choose. Westin learned these lessons by paying attention to their customers. The Organization as a Bundle of Resources: The Resource Based View In recent years, another perspective on strategy development has gained wide acceptance. The resource based view of the firm has its roots in the work of the earliest strategic management theorists. 20 It grew out of the question, Why do some firms persistently outperform other firms? One of the first competencies identified was general management capability. This led to the proposition that firms with high quality general managers will outperform their rivals. Much research has examined this issue. Clearly, effective leadership is important to organizational performance, but it is diffi cult to specify what makes an effective leader. Also, although leaders are an important source of competence for an organization, they are not the only important resource that makes a difference. Economic thought also influenced development of the resource based view. Nearly two centuries ago, an economist named David Ricardo investigated the advantages of possessing superior resources, especially land. 22 One of Ricardos central propositions was that the farmer with the most fertile land had a sustained performance advantage over other farmers. More recently, another economist, Edith Penrose, expanded on Ricardo s view by noting that various skills and abilities possessed by firms could lead to superior performance. She viewed firms as an administrative framework that coordinated the activities of numerous groups and individuals, and also as a bundle of productive resources. 23 She studied the effects of various skills and abilities possessed by organizations, concluding that a wide range of skills and resources could influence competitive performance. A common thread of reasoning in the distinctive competency literature and the arguments of Ricardo and Penrose is that organizational success can be explained in terms of the resources and capabilities possessed by an organization. Many modern scholars have contributed to this perspective of the firm. According to this view, an organization is a bundle of resources, which fall into the general categories of: Financial resources, including all of the monetary resources from which a firm can draw. Physical resources, such as land, buildings, equipment, locations, and access  to raw materials. Human resources, which pertains to the skills, background, and training of managers and employees, as well as the way they are organized. Organizational knowledge and learning General organizational resources, including the firm s reputation, brand names, patents, contracts, and relationships with external stakeholders. Envisioning the firm as a bundle of resources has broad implications. For example, the most important role of a manager becomes that of acquiring, developing, managing, and discarding resources. Also, much of the research on the resource based perspective has demonstrated that firms can gain competitive advantage through possessing superior resources. Superior resources are those that have value in the market, are possessed by only a small number of firms, and are not easy to substitute. If a particular resource is also costly or impossible to imitate, then  the competitive advantage may be sustainable. A sustainable competitive advantage may lead to higher than average organizational performance over a long period.

Mary Wollstoncrafts, The Vindication of the Rights of Women Essays

Mary Wollstoncraft's, The Vindication of the Rights of Women Mary Wollstoncraft's book, "The Vindication of the Rights of Women," is an incredibly insightful look into the life of women in the early portion of this century. It is a philosophical examination of the condition of women, in relationship to some very basic rights, and is also a very enlightening look at how short a distance we really have come, as a society, in relationship to our perceptions of women. Wollstoncraft presents herself as an incredibly enlightened individual who looks at her gender as a subject which should be seen as reasonable creatures, rather than brutes or heroines. She begins her book with words which clearly illustrate her concerns: "After considering the historic page, and viewing the living world with anxious solicitude, the most melancholy emotions of sorrowful indignation have depressed my spirits, and I have sighed when obliged to confess that either Nature has made a great difference between man and man, or that the civilization which has hitherto taken place in the world has been very partial. I have turned over various books written on the subject of education, and patiently observed the conduct of parents and the management of schools; but what has been the result?--a profound conviction that the neglected education of my fellow-creatures is the grand source of the misery I deplore, and that women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of concurring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion." From this excerpt we can clearly understand that Wollstoncraft is not merely venting anger and describing realities that are false. She is not necessarily angry or bitter about the realities she sees before her, but rather, is puzzled and seems determined to somehow understand what it is that causes the realities she sees. While there is the use of some negative words such as "weak" and "wretched," these are essentially words of the time and they only further the truth of what the author is witness to. Here is a woman who is of obvious intelligence who is witness to the misunderstanding that appears to follow all women around. She illustrates that women are denied the ability to openly obtain a useful education, but rather kept ignorant and put upon this undeniable pedestal that insists women do not need to possess such knowledge, for it would lik... ...ook and her attempt to get women to understand, is that women still do not understand the essential root of the problem. While women may be in a position today, where they obtain an education and maintain a very intellectual position, and perhaps even go so far as to find a mate that treats them equally, there are still millions of women who strive to be nothing more than a pretty picture for the men. How many women spend thousands of dollars to enlarge their breasts? Do they do that so they look better in general or do they do this to gain the attention of men, in a sexual and reproductive manner? In many ways, Wollstoncraft's is a story of yesterday and today. It is a philosophical approach to the inequality or the disrespect of men in relationship to women, as well as a look into how women see each other and their own gender. It is a very intelligent address on the subject of such realities. One wonders if Wollstoncraft was aware of how relevant her philosophical approach would be 70 years later. Upon reading her book, one would have to say that Wollstoncraft was intelligent enough to recognize that such realities would never change in such a relatively short period of time.

Essay --

Health Care Models Analysis A 26 year old white female presented to her physician’s office complaining of chronic abdominal pain. The pain appeared to be more intense 30 minutes after eating. The patient reported no unusual bowel activity. The patient had a normal body temperature and blood pressure. The patient was of normal weight and height for her age and body structure. The patient underwent an abdominal ultrasound, Hepatobiliary Scan, Upper GI, Small Bowel Series, and an Upper and Lower Endoscopy. The lower endoscopy study revealed abnormal mucosal patterns and was suggestive of Celiac disease. The patient was then tested for Celiac disease and the results were positive. Celiac disease is the inflammation of the small bowel, particularly the upper small bowel resulting from a gluten sensitivity. The inflammation may lead to malabsorption of key nutrients such as iron, folic acid, calcium, and fat soluble vitamins. Symptoms can range from abdominal discomfort to diarrhea. In patients with the malabsorption issue, anemia or osteoporosis may be manifest. The main medi...

Wedding Toasts †Perhaps Others Have Said it Best Essay -- Wedding Toa

Wedding Toasts – Perhaps Others Have Said it Best To the Bride From her Groom Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you. To the bride and groom (before the wedding) Here's to the bride that is to be, Here's to the groom she'll wed, May all their troubles be light as bubbles Or the feathers that make up their bed! Anonymous To the bride from her groom "Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss within the cup, And I'll not look for wine." Ben Jonson "Grow old with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life, For which, the first is made." Robert Browning I have known many, Liked not a few, Loved only one I toast to you Irish toast "Wherever I roam, whatever realms I see, My heart untravelled fondly turns to thee." Oliver Goldsmith Because I love you truly, Because you love me, too, My very greatest happiness Is sharing life with you. Every day you look lovelier and lovelier, and today you look like tomorrow. To quote John Keats's immortal line, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Here's to you, my beautiful bride." "Were't the last drop in the well, An I gasp'd upon the brink, Ere my fainting spirit fell, 'Tis to thee that I would drink." Lord Byron The world is happy and colorful, And life itself is new. And I am very grateful for The friend I found in you. Anonym... ... Here are some words to live by: Love to one, friendship to many, and goodwill to all. May you live to learn well, and learn to live well. Remember that if you ever put your marital problems on the back burner they are sure to boil over. Unkown "Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up." Joseph Barth "A happy marriage is still the greatest treasure within the gift of fortune." Eden Phillpotts "Happy marriages begin when we marry the one we love, and they blossom when we love the one we married." Sam Levenson "Seek a happy marriage with wholeness of heart, but do not expect to reach the promised land without going through some wilderness together." Charlie W. Shedd

A Single Needle; Single Handily Changing the Game Essay

America’s Pastime has been the true root of sports in the United States of America. Baseball blew up in the late 19th century towards the end of the American Civil War. Before there were TV’s, internet, or DVD’s, baseball is what kids did for fun. It became the thing to do if you were a white male going into the 20th century, and that was just the beginning of a long bittersweet road of the game of baseball. Up until the 1990’s many greats had walked in between the lines showing off their pure god given talent, then an era came along that makes every baseball fan cringe, the â€Å"Steroids Era.† Steroids started to spread throughout the league like wildfire, and sadly no one was doing anything about it. The only thing administration, owners, authorities, and fans had were suspicion no one knew for sure if these record breaking seasons were real or all just a fluke. The greats like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams all have been being surpassed in the record books by Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGuire, and plenty more players due to the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. The use of illegal Steroids in baseball has single handily degraded and disgraced the great game that once was proud to be known as America’s Pastime. The man who started it all and really brought Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED’s) to the baseball scene in the late 1980’s was Oakland Athletics outfielder, Jose Canseco. Once Canseco starting showing his teammates how influential these drugs were to their performance through his own personal achievements it wasn’t long before a large amount of players were using PEDs. Canseco states in his book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big that, â€Å"About 85% of Major Leaguers have used it† (Canseco). The MLB rarely, if at all tested for steroids during this time of the â€Å"Steroids Era† and if they did there was no penalty for testing positive. At the time it was virtually a win win for the players, they could juice up, exceed the stats they could only dream about, and never get in trouble during the process. Performance Enhancing Drugs became an epidemic in the world of baseball, but not only was it enhancing players performance, it was enhancing every aspect of revenue a ball club could ever imagine. The Record books were once again open and ready for business. Athletes such as Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mark McGuire, and so forth were smashing homeruns and going up on the charts little by little for the all time homerun record holder, Hank Aaron. This excitement on the field attracted more fans through these steroid years than baseball had ever seen, and when there are fans there is money, and when there is money there is no concern. The Major League of Baseball had been oblivious to the illegal use of Steroids over the years. Until 2002 there were no penalties for testing positive for PEDs. The new rules stated, â€Å"A first time offense would only result in treatment for the player† (Baseball-Almanac). Not one player was sentenced to any suspensions for this crime, until the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) steroid scandal came to light, and brought out many of the All-Stars of the MLB to the top of the list. Victor Cante the founder of BALCO was a god to the sports world. He was the guy that not only supplied athletes wit h their steroids, but also had ways to cheat the tests so they could come up clean. Testing companies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S Anti Doping-Agency (USADA) are always trying to improve the efficiency of the tests to make cheating near impossible if not totally full proof, but as those agencies are working to stop the cheaters workers at BALCO labs are finding ways once again come up with a new way to slide by the new and improved tests on the market (Quinn). So in 2005 The MLB created a new testing policy that was accepted by the players and owners that said, â€Å"The first positive test will result in a suspension of up to ten days. The second positive test will result in a suspension of thirty days. The third positive test will result in a suspension of sixty days. The fourth positive test will result in a suspension of one full year. Finally, the fifth positive test will result in a penalty at the discretion of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Players will be tested at least once per year, with a chance that several players can be tested numerous times per year† (Baseball-Almanac). That wasn’t the last adjustment Bud Selig, the Commissioner of the Major League of Baseball, was going to make to the steroid testing policy. On December 13, 2007, Greg Mitchell, an investigator who was appointed by Bud Selig in 2006 to investigate the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in the MLB, presented a 409 page report to Selig showing his investigation and revealing 89 alleged players who used steroids during their career (Healey). Once Bud Selig had been shown the report, his 3rd written drug testing policy came in to play which was known as the â€Å"Three strikes and you’re out approach† (Verhaeghe). This final policy stated that, â€Å"The first positive test would result in a fifty game suspension. The second positive test would result in a one-hundred game suspension. Finally, the third positive test would result in a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball† (Baseball Almanac). Bud Selig and the rest of the administration inside of the Major League of Baseball had finally seen the light, and properly taken action on how to cut down the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs throughout the MLB. Once the â€Å"Mitchell Report† was released many super stars and role models for fans all around the world were printed in black under the category of the illegal use of steroids throughout their career. The most popular player named in the Mitchell Report due to his court and trial issues would have to be 7 time Cy Young winner, Roger Clemens. Once he saw that his name had been brought to light in the report he went to Capitol Hill to clear his name off the list that he felt he didn’t need to be on. Little did he know that when made the statement, â€Å"I appreciate the opportunity to tell this Committee and the public-under oath-what I have been saying all along: I have never used steroids, human growth hormone [HGH], or any other type of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I think these types of drugs should play no role in athletics at any level, and I fully support Senator Mitchell’s conclusions that steroids have no place in baseball. However, I take great issue with the report’s allegation that I used these substances. Let me be clear again: I did not.† (Healey) That he was entering a world of charges when committing perjury in a court of law. Many of the players claimed their innocence like Clemens did, but in the end they all served the types of charges. The original group of all time Baseball greats like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Cy young, etc. set a high standard for the Players after them to strive for and gave them something to achieve. Never in their minds would they of thought that the game of baseball would have turned out the way it is today. These modern day All-stars who cheated and used Performance Enhancing Drugs for a shortcut just to go ahead of someone’s hard work and love for the game as well to achieve their personal and selfish desires should be punished and have their awards and accolades stripped from them and taken out of the record books as if they were never there to begin with. The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs has put a permanent stain on the name of Baseball and what it is truly about. Bud Selig and the Major league of Baseball has come a long way regarding minimizing the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs by enforcing harsher penalties and consequences for testing Positive for steroids. As the years have gone by thanks to the leagues stricter policies on testing positive for PEDs the amount of players getting suspended for steroid use has decreased on a year to year basis. The Major League of Baseball will never be able to completely take Performance Enhancing Drugs out of the game, but with the right consequences, and appropriate policies they will be able continue to keep the use of Steroids at a very low rate and never re-enter the once dreaded time known as the â€Å"Steroids Era† ever again. Works Cited Healey, Daniel. â€Å"FALL OF THE ROCKET: STEROIDS IN BASEBALL AND THE CASE AGAINEST ROGER CLEMENS.† Marquette Sports Law Review 19.1 (September 2008): SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. Roger â€Å"The Rocket† Clemens is known to be one of the best of all-time to step on the rubber in the game of Major League Baseball. The Seven-time Cy Young winner was ultimately unstoppable in the last half of his career. He was just another great phenom in the baseball world until December 13, 2007 when the â€Å"Mitchell Report† was released, revealing a 409-page report that was sent to the commissioner of baseball (Bud Selig) that investigated the illegal use of steroids and Performance Enhancing Drugs used by players in Major League Baseball. There were over 80 players put on this report, but the one who stood out the most was Roger Clemens himself. On February 13th 2008 he went to Capitol Hill to argue the allegations against him saying, â€Å"I appreciate the opportunity to tell this Committee and the public-under oath-what I have been saying all along: I have never used steroids, human growth hormone [HGH], or any other type of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I think these types of drugs should play no role in athletics at any level, and I fully support Senator Mitchell’s conclusions that Steroids have no place in baseball. However, I take great issue with the report’s allegation that I used these substances. Let me be clear again: I did not.† Once Clemens had stated that it put a rather large target on his back not only by investigators but also the judicial system. They were trying to get him to admit using illegal steroids, but now as well they were going after him on counts of perjury. After 2 years of gathering enough evidence and testimonies on August 19, 2010 a Federal Grand Jury Indicted Roger Clemens on six counts, one count of obstruction of congress, three counts of false statements, and two counts of perjury. On July 13, 2011 Clemens’ first trial began, but on the second day the judge ruled a mistrial due to prosecutorial misconduct. For now Roger Clemens is a free man, but legal sources say that he will be retried. I will be using the â€Å"Mitchell Report† and the Roger Clemens trial to portray that not only is the use of steroids extremely risky and unhealthy but also that it’s against the law and you will get caught one way or another. 1991 to 2002 was known as the â€Å"Steroid Era† in professional baseball. Over those years particularly in 1995 after the cancellation of the 1994 playoffs and World Series the statistics of a majority of the players skyrocketed, which in retrospect played a huge role in filling the empty seats back up after the 1994 strike. I’ll be explaining that up until to this point in time the MLB did not have strict regulations on testing for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) Kuenster, John. â€Å"Major League Player Records Dishonored by Steroid Users.† Baseball Digest. 62.2 (March 2008): SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. John Kuenster touches on a very valuable subject when it comes to records, and honors given in the MLB. Back in early in mid 1900’s the greats of the game like, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, and Ernie Banks. They all set legitimate records that should never be shadowed by the players who eventually broke them. These few players all had something in common. That was hard work and love for the game. They didn’t use PEDs to up there stats or to get to a higher number in a certain category. These historic greats earned their records off pure talent that was god given and worked hard to mature. The greats of our time such as, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, or Mark McGwire also hold records like men mentioned earlier. The only difference between the past greats and the current greats is that these new all-stars were accused of using Steroids to achieve their records. Not only are the players the ones to blame for the whole â€Å"Steroid Era.† Stricter steps should have been taken from the get go through the league to enforce steroid testing to ensure the safety and fair play in professional play of baseball before the use of steroids spread like wildfire through the MLB. Will records and awards be stripped from players who’ve been tested positive for performing enhancing drugs? We don’t know for now, but who knows what the future holds. This article about dishonoring the awards given to players who have achieved them unfairly will allow me to voice my opinion on the topic of record breakers involving steroids. I personally am against the use of steroids solely because all it does it degrade the great game of baseball. Even though these cheaters didn’t use PEDs their whole career and achieved some of their record off pure talent doesn’t change the fact they broke the rules that is stated in the contract that’s signed by every professional player. It’s not fair that history’s greatest baseball players prior to the steroid era should be passed up in the record books by players that made themselves better by an illegal drug. Not only is it a disgrace to the violators name, but more importantly it’s a disgrace to the game of baseball. Rutecki, Jared. â€Å"A Study of Media Impact on Public Opinion Regarding Performance Enhancement in Major League Baseball.† Open Sports Sciences Journal 3 (2010): SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. A chart in the article, A study of Media Impact on Public Opinion Regarding Performance Enhancement in Major League Baseball shows the percent of the coverage on specific sports and PEDs through 1968 to 2006 in Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and Time. Baseball ranks number one in all 3 magazines with 43 percent, 39 percent, and 39 percent. Coming in second was football with a significant lower percent of 19, 14, and 15. Over the year’s magazine articles about PEDs have increased by a huge amount due to the popularity in steroid use among professional athletes. With the widespread use of steroids in sports particularly baseball, it’s apparent that the talk of it in magazines and media in general has shot up too. When something isn’t a public issue the media obviously isn’t interested in it which is why steroids in the earlier years weren’t written and talked about much. When the â€Å"Steroid Era† came into play that’s when the number of articles in magazines skyrocketed year by year and it all of sudden became a huge topic in our society. I will also be touching on the fact that even when people knew that steroids were an issue media didn’t start writing about it like crazy until the 104 MLB players tested positive for PEDs in 2003. From that year on the number of articles per year were above 49. The media writes what sells and in this day and age information and insider news about the world of baseball and steroids will always sell. Solberg, Joe. â€Å"Performance-Enhancing Drug Use in Baseball: The Impact of Culture.† Ethics and Behavior 21 (April 2011): 91-102. Philosopher’s Index. Web. 8 November 2011. Joe Solberg explains that once the steroid era of baseball blew up and became steady that it wasn’t out of the norm anymore, it became part of the culture. Once everyone was doing it the person below them had to use PEDs in order to get to the next level. The use of Steroids is a ladder that started in the pro’s and worked its way down to the minors. Major League Contracts are more than less based off offensive performance rather than defensive performance. To be more specific on offensive performance homeruns are what really can land you a big money contract. Over the years the biggest category that PEDs have helped is homeruns. Of course players want a lot of money, and in order to get that money is to hit homeruns, and in order to increase the amount of homeruns is to take performance enhancing drugs. Players will do what they have to do in order to make the money that they are satisfied with, and as a result for most players it is to partake in using steroids to increase their status as an all-star. The information I gathered in this article will help me explain the player’s motives for wanting to use PEDs. It’s not only used just to break records and be known as an all-star even though that is a plus that comes with it, but it’s the fact that if the person above you is using these substances then in order for you to excel above him and potentially take his spot you almost feel obligated to take PEDs as well. It was once a bad thing to be associated with the group known to take steroids back when it was a rare thing to do. Now days it’s such a common thing to partake in its part of the culture, it’s fairly normal in the MLB now to use PEDs. Sommers, Paul. â€Å"The Changing Hitting Performance Profile in Major League Baseball, 1966-2006.† Journal of Sports Economics 9.4 (August 2008) SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011. Paul Sommers showed charts over the decades of average years played by an average starter in the pros. It went from 5.2 years in the 60’s to 6 in a half years in 2006. That shows that the use of steroids in the MLB increased a player’s career by almost 2 years. He also explains that the use of PEDs in baseball lets you peak at a higher level of skill. A persons overall skill level will increase by a big number while using steroids. Someone hitting .267 without the use of steroids could jump anywhere from a .324 to .378 average depending on the person. With all the statistics shown throughout the article it’s proven that Performance enhancing drugs increase a player’s batting average, peak, years played, MPH, and overall skill level. Before the 1960’s after a player’s peak their batting average tended to decline steadily due to falling off from their prime, but after the 1960’s a large amount of players started to excel past their peak year and raise their batting averages past their prime which was unusual. As we know now the reason for that was the use of PEDs. After 2004 the statistics seemed to start trending again like the 1960’s due to the random and mandatory drug tests which disabled the players to partake in using Anabolic Steroids of HGH. I will be using this information to show how all PEDs have been proven in many to not only better athletes, but make them more durable and tack on extra years of successful productivity past their prime. PEDs aren’t physically making them younger, but they sure are making them produce younger aged stats in a past prime aged body. Stone, Brad. â€Å"Another Poison Pill† Newsweek 146.7 (August 15 2005): Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 November 2011. The MLB is by far the top sport when it comes to the abuse of Performance Enhancing Drugs, but yet it holds the weakest punishment in the sports world for testing positive. Rafael Palmeiro in 2008 tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs in early August of 2008 just months after he testified before a U.S congressional committee stating that he had never used PEDs in his life. Not only did he test positive for steroids, he failed the test after lying under oath in a court of law, and all he was punished with through the MLB was a 10-day suspension and a $164,000 fine. Due to the particular steroid Palmeiro took, Stanozonol, which travels through your digestive system within 2 weeks, makes it hard for the court to prove that Palmeiro was lying when he testified. Baseball wants to stop the abuse of Steroids, but at the same time it seems like all these players that test positive these substances just get slaps on the wrist and are told not to do it again. If you want a problem to come to a halt you have to go the extra distance in order to get the results you’re looking for. PEDs have been persistent in the MLB for decades now; telling a player to stop will ultimately not stop them. There needs to be an ultimatum put into action to make the abusers consider that these PEDs aren’t worth the loss of their career. Every other sport that has extremely harsh penalties if tested positive for PEDs don’t have a very high percent of positive tests because the players don’t want to take the risk to put their career on the line. In the MLBs case they aren’t putting a severe enough consequence for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. My main point I’ll be using from this article is that if you want the use of PEDs to lower then you have to put consequences that the players don’t want to deal with out there in order to produce more negative resulting drug tests. Quinn, Tom â€Å"BASEBALL’S STEROID ERA.† Men’s Fitness 23. (August 2007): SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011 Throughout the history of baseball testing for either steroids or street drugs really hasn’t been a big part of the games policy. Player’s played the game and what they did off the field was their own business. Once the early 80’s hit, and PEDs came on the scene the use of them among players got out of hand. It became an almost regular regime for a majority of the MLB. Tests were eventually being given, but that didn’t stop the players. When there’s motive to do illegal substances there’s always the backup plan to keep these athletes out of trouble. There were plenty of ways to come up clean on a test, and when the testers would find a way to stop it, Victor Cante and his crew at BALCO labs would just simply find another way to cheat. Even when the few unlucky players’ get caught all they have to do is admit it and simply explain they were told it was something else. For Example, Barry Bonds, when he spoke in front of the BALCO grand jury he came clean about all the PEDs he had taken, but the catch was he stated that he was oblivious to what he was actually using. People of this stature will make their illegal decisions, but don’t think they don’t have all the answers for when the going gets tough. I’ll be using Quinn’s article â€Å"BASEBALL STEROIDS ERA† to inform how little baseball can really do to not only catch these users, but to actually put a stop to the Performance Enhancing Drugs. If not cheating tests to save their own ass’ these professional athletes will just find a perfect window of time to where they know they won’t be tested in the offseason to fit in a couple cycles here and there to maintain the gains through using PEDs. Testing companies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S Anti Doping-Agency (USADA) will never stop trying to improve the efficiency of the tests to make cheating near impossible if not totally full proof, but as those agencies are working to stop the cheaters don’t think the cheaters at BALCO labs aren’t finding ways to break through and find loop holes in their tests. Verhaeghe, Dan. â€Å"Bud Selig Lays Down the Hammer on Performance Enhancing Drugs†. Bleacher Report. (January 2008): Web. 30 November 2011

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 6

The next morning was clear and hot again, another beautiful summer day. Elena stretched lazily in her comfy bed, then pul ed on a T-shirt and shorts and padded down to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. Aunt Judith was braiding Margaret's hair at the table. â€Å"Morning,† Elena said, pouring milk into her bowl. â€Å"Hi, sleepyhead,† said Aunt Judith, and Margaret gave her a big smile and a finger-wiggling wave. â€Å"Keep stil , Margaret. We're about to leave for the market,† she told Elena. â€Å"What are you doing today?† Elena swal owed her mouthful of cereal. â€Å"We're going to pick up Alaric and his friend at the train station and just hang out and catch up,† she said. â€Å"Who?† Aunt Judith asked, her eyes narrowing. Elena's mind spun. â€Å"Oh, uh, you remember, he subbed for Mr. Tanner teaching history last year,† she said, wondering if that was in fact true in this world. Aunt Judith frowned. â€Å"Isn't he a little old to be socializing with high school girls?† Elena rol ed her eyes. â€Å"We're not in high school anymore, Aunt Judith. And he's only about six years older than us. And it's not just girls. Matt and Stefan are coming, too.† If this was Aunt Judith's reaction to the news of their spending time with Alaric, Elena could tel why Meredith was hesitant to tel people about their relationship. It made sense to wait a couple of years, until people thought of her as a grown-up. Since no one here knew al that Meredith had seen and done, she seemed like any other eighteenyear-old to them. It's a good thing Aunt Judith doesn't know Stefan's five hundred years older than I am, Elena thought with a secret smirk. She thinks Alaric's too old. The doorbel rang. â€Å"That's Matt and everybody,† Elena said, rising to put her bowl in the sink. â€Å"See you guys tonight.† Margaret widened her eyes at Elena in silent appeal, and Elena detoured on her way to the door to squeeze the little girl's shoulder. Was Margaret stil worried Elena wouldn't come back? Out in the foyer, she ran her fingers through her hair before opening the door. Standing in front of her was not Stefan, though, but a perfect stranger. A real y good-looking stranger, Elena noted automatical y, a boy about her age with curly golden hair, sculpted features, and bright blue eyes. He was holding a deep red rose in one hand. Elena stood a little straighter, unconsciously pul ing her shoulders back and pushing her hair behind her ears. She adored Stefan, but that didn't mean she couldn't look at other boys, or talk to them. She wasn't dead, after al . Not anymore, she thought, smiling at her private joke. The boy smiled back. â€Å"Hey, Elena,† he said cheerful y. â€Å"Caleb Smal wood!† Aunt Judith said, coming into the hal . â€Å"There you are!† Elena felt herself recoil, but she kept the smile on her face. â€Å"Any relation to Tyler?† she said, outwardly calm, and ran her eyes over him, trying to be subtle, checking for†¦ for what? For signs of his being a werewolf? She realized she didn't even know what those would be. Tyler's good looks had always had a flavor of an animal about them, with his large white teeth and broad features, but had that been a coincidence? â€Å"Tyler's my cousin,† Caleb answered, his smile beginning to turn to a quizzical frown. â€Å"I thought you knew that, Elena. I'm staying with his folks while Tyler's†¦ gone.† Elena's mind raced. Tyler Smal wood had run away after Elena, Stefan, and Damon had defeated his al y, the evil vampire Klaus. Tyler had left his girlfriend – and sometimes hostage – Caroline pregnant. Elena hadn't discussed Tyler and Caroline's fate with the Guardians, so she had no idea what had happened with them in this reality. Was Tyler even a werewolf now? Was Caroline pregnant? And if she was, was it with werewolf or human babies? She shook her head slightly. Brave new world, indeed. â€Å"Wel , don't leave Caleb out on the porch. Let him in,† Aunt Judith instructed from behind her. Elena stood aside, and Caleb moved past her into the hal . Elena tried to reach out with her mind and sense Caleb's aura, to read him to see if he was dangerous, but once again came up against that brick wal . It would take some time to get used to being a normal girl again, and suddenly Elena felt horribly vulnerable. Caleb shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable, and she quickly composed herself. â€Å"How long have you been in town?† she asked, and then kicked herself for treating this boy she obviously was supposed to know like a stranger again. â€Å"Wel ,† he said slowly, â€Å"I've been in town al summer. Did you hit your head over the weekend, Elena?† He grinned teasingly at her. Elena lifted a shoulder, thinking of al she had suffered over the weekend. â€Å"Something like that.† He held out the rose. â€Å"This must be for you.† â€Å"Thank you,† said Elena, confused. A thorn pricked her finger as she took it by the stem, and she stuck the finger in her mouth to stanch the blood. â€Å"Don't thank me,† he said. â€Å"It was just sitting on the front steps when I got here. You must have a secret admirer.† Elena frowned. Plenty of boys had admired her through school, and if this had been nine months ago, she could have made a good guess at who would leave her a rose. But now she didn't have a clue. Matt's battered old Ford sedan pul ed up outside and honked. â€Å"I've got to run, Aunt Judith,† she said. â€Å"They're here. Nice seeing you, Caleb.† Elena's stomach twisted as she walked toward Matt's car. It wasn't just the strangeness of meeting Caleb that was affecting her, she realized, turning the rose's stem absently between her fingers. It was the car itself. Matt's old Ford was the car she had driven off Wickery Bridge back in the winter, panicked and pursued by evil forces. She'd died in this car. The windows had shattered as she hit the creek, and the car had fil ed with icy water. The scratched steering wheel and the dented hood of the car, covered with water, had been the last things she'd seen in that life. But here the car was – as whole again as she was. Pushing the memory of her death from her mind, she waved at Bonnie, whose eager face was visible through the passenger window. She could forget about al those old tragedies, because now they had never happened. Meredith perched elegantly on the swing on her front porch, pushing herself gently back and forth with one foot. Her strong, tapered fingers were stil ; her dark hair fel smoothly across her shoulders; her expression was as serene as ever. There was nothing about Meredith that might show how tensely and busily her thoughts were churning, worries and contingency plans whirring away behind her cool facade. She had spent yesterday trying to figure out what the Guardians' spel had changed for her and her family – particularly her brother, Christian, who Klaus had kidnapped over a decade ago. She stil didn't understand it al , but it was dawning on her that Elena's bargain had more far-reaching consequences than any of them had imagined. But today her thoughts were occupied with Alaric Saltzman. Her fingers tapped anxiously against the arm of the swing. Then she schooled herself into stil ness again. Self-discipline was where Meredith found her strength, and if Alaric, her boyfriend – or at least, he had been her boyfriend†¦ actual y her perhaps engaged-to-be-engaged, sort of almost fiance, before he left town – turned out to have changed toward her in the months they'd been apart, wel , no one, not even Alaric, would see how that would hurt her. Alaric had spent the past several months in Japan, investigating paranormal activity, a dream come true for a doctoral student in parapsychology. His study of the tragic history of Unmei no Shima, the Island of Doom, a smal community where children and parents had turned against one another, had helped Meredith and her friends to understand what the kitsune were doing to Fel ‘s Church, and how to fight it. Alaric had been working at Unmei no Shima with Dr. Celia Connor, a forensic pathologist who, despite her ful academic credentials, was the same age as Alaric, only twenty-four. So, clearly, Dr. Connor was bril iant. From his letters and emails, Alaric had been having the time of his life in Japan. And he'd certainly found a lot of interests in common with Dr. Connor. Perhaps more so than with Meredith, who had only just graduated from a smal -town high school, no matter how mature and intel igent she might be. Meredith gave herself a mental shake and sat up straighter. She was being ridiculous, worrying about Alaric's relationship with his col eague. She was pretty sure she was being ridiculous, anyway. Fairly sure. She gripped the arms of the swing more tightly. She was a vampire hunter. She had a duty to protect her town, and she had, with her friends, protected it wel already. She wasn't just an ordinary teenager, and if she needed to prove that to Alaric again, she was confident she could, Dr. Celia Connor or no Dr. Celia Connor. Matt's rattletrap of an old Ford sedan chugged up to the curb, Bonnie in front with Matt, Stefan and Elena sitting close together in the back. Meredith rose and crossed the lawn toward it. â€Å"Is everything okay?† said Bonnie, round eyed, when she opened the door. â€Å"Your face looks like you're heading off to battle.† Meredith smoothed her features into impassivity and scrambled for an explanation that wasn't, I'm worried about whether my boyfriend still likes me. Quickly and easily, she realized there was another reason she was tense, a true one. â€Å"Bonnie, I have a duty to help look out for everyone now,† Meredith said simply. â€Å"Damon's dead. Stefan doesn't want to hurt humans, and that handicaps him. Elena's Powers are gone. Even though the kitsune were defeated, we stil need protection. We'l always need to be careful.† Stefan tightened his arm around Elena's shoulders. â€Å"The things that make Fel ‘s Church so appealing to the supernatural, the ley lines that have attracted al kinds of beings here for generations, are al stil here. I can sense them. And other people, other creatures, wil sense them, too.† Bonnie's voice rose in alarm. â€Å"So it's al going to happen again?† Stefan rubbed the bridge of his nose. â€Å"I don't think so. But something else might. Meredith's right, we have to be vigilant.† He dropped a kiss onto Elena's shoulder and rested his cheek against her hair. There was no question, Meredith thought wryly, why this particular supernatural being was drawn to Fel ‘s Church, anyway, and it wasn't because of the ley lines running through the area. Elena toyed with a single dark red rose, something Stefan must have brought her. â€Å"Is that the only reason you're worried, Meredith?† she asked lightly. â€Å"Your duty to Fel ‘s Church?† Meredith felt herself flush a little, but her voice was dry and calm. â€Å"I think that's reason enough, don't you?† Elena grinned. â€Å"Oh, it's reason enough, I suppose. But could there be another one?† She winked at Bonnie, whose anxious expression lightened in response. â€Å"Who do we know who wil be fascinated by al the tales you have to tel ? Especially when he finds out that the story's not over yet?† Bonnie turned al the way around in her seat, her smile growing. â€Å"Oh. Oh. I see. He won't be able to think of anything else, wil he? Or anyone else.† Now Stefan's shoulders relaxed, and up in the driver's seat Matt let out a chuckle and shook his head. â€Å"You three,† he said affectionately. â€Å"Us guys never stood a chance.† Meredith looked straight ahead and lifted her chin slightly, ignoring them al . Elena and Bonnie knew her too wel , and the three of them had spent enough time scheming together that she should have known they'd see through her plan in a minute. But she didn't have to admit to it. The solemn mood in the car had lifted, though. Meredith realized they were al doing it on purpose, reaching out gently and careful y with jokes and lighthearted teasing, trying to ease the pain Elena and Stefan must both be feeling. Damon was dead. And while Meredith had developed a cautious, wary respect for the unpredictable vampire during their time in the Dark Dimension, and Bonnie had felt, Meredith thought, something warmer, Elena had loved him. Real y loved him. And even though Damon and Stefan's relationship had been rocky, to say the least, for centuries, he had been Stefan's brother. Stefan and Elena were hurting, and everyone knew it. After a minute, Matt's eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror to glance at Stefan. â€Å"Hey,† he said, â€Å"I forgot to tel you. In this reality you didn't disappear on Hal oween – you stayed the starting wide receiver and we took the footbal team al the way to the state championships.† He grinned, and Stefan's face opened in simple pleasure. Meredith had almost forgotten that Stefan had played with Matt on their high school footbal team before their history teacher, Mr. Tanner, died at the Hal oween haunted house and everything went to hel . She had forgotten he and Matt had been real friends, playing sports and hanging out, despite the fact that they'd both loved Elena. And maybe still do both love Elena? she wondered, and glanced quickly at the back of Matt's head from under her eyelashes. She wasn't sure how Matt felt, but he had always struck her as the kind of guy who, when he fel in love, stayed in love. But he was also the kind of guy who would always b e too honorable to try to break up a relationship, no matter what he felt. â€Å"And,† Matt went on, â€Å"as the quarterback of the state champions, I guess I'm a pretty good prospect for col eges.† He paused and broke out in a wide, proud smile. â€Å"Apparently, I have a ful athletic scholarship to Kent State.† Bonnie squealed, Elena clapped, and Meredith and Stefan burst out with congratulations. â€Å"Me, me now!† Bonnie said. â€Å"I guess I studied harder in this reality. Which was probably easier, since one of my best friends didn't die first semester and was available to help tutor me.† â€Å"Hey!† Elena said. â€Å"Meredith was always a better tutor than me. You can't blame it on me.† â€Å"Anyway,† Bonnie continued, â€Å"I got into a four-year col ege! I didn't even bother to apply to any in our other life because my GPA was not high. I was going to take nursing classes at the community col ege like Mary did, even though I'm not sure I'm real y cut out to be a nurse because, yuck, blood and other fluids. But, anyway, my mom was saying this morning that we should go shopping for my room at Dalcrest before Labor Day.† She shrugged a little. â€Å"I mean, I know it's not Harvard, but I'm pretty excited.† Meredith joined in the congratulations quietly. She had, in fact, gotten into Harvard. â€Å"Ooh. And! And!† Bonnie was bouncing in her seat with excitement. â€Å"I ran into Vickie Bennett this morning. She's definitely not dead! I think she was surprised when I hugged her. I forgot we weren't real y friends.† â€Å"How is she?† asked Elena interestedly. â€Å"Did she remember anything?† Bonnie tilted her head. â€Å"She seems fine. I couldn't exactly ask her what she remembered, but she didn't say anything about being dead or vampires or anything. I mean, she was always a little bit blah, you know? She did tel me she saw you downtown last weekend and you told her what color lip gloss she ought to buy.† Elena raised her eyebrows. â€Å"Real y?† She paused and went on uncertainly, â€Å"Is anybody else feeling weird about al of this? I mean, it's wonderful – don't get me wrong. But it's weird, too.† â€Å"It's confusing,† Bonnie said. â€Å"I'm grateful, obviously, that al the horrible things are gone and everybody's okay. I'm thril ed to have my life back. But my father blew up at me this morning when I asked where Mary was.† Mary was one of Bonnie's older sisters, the last one living at home besides Bonnie. â€Å"He thought I was trying to be funny. Apparently she moved in with her boyfriend three months ago, and you can imagine how my dad feels about that.† Meredith nodded. Bonnie's dad was the protective paternal type, and pretty old-fashioned in his attitudes toward his daughters' boyfriends. If Mary was living with her boyfriend, he must be apoplectic. â€Å"Aunt Judith and I have been fighting – at least, I think so. But I can't find out exactly why,† Elena confessed. â€Å"I can't ask, because obviously I should already know.† â€Å"Shouldn't everything be perfect now?† Bonnie said wistful y. â€Å"It seems like we've been through enough.† â€Å"I don't mind being confused, as long as we can go back to real life,† Matt said earnestly. There was a little pause, which Meredith broke, reaching for something to take them out of their somber thoughts. â€Å"Pretty rose, Elena,† she said. â€Å"Is that a gift from Stefan?† â€Å"No, actual y,† Elena said. â€Å"It was sitting on my front stoop this morning.† She twirled it between her fingers. â€Å"It's not from any of the gardens on our street, though. No one has such beautiful roses.† She smiled teasingly at Stefan, who tensed up once more. â€Å"It's a mystery.† â€Å"Must be from a secret admirer,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Can I see?† Elena handed it up to the front seat, and Bonnie turned the stem around careful y in her hand, looking at the blossom from al angles. â€Å"It's gorgeous,† she said. â€Å"A single, perfect rose. How romantic!† She pretended to swoon, lifting the rose to her forehead. Then she flinched. â€Å"Ouch! Ouch!† Blood ran down her hand. Much more blood than ought to come from the prick of a thorn, Meredith noted, already reaching into her pocket for a tissue. Matt pul ed off the road. â€Å"Bonnie – † he began. Stefan breathed in sharply and leaned forward, his eyes widening. Meredith forgot about the tissue, fearing the sudden sight of blood had caused Stefan's vampiric nature to take over. Then Matt gasped and Elena said sharply, â€Å"A camera, quick! Someone give me your phone!† with such a tone of command that Meredith automatical y handed Elena her phone. As Elena pointed the camera phone at Bonnie, Meredith final y saw what had startled the others. The dark red blood was running down Bonnie's arm, and as it ran, it had streamed into twists and curves from her wrist to her elbow. The trickles of blood spel ed out a name over and over. The same name that had been haunting Meredith for months.