Sunday, May 24, 2020

Literature Essay on The Swimmer by John Cheever

Literature Essay on The Swimmer by John Cheever Portrayal of the character’s emotional state in The Swimmer by John Cheever The Swimmer is a short story written by an American novelist and short story writer, John Cheever. The story under analysis shows an emotional state of the main character, Neddy Merrill, his inner changes and peculiarities of interaction with other people. John Cheever appeals to realistic description of a psychological state of the character, uses symbolism, and emotional tension that makes readers realize what inner changes Neddy Merrill undergoes. The beginning of the story is absolutely positive and does not portend anything evil. Neddy Merrill is shown as a handsome man in the prime of life, who â€Å"has the special slenderness of youth [†¦] and might have been compared to a summer’s day† (Cheever 726). The main character has a cheerful and easy-going wife, â€Å"four beautiful daughters,† and a comfortable house (Cheever 726). His life seems to be absolutely happy, and his decision to â€Å"reach his home by water† starts as harmless fun. Though, a number of hints over the story ruin the readers’ conviction about such a quiet life. With the development of the action, it becomes clear that something bad has happened in the character’s life, but he does not remember it. The motif of memory appears several times, as if Neddy tries to recollect something, but it is in vain. The writer points several times that there is something wrong with the character’s memory. â€Å"Was his memory failing or had he so disciplined it in the repression of unpleasant facts that he had damaged his sense of truth?† (Cheever 730). This phrase serves as the main point that attracts attention to Neddy’s inner state. Gradually, the emotional state of the character and the tone of the short story change from a positive to a disturbing, and even empathetic, one. The writer aggravates feelings and emotions of both the character and the readers. Neddy’s path is presented as a journey down the river. However, such a trip seems like an imaginary one, as with each pool his emotional state changes. First, when he is at the Westerhazy’s pool, he is surrounded by people he is in good terms with. Then, he visits the Grahams, where a smiley bartender gives him a drink and all the people are very happy to see him. Still, Neddy Merrill decides to continue his journey, and the next place he visits is the house by the Levis, where a crucial point takes place. Starting from this house, the situation gets worse; even the nature shows that something wrong is going to happen – at this moment the storm starts. Each and every house Ned visits does not bring anything positive to him. The character meets hostile people who laugh and jeer at him, making him feel depressed. The climax takes place when he finally reaches his house and realizes it is empty, and there are no daughters or wife waiting for him. It is the moment he faces reality and finally gets rid of self-delusion. The Swimmer is a highly symbolic short story, where the nature, weather, and parts of the day serve as the main symbols. It seems that the character follows a long path from self-deception to reality. When the story starts, it is a sunny Sunday morning; everybody is happy and enjoys life. However, in the course of time, the character’s state and the weather change – it is raining at noon, it is getting colder in the evening, and it is absolutely freezing at night. The morning starts with a summer day, but ends up with autumn when the river is cold, the leaves fall down, and the sky has the constellations of autumn. Neddy bursts into tears when he realizes his life is not perfect and joyful; it is full of troubles that he cannot turn a blind eye to. John Cheever skillfully describes the emotional state of the character. The writer uses a set of descriptions, symbols and dialogues that reflect Neddy Merrill’s inner state. The nature reflects the character’s emotions and feelings and wakes him up to reality. What makes this piece of writing a masterpiece is that it is a plausible story that shows how life difficulties can lead to self-deception; however, there will definitely be a trigger that will open one’s eyes to reality and a mirage will vanish. Works cited Cheever, John. â€Å"The Swimmer.† The Library of America, 2009, pp. 726 – 737, https://loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Cheever_Swimmer.pdf. Accessed 19 Oct. 2017.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Postmodernism, By Jean Francois Lyotard - 2006 Words

Postmodernism itself means, â€Å"after present times,† but how can we be in an age of something past the present? It is a way of thinking that’s easy to identify but rather hard to define, though world renowned french philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard tried to in his research as, â€Å"Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodernism as incredulity toward metanarratives.† The beauty of postmodernism is the subtle, the things you might not catch the first few viewings, and often appear to pay homage to some older tale, but actually mock it. Postmodernism seeks to challenge what we’ve held as truth through tradition and force people to use their brains for themselves. In this work, Gilliam worked to actively create layers of this movie using a†¦show more content†¦This first layer of The Hero’s Journey is the fact that this text is presented almost as a remastering but parodies the entire plot, and still follows the same style of story of the Holy Grail. In a sense, this text seeks to prove how all the epics are the same by doing the absurd while following the exact same pattern as them all, questioning the very patterns as a whole first. As detailed in the First Chapter of The hero with a thousand faces, all these champions receive supernatural help, and guidance. Making fun of nearly all the useless mentors, Tim basically points the group to their death because he wants to watch them die, the modern day equivalent being Apple Maps. Luckily for this group of medieval knights, God has bestowed upon them the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, how convenient. Both a tale of messages about monsters and our solutions to them, the killer rabbit really characterizes fears we may not know of due to appearance. These messages are: don’t assume every monster is going to be obvious to identify, and evil comes in all shapes and sizes. The most convenient thing in any epic tale is the travel, whether it be wings or just time j umps for the sake of storytelling, there’s no room for wasting time. After the group assembles they immediately split up to cover better ground each going off to face their own Moby Dick. Rather than filming aShow MoreRelatedEssay on A Postmodern Tendancy in Their Eyes Were Watching God1923 Words   |  8 Pagesfact that, despite the voluminous attention given to Their Eyes Were Watching God, critics have failed to explore every facet of the novel. Ihab Hassan writes, in Toward a Concept of Postmodernism, that we can look at writers of the past and realize their postmodernity. His theory fits with the idea that postmodernism is not a movement, but a trait that is exhibited by certain authors pushing the limits of their time. Most of these authors have clued in to what theorists claim are the basic traitsRead MorePostmodernism: The Movement in Life Essay1263 Words   |  6 Pagesthe culture of this nation. Postmodernism took America from a place where it held strong values of right and wrong, to a place where any idea has been given validity and merit. By presenting new world views, postmodernism has affected American literature, for both the writer and the reader, and American culture on a vast scale. Explaining postmodernism is very challenging because it does not have a real meaning other than â€Å"after modernism† (Merriam-Webster). Postmodernism has influenced every aspectRead MoreKurt Vonnegut : The Concept Of Postmodernism1598 Words   |  7 Pagesphilosopher Jean-Franà §ois Lyotard once said, â€Å"Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.† Through his statement, he endeavored to associate a theory to the shifting concept of postmodernism; to synopsize different events, experiences, and phenomena in history through a universal appeal to truth. While his supposition, through equation with the poems of Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Olsen, or John Cage - does indeed seem to hold validity; to define postmodernism remainsRead MoreThe Aesthetic Philosophy Of The Art World2215 Words   |  9 Pagescan the competing type of experience the sublime does a better job? I will attempt to answer these questions with explicit reference to material art pieces mainly that of the avant-garde, via the philosophical writings of Emmanuel Kant and Jean-Franà §ois Lyotard with minor reference to the much earlier Edmund Burke. Edmund Burke in his distinguishing between the sublime and the beautiful notes that the beautiful things in life tend to be small, attractive and well-formed. Whereas the sublime in hisRead MoreThe Biopsychosocial Model Of Health1824 Words   |  8 Pagessociological perspectives, focusing on concrete interpretations, comprehensive generalisations of society and social behaviour. Contemporary sociologists use four main theoretical perspectives; namely Marxism, Functionalism, Internationalism and Postmodernism. This assignment will look into these four approaches, with each viewpoint uniquely conceptualising society, human behaviour and social forces. Marxism was developed by Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Frederick Engels (1820–1895); it is a system ofRead MorePostmodernism and the Simpsons10775 Words   |  44 PagesHugvà ­sindadeild Postmodernism and The Simpsons Intertextuality, Hyperreality and Critique of Metanarratives Ritgerà ° til B.A.-prà ³fs Bjà ¶rn Erlingur Flà ³ki Bjà ¶rnsson bjornfloki@gmail.com Kt. 110982-5779 Maà ­ 2006 Abstract This essay offers a postmodernist reading of the popular television program The Simpsons, with special regard to the postmodern theories of intertexuality, hyperreality, and metanarratives. Before delving into The Simpsons, some major theoretical aspects of postmodernism in aestheticRead MoreDrama Theatre Performance: Postmodernism and Theatre Performance1417 Words   |  6 Pagesperiod. Postmodernism followed modernism and it sought to challenge the ideas and values of modernistic theatre, modernism was formed to shake up theatre, introducing new theories of science and technology to explain the world, whereas postmodern theatre raises more questions than supplying the answers for the audience. Modernism created a ‘grand-narrative’ whereby there was only one meaning which would be told to the audience. Postmodernism broke down the ‘grand-narrative’ when Jean-Franà §ois LyotardRead MoreMetatnarrative in Conrads Heart of Darkness1324 Words   |  6 Page snarrow the theoretical focus of your application. For example, if you use narratology, you might choose to apply Chatman’s concepts of how narrative â€Å"records thought and feeling† or Bahktin’s ideas of â€Å"heteroglossia† but not both; if you work on postmodernism, you might focus on Lyotard’s theory of â€Å"metanarratives† or Baudrillard’s theory of â€Å"the simulacrum† but not both.   The main purpose of your paper will be to demonstrate how your theory works in and helps to illuminate some element of the novelRead MoreThe Concept of Postmodernism5138 Words   |  21 PagesCHAPTER 1 The concept of ‘Postmodernism’- A Theoretical Approach It is a clichà © by now to say that we live in a postmodern world, and it is true that the word ’postmodern’ has become one of the most used, and abused, words in the language. Still, it is striking that not many people can say with assurance what this term actually means and involves. Some theorists suggest that ‘postmodernism’ refers to a mood or an attitude of mind, others define it as a literary, culturalRead MoreThe Concept of Postmodernism5129 Words   |  21 PagesCHAPTER 1 The concept of ‘Postmodernism’- A Theoretical Approach It is a clichà © by now to say that we live in a postmodern world, and it is true that the word ’postmodern’ has become one of the most used, and abused, words in the language. Still, it is striking that not many people can say with assurance what this term actually means and involves. Some theorists suggest that ‘postmodernism’ refers to a mood or an attitude of mind, others define it as a literary, cultural, or

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Evaluating The BSC As A Performance Management Tool Free Essays

string(119) " area on direction to concentrate merely on short term consequences at the disbursal of long term growing and success\." Abstraction In of all time altering concern landscape, the concerns face the intensified competition and see the outgrowth of more knowing and demanding clients in a free market epoch. Therefore mensurating organisational public presentation entirely on the footing of fiscal indexs will merely reflect the past public presentation but will supply really small penetration into long term sustainability and therefore considered to be unequal and deceptive. Balanced Scorecard ( BSC ) introduced by Kaplan and Nortan tried to intermix other facets in add-on to the so called fiscal indexs. We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluating The BSC As A Performance Management Tool or any similar topic only for you Order Now Consequently, the BSC in add-on to fiscal position introduced cardinal public presentation indexs around three dimensions viz. client, internal concern procedures and larning A ; growing. However, despite its well rounded and advanced design and broad acceptance in organisations the full potency of it is yet to be achieved chiefly due to evolvement of dimensions in today ‘s context beyond the four positions in its design and besides due to hapless execution. Therefore BSC should continually be refined taking into consideration the cardinal success factors which affects organisational public presentation while beef uping the execution. Introduction TO BALANCED SCORECARD ( BSC ) Traditionally the fiscal indexs such as net net income, Return on Investments ( RoI ) , Earnings Per Share ( EPS ) , Price Earning ( P/E ) ratio and etc. , as an unwritten regulation, were considered as the basis on which the public presentation or the wellness of organisations was measured which in bend formed the footing on which the public presentation of members at all degrees of the organisations was measured. However, with the intensified competition and outgrowth of more knowing and demanding clients in a free market era the concern landscape underwent a paradigm displacement. Therefore mensurating organisational public presentation and in bend the public presentation of employees entirely on the footing of fiscal steps which efficaciously represent the lagging indexs of past public presentation and holding a small prognostic value was considered as inappropriate. In the sense the past consequences will non guarantee the hereafter public presentation, instead the long term sus tainability of any organisation depends upon assorted other factors such as nucleus competences of people coupled with occupation satisfaction and citizenship, strength of client relationship, acquisition and invention, internal concern procedures, engineering, quality and etc. which in bend better topographic point the organisation to bask a sustainable competitory advantage. As a consequence, a public presentation measuring system which blends all the facets including so called fiscal indexs was considered as more appropriate since it would let organisations to mensurate yesteryear every bit good as to foretell how the hereafter would look like ( prognostic value ) . In this background, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992 introduced the construct of â€Å" Balanced Scorecard ( BSC ) † with a set of steps which complements fiscal steps of past public presentation with drivers of future public presentation and thereby to hold a holistic, incorporate position of concern public presentation. Though the name was new, the construct was an development of assorted constructs introduced under figure of theories and constructs like Activity Based Management, Management By Objectives, Total Quality Management, Strategic Management, Delegation of Authority ( authorization ) , Decentralization of Decision-Making and etc. , but what is alone about BSC is that it combined the critical kernel of all these constructs and theories into an integrated measuring system of public presentation ( Ghosh S. A ; Mukherjee S – 2006 ) . BSC is a strategic direction system ( non simply a public presentation measuring system ) and enables organisations to incorporate their strategies/visions around specific aims, ends and steps. Then those aims and ends along with the designed public presentation steps ( KPIs ) are shared and communicated across the organisation. Further, Targets are planned and set to aline with strategic enterprises. Consequently the BSC in add-on to Financial position ( traditional public presentation measuring index ) introduced cardinal public presentation indexs around three dimensions viz. client, internal concern procedures and larning A ; growing and attempted to reply the undermentioned four cardinal inquiries. 1. How do clients see us? 2. What must we stand out at? 3. Can we go on to better and make value? 4. How do we look to stockholders? The rational put frontward on these four positions are knowledge A ; accomplishments of employees is the foundation of all invention and betterments ( Learning A ; Growth position ) , skilled and empowered employees will better the ways they work ( Internal Process position ) , improved work procedures will take to increased client satisfaction ( Customer position ) and eventually increased client satisfaction will take to better fiscal consequences ( Financial position ) ( Ghosh S. A ; Mukherjee S.- 2006 ) Since the construct of BSC was foremost introduced in 1992, many organisations globally every bit good as locally adopted the BSC as their public presentation measuring tool due to its advanced attack and besides due to the fact that it has â€Å" balanced † the cardinal dimensions of public presentation straight associating with vision, mission and schemes. However, this does non propose that all organisations have achieved success and design of BSC is perfect but instead BSC exhibited good rounded attack to public presentation direction. However, we witness that universe has changed significantly since 1992 and this is non different when it comes to concern landscape. Therefore it is worthwhile to critically measure whether BSC still holds the all positions to better mensurate the organisational public presentation and what betterments can be made to it to mensurate current public presentation every bit good as to beef up its prognostic value. CRITICAL EVALUATION OF BSC AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF BSC The apprehension of BSC and its implicit in doctrine has placed in a better place to critically measure BSC on its positive and negative facets in the current context. As discussed in the preceding subdivision, the BSC made a major discovery in mensurating public presentation beyond the traditional fiscal steps which chiefly focused on stockholder value creative activity. Puting excessively much trust on stockholders ‘ value creative activity will set force per unit area on direction to concentrate merely on short term consequences at the disbursal of long term growing and success. You read "Evaluating The BSC As A Performance Management Tool" in category "Essay examples" Further, unlike in the past today organisations are responsible for broad array of stakeholders internally and externally including stockholders. Furthermore stockholders are besides demanding an penetration into long term sustainability in add-on to short term consequences. As an illustration in the recent yesteryear we witnessed several corporate failures such as Golden Key, Enron ( USA ) , Sathyam Computers in India, Lehman Brothers ( USA ) and WorldCom ( USA ) and etc. , due to inordinate trust on fiscal indexs to mensurate public presentation. If I may farther lucubrate the former Chairman of Sathyam Computers informed all concerned parties via his missive dated 7 January 2009 that the Company misrepresented its financials to run into the analysts ‘ fiscal prognosiss and marks set. Furthermore, unlike the conventional public presentation measuring systems, the BSC clearly communicate the factors that drive public presentation and so ease the public presentation measuring procedure on the footing of drivers indentified under each of four positions. The application of BSC allows mensurating public presentation from a four broader positions and alining each step with vision, mission and schemes. This has helped organisations to strike a balance between both short term and long term concerns, fiscal and non fiscal concerns, and internal and external concerns. In add-on to its primary function as a public presentation measuring tool, the BSC besides has been instrumental in puting the foundation for a new strategic direction system enabling organisations to present new administration and renew procedures concentrating on scheme. BSC with clearly defined KPIs and measurement standards under each position allows direction to measure its strengths and failings and thereby it prompts them to place the root causes of dismaying signals to collar the state of affairss before they get aggravated. As an illustration if BSC indicates that there is an issue in the client service so the Company can turn to before clients shift to rivals. Besides it allows reacting to the challenges posed by competitory and of all time altering environment as organisations are dynamic and see a much broader image of the organisation and its environment. Further, the rating of concern public presentation with BSC system aid to instill forces subject and motive as in certain cases the employees and even direction do non cognize they are engage in and executing something inappropriate. As an illustration despite the betterments in gross ( fiscal position ) if clients are non happy ( client position ) so it would propose that the organisation should move on this and this besides would bespeak that the organisation performs below its full potency due to client issues. Despite the positive facets, the BSC besides suffers from major failings and could be discussed as below: First BSC seeking to break up the organisational public presentation measuring standards into four major positions but in the current context the organisational public presentation and long term sustainability are impacted by factors beyond what were originally introduced. These factors chiefly include the Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ) and environmental concerns. The construct of Triple Bottom Line ( TPL – Net income, People and Planet ) has gained impulse in the recent yesteryear which described that organisational public presentation should be measured in footings of a ) economic ( traditional ) B ) environmental and hundred ) societal positions. The construct of CSR ( societal facet ) in nutshell demands all entities to be socially responsible as a good corporate citizen and should lend towards run intoing society ‘s outlooks. The environmental facet concerns that the activities of the entity should be conducted in a manner that do non harm the environment in which the entity operates. Here the accent is that the mere accomplishments of economic marks with no due attention to other facets will unlikely to guarantee the long term sustainability and growing. As a consequence the focal point on environmental and CSR has been a cardinal portion of today strategic direction procedure but yet to be an built-in portion of BSC. Further, adding more fuel to this is the regular companies describing ( including one-year studies ) contain detail subdivisions about the part towards CSR and entities environment footmark. Further, the providers, rivals and regulators have besides non been portion of BSC but it can be argued that providers and ordinances could be portion of Internal Process position but in today ‘s concern environment, consciousness about providers and rivals ‘ actions are considered to be critical for endurance and hence mere inclusion within Internal Process position might non do the demand. Further, the impact of ordinances has been widened over the old ages and hence should be a cardinal index to mensurate public presentation. Another position is the ethical behaviour and adhering to core values of the organisation in accomplishing the aims. In this it is of import to measure how the aims are achieved without simply looking at how much was achieved. The above suggest that BSC should non be limited to its original positions which would hold been sufficient and appropriate given the environment prevailed at the clip of its debut but instead it should be a dynamic procedure whereby parametric quantities are continually refined ( non inactive but dynamic ) to run into the demands of the of all time altering environment and to better topographic point organisations to accomplish their schemes. However, adding more positions will ensue in BSC go more complex and will take to more steps being included ensuing in issues at execution. Another observation is that the positions in BSC may non be every bit applicable and hence may non portion equal weights or prominence for all organisations and even all divisions within an entity. The BSC should be driven by overall concern schemes and hence companies may be bias towards the dimensions in BSC that closely relate their strategic purpose. As an illustration the comparative importance of positions for an investing company and fabrication set up will be different. Further, a division like Research A ; Development will hold really small fiscal accent other than pull offing within allocated budget bounds in contract the Finance A ; Treasury Division. All the above suggest that the BSC should be broadened to include new dimensions but this exercising should to be done with a careful idea procedure otherwise BSC would be â€Å" bias † instead than â€Å" balanced † and finally go more complex. My recommendation to efficaciously manage this demand is to do increased specialisation and thereby to hold industry specific BSC formats and assign weights to different steps ( both fiscal and non-financial ) on the footing of their importance to the industry sector is concerned. The delegating equal weights to all positions are non practical and appropriate. Further, the organisations who have adopted BSC have been delegating weights in order of importance. Furthermore, with all these contentions the mechanization of balanced mark card should non be overlooked and for it to move as a uninterrupted monitoring tool and supply feedback, the organisations should ever seek to automatize the BSC. Another point I have noticed is inclusion of big figure of fiscal and non fiscal steps within BSC doing it really complex to supervise and give feedback on a regular basis ensuing in the organisations are happening it hard to acquire the full benefits. Therefore it is recommended that merely cardinal steps are considered which guarantee smooth execution. The mechanization suggested supra would assist in turn toing this concern. Apart from betterment points discussed above the undermentioned recommendations could besides be used to do the execution of BSC successful ( Zairi M. A ; Jarrar Y – 2010 ) : An organization-wide acceptance of BSC, i.e. covering all cardinal organisational maps ; Use BSC to supply nonsubjective informations for concern determinations ; Ensure committedness, to and buy-in for, the BSC at all organisational degrees, peculiarly at the top ; More accent on preparation ; Align the wages and acknowledgment system straight with BSC ; and Facilitate execution by interrupting down organisational barriers which hampers its successful execution. Decision Despite superior design and fullness concentrating on broad array of positions which have a direct bearing on current and future public presentation of organisations, the BSC is yet to accomplish its full potency due to issues related to its design and hapless execution. However, BSC still prevails as an influential and widely used and recognized model for measuring of public presentation. The most appropriate manner to travel frontward, to prolong BSC popularity and to acquire the best consequences, is to continually polish the BSC on the footing of critical success factors act uponing organisational public presentation. It is disputing to interpret the BSC with of all time altering concern demands but the hereafter of BSC depends upon how it changes itself to suit in the current expression. Further, the debut of specialised BSC formats based on the different sectors could besides be utile to hold a proper mix of public presentation steps under each position in order of importance. Last but non least the mechanization of BSC would assist to get the better of most of the issues associated with execution. Mentions AND BIBILIOGRAPHY Armstrong, M. ( 2008 ) , Performance Management: Key schemes and practical guidelines, ( 3rd ed. ) India: Kogan Page Ghosh S. A ; Mukherjee S. Article on Measurement Of Corporate Performance Through Balanced Scorecard: An Overview in the Vidyasagar University Journal of Commerce Vol. 11, March 2006 hypertext transfer protocol: //histrategy.blogspot.com/2011/02/balanced-scorecard-tool-in-strategy.html retrieved on 04 May 2011 Letter issued by Ramalinga R. B. ( Former Chairman of Sathyam Computers Services Limited ) on 7 January 2009 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ecbpm.com/files/Performance % 20Management/Best % 20Practice % 20for % 20Implementing % 20the % 20Balanced % 20Scorecard.pdf retrieved on 13 May 2011 – Research Paper: RP-ECBPM/0027 by Zairi M. A ; Jarrar Y. on Best Practices for Implementing the Balanced Scorecard ( 2010 ) How to cite Evaluating The BSC As A Performance Management Tool, Essay examples

Monday, May 4, 2020

Too Much Pressure Not for Me. free essay sample

I was sweating even though it was cold. I was tense even though I was on vacation. My school work was done, so that wasn’t the problem. I was in the midst of filling my first order for Keepa Kouture, a fashion yarmulke company I co-founded with a friend, and everything seemed to be going wrong. The day had started on a much more positive note. I had been awakened by my adorable sister, who handed me a UPS package. The samples of the trendy yarmulkes I design and sell had arrived. I was overwhelmed with joy until I realized that the samples that had arrived, which were made of beautiful fabric and design, lacked the perfect workmanship that I expected. I called my partner, who was supposed to be in town to join me in presenting the samples, but he had decided to spend the day with his girlfriend. We will write a custom essay sample on Too Much Pressure? Not for Me. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the middle of that conversation I got another call from the executive editor of Modern Jeweler Magazine, where I had done a summer internship. He wanted some pictures for one of the articles I had written about a pearl company owned by my friend’s mother who was having some business challenges. I also had to make final arrangements for my visit to Boston University the next day. Too much pressure? Not for me. I shook off the cold and tension and spent the rest of the day making phone calls and sending emails, getting the details right for all of my various projects. My visit to Boston University was exhilarating and ended with a visit to the Hillel House, where an amazing business idea hit me: I would make college specific, fashionable yarmulkes to be sold to Jewish students who want to display their fashion sense and school pride. I got the jewelry pictures from my photographer to the editor, just beating the deadline. I wish I could report that I had the same amount of s uccess with my business order. Instead I opted to wait and perfect the product. Although I failed in this endeavor in the short run, I was not daunted I know that with every failure come knowledge and experience, and I would never let a bump on the road stop me. After I talked to the manufacturer and explained the deficiencies in the samples, we set up a new launch date. I now have two large orders for the merchandise that I know will please the customers. But that doesnt mean something else wont go wrong.