They told me that MBA is a protected environment, so experiment and try everything you want to - cause after that it will be real life. And I did exactly that. I opted for courses that were out of my comfort zone. I prioritized learning about people skills over academics (at least I feel so).
I rolled into my MBA journey while still working with my previous company as the classes and other fun activities of the batch began. I felt like I didn’t really have any off time before joining a full-time 2-year course and was short on deciding what I wanted from the 2 years of student life that lay ahead. I knew that during my time at MBA I will have time to think about my future (as a few friends who had completed their MBA told me). The first few months were about getting to know other 500+ students in the batch, preparing resumes, and ourselves for the interviews. We started online (yes, covid) hence some classes felt exhausting - looking at screens for the most part of the day after having looked at those same screens during the night for bonding exercises and/or projects. I liked getting to know people but the online system seemed to come in my way. Going on campus in the middle of all this, meeting people we met online, and preparing for summer internships - there was so much going on, all the time. It was stressful, and sometimes felt meaningless but we kept going. It was our ambitions, our fear, and our friends which kept us going. I know most of us could at least name one person we depended on through it all. I know I can.
Term after placements felt less eventful. In-person classes began in December and were adjourned in January as Omnicron made its way into India. We cribbed about online classes, not being able to play, online fests, and restricted entry/exits. I felt a sense of quiet and finally felt like I had the time to think and invest in my personal life. Choosing Financial Derivates as a course to study was the highlight of that semester. Only if we knew, this was the calm before the storm of what we called “Summer Internship”. My summer internship experience was exhilarating, getting the opportunity to go to clients’ side, understand their business, and feel the pressure to perform as I had never felt before. Out of the numerous pieces of advice that I received, one of them that I most vividly recall and think helped me through is this - “Keep a learning attitude”. When my days felt extremely difficult and nothing was going right, I asked myself a series of questions - what am I learning? How will I learn? Who can help me learn what I am trying to do? What more can I learn?
As I received my Pre-Placement Offer from the company I interned with, I started thinking if I should sit for final placements? and if I want to or should, I will need to choose my subjects accordingly and have to prepare accordingly. Somewhere along the way, I decided to focus on other aspects of my life - both personal and professioanl. All my life, I had thought mainly about the professional side of my life. I wanted to pursue subjects I was interested in, without worrying if I will be able to score or not, or what impact it will have on my CGPA. I wanted to prioritize learning about the soft skills that leaders so often talk about in their speeches. And that I did.
How slowly and quickly my second year went by. Prioritizing my health and leading an active lifestyle - I was playing badminton during my internship. I started playing basketball as I went back to campus. Even after being active and exercising for so long, I developed severe lower back pain during my fourth term because of a small jerk while playing badminton. I felt sorry for myself for not being able to even sit in class. After going through this twice and consulting with doctors, I discovered that it was because of severe Vitamin B12 and D deficiency. My body wasn’t able to recover as quickly as it should have and the pain increased dramatically because of the deficiency. I always prided myself in knowing that I maintained a good diet, and exercised - hence was living a healthy lifestyle. However, I missed one thing - because of covid, my exposure to the sun was limited. Even while I was playing badminton during my online summer internship it was indoors. That made me realize how important it is to get my daily dose of sunshine. Health is important. I missed out on a lot because I wasn’t well. Whatever I do, wherever I am busy, I cannot not look after my health. Not just exercise, but also making sure I am getting all the nutrients. I am grateful to have friends who supported me through this, Because I had them I felt like it will be alright. There’s my third learning - Investing in relationships during good times and supporting each other in challenging times.
Toward the end of the fifth term, I registered and went on a Himalayan Mountain Challenge which was a leadership program. The excitement of a traveling expedition, of reaching the peak, getting to know fellow travelers, and fear of failing, and hurting my back again shaped my experience. In the cold and harsh temperatures of the Himalayas, what kept me going was the sight of the peak and my persistence. Just before I reached the summit, I looked around to see the breathtaking view - thinking to myself how far I had come, how much I had accomplished. It wasn’t possible without a few members of my team who were driven and compassionate. The last 5-10 minutes of the ascend - a colleague of mine chose to not leave me even when he could have walked faster than me - and he risked the chance of watching the sunrise from the peak. The time at the peak was short and wasn’t that great - cause it felt crowded and wasn’t very quiet as I expected it to be. That’s when I epiphanized - “the time at the peak (any achievement) is short and we may not even like it, but the journey is long and made beautiful because of the people we walk with and spend time with. The peak is to give us a direction and a sense of purpose but it makes more sense to focus on the journey”. I felt giddy as I reached the peak and the journey back was supported by another friend as I slipped on snow and walked slowly during the descent. The way people helped each other during a time of crisis - made me feel that the leadership program concluded successfully. One observation through the journey - was the power of feedback.
To be continued.