We are used to imagining life experiences as cycles that come, reach a peak, and then slowly fade away as they end… NOT IN BUSINESS SCHOOL! Right when I have the impression that by my last few weeks of business school I have already squeezed all the learnings and experiences that are out there available for me during the MBA, this experience keeps on surprising me.
Last night, while I was debating whether I should take pictures to advertise the furniture I have to sell before moving to begin my career in NYC or go out for dinner with some MBA colleagues at a Vietnamese restaurant (Even typing this, I’m not sure that it was truly a debate :D), I ended up leaving the pictures for later. I have to admit, these pictures have already been “left for later” for too long.
Arriving at the restaurant in Andersonville, a very cool neighborhood that I had no idea even existed in Chicago, I entered a place full of surprises. Striking a conversation with a guy to my right that I was so sure was a first year about to start his internship, I heard this super interesting story from a Pakistani who is surprisingly graduating the same year as I am. As the Vietnamese dishes came along, and I enjoyed this new (to me) cuisine, I took a look around. In that moment I could not stop thinking to myself: this MBA experience never deaccelerates; quite the opposite, it feels that as it gets closer to its end, it just keeps increasing its pace.
The first image that comes to my mind when I imagine myself walking toward an end is a cliff that approximates to my sight. Therefore, my first instinct would be starting to pump the breaks. However, this time is different. Instead of stopping before falling off the edge, I only see me and my MBA colleagues accelerating…human planes preparing for takeoff. To where? Onto our future jobs, enjoying the technical knowledge gathered, the leadership skills developed, and this constantly rolling network that we have created alongside us as we move on to the next chapter. Under the current limitations, what we see is people bonding more and more, visiting the seemingly infinite number of new places Chicago has to offer, visiting restaurants and sports venues, still learning from colleagues and classes. In short, we’re enjoying this golden asset, which some of us also call time, to strengthen what I believe to be the most important thing in life: our relations with people.
So, yeah…there are still the pictures I have to take, the taxes I have to finish, and the new apartments I have to rent waiting for me. For now though, I will just keep rolling and look forward to new cuisines and determining the nationality of the next new friend who will share the table with me in my meals during the remainder of my time as a Boothie!
