Catching Up

If my utter failure at blogging was any indication, my first two terms of business school were busy. They were also amazing, exhausting, exciting, terrifying, fun, frustrating, and a firm confirmation that I made the right decision, both to go back to school and about which school to attend.

It's hard to sum up the experience thus far in one post, but I'm going to attempt it because I want to post more regularly going forward (about current life!). 

Why is it exhausting, terrifying, and frustrating? I know, those aren't positive descriptions, but I think anytime you're attempting something big and that you really want and that isn't particularly easy to achieve, those things will come into play. I've slept less in these past months than I ever did in undergrad or working, but it's because I'm being more productive than I realized I could be, and it's pretty cool to discover that you can exceed the limits you thought you had. It's terrifying, because you realize that you're surrounded by a bunch of people who are just as smart, capable, and accomplished as you are - probably a lot more, in fact! - and you have to make yourself stand out to get a job! But at the same time, these are the people who want to help you get better. And frustrating? Well, life happens sometimes. You study all night for a test and still do badly, you give your love to one company and it rejects you from an interview, you discover a friend isn't who you thought they were. These things happen...but that other stuff, the good stuff, makes up for all of this and more.

Why was it amazing, exciting, fun, and a firm confirmation that my choices were correct? So many reasons, many of which are intangible ones like "the people." To start there - I'm lucky enough now to be surrounded by a group of people who are similar to me in some important ways, including the importance we place on our professional and personal development, as well as the importance we place on relationships and laughing and having fun. All those things I mentioned before, the hard stuff we deal with? In between, there are these amazing people asking if I need help, making me laugh constantly, making sure I don't take myself too seriously, keeping me sane. And while we're similar in a lot of ways, like the core values we share, we're different in some really cool ways that help us make each other better. Like our backgrounds, our experiences, our prior jobs...you name, we have someone who's been there / done it / etc. 

Alright, enough fluff and gushing, right? What really happened in the past four months? Well, we had two terms, six weeks each, which let me tell you is REALLY quick! You're just getting used to the course, and suddenly you're in midterms. And then you turn around again and it's finals and you're on to term two...but they keep you on your toes, that's for sure! I took Econ, Accounting, Management Communication and Forecasting in term 1, and Strategy, Marketing, Management Communication and Finance in term 2. 

Career-wise, we went to endless company events...the networking was non-stop. We worked on our resumes, our cover letters, our STAR stories. We did practice case interviews with each other (not enough!) and dropped our resumes for companies, and then anxiously awaited the closed list (interview list) results from each company. And now, we're continuing to prep for interviews that are coming up in only about a week!

And everything else? Well...we had a good time. The great thing about being in Durham (a bit remote, I'd say...) is that people grow close quickly because we're all each other has, at least in the vicinity. We had Campout in early October (36 hours of craziness - camping out in parking lots and running to endless check-ins for just a chance to win season basketball tickets) which was SO much fun...and SO exhausting! Mid-October brought Fall Break - which was much needed! - and a quick trip to Atlanta to visit consulting firms. November was my birthday and a wonderful joint party with 2 friends, we had a great time celebrating. Then it was Thanksgiving, which I and many friends remained in Durham for. A friend and I cooked all of the Thanksgiving sides (they were actually good!!) and the guys cooked the turkey - with much fanfare - it was both hilarious and delicious. Then suddenly it was December, which brought a case competition that I did with 3 friends who made the endless hours locked in a teamroom bearable, and often even enjoyable. The competition caused both the coolest and the toughest week at school so far - no sleep, so much excitement and nervousness and hard work...but we got 2nd place! One of our teammates - the college athlete, unsurprisingly - had us listen to the "win by inches" speech Pacino gives in the movie "Any Given Sunday" before our final presentation, with our eyes closed in a dark room. It was amazing and motivating, and a reminder of what it is to achieve something bigger than yourself because of the people working alongside you. Listen to that speech...it's pretty cool.

Then finally home for Christmas...it was nice to come back to San Diego for a bit. I'm still in San Diego now, but have been doing a good bit of case interview practice for the interviews starting in just over a week. The work is a little bit of a bummer, but it means I get to Skype with friends who I was used to seeing constantly and I miss over break! - so that's a nice benefit. 

They say the first two terms are the toughest...we'll see. I do know that I can't wait to go back and see friends that I miss after only two weeks and see what else this great experiences has to offer. I can't wait.

And I plan to post weekly. We'll see if that happens, though I set myself an Outlook reminder for it, which tends to get me to do things. If I manage more than once over the next couple of terms, I'll be doing better than the last two terms! :o)