Starting my B-school journey was daunting for me. I had never lived at a hostel, I had never been used to such a hectic schedule that I had heard of, I had never lived away from my home. I was scared and apprehensive when I reached XLRI Jamshedpur on 11th June. But as soon as I saw the campus, I fell in love with it. The greenery, the song of the birds and legacy of the oldest premiere B-school of India swayed me off my feet. The first week was filled with orientation sessions and I made a bunch of great friends within a very short time! Soon, like magic, hostel life started feeling amazing. The first 3-4 days were chill, until the seniors came in with their ‘professional development program’ set for us (will not be giving out the spoilers but trust me it will be one of the most memorable B-school experiences ever). For the next one week we stayed up till 5 AM in the morning rushing from one group exercise to another, making decks, recording video, and solving cases. The entire batch bonded over caffeine, sleep deprivation and pressure and soon we started loving the hustle. The first lesson that I learned in B-school was to fall in love with the hustle and that everything becomes easy with a support system around.
XLRI boasts of its three-batch culture- comprising of seniors, batchmates and juniors. At every step there is always someone to help whenever there is any trouble. The campus became my home very soon and a bunch of wonderful friends, my family. Late nights soon became normal and handling pressure became a synonym for B-school life with abundant submissions, quizzes, daunting pile of unfathomable academics, committee selections, CV making and sessions. My second learning was that handling pressure efficiently is a skill that B-school life has the scope to teach you. If you learn that well enough, you are set.
While the professors are brilliant, the best part of my B-school academics is peer learning. The course has a lot of subjects that are difficult to understand so learning from friends who understand and know these subjects is our best way forward. Our massive learning from our survival instinct was that the pack must stick together to sail through. So, we study together and teach each other whatever we understand. While B-school teaches you to be abundantly self-sufficient and self-confident, it also makes you helpful and a team player. We also have loads of group projects and group assignments which sufficiently teaches us to work in different kinds of teams, interact with people and learn from each other. We are also having ice breaker sessions every other day now, which involves us working with different iterations of teams and bond over shared idea and piles of PPT decks. The highlight of my first month was the MAXI BAZAAR organized by the marketing association of XLRI where we had to design a quirky product overnight with a team of randomly assorted students and plan its launch too. The entire night was spent in fun ad shoots and meme making and we loved the process!
Life is happening, fun, hectic yet so fulfilling over here. The first month has gone by, and as I am now entering the second month of my B-school life I am preparing for committee selections, CV preparations and placement training along with regular academics and exams. But alongside I am very excited about the possibility of different experiences that I gather every single day over here. We have fun with friends, late night walks around the campus, random visits to the campus café, Aiyaar’s and Dadu’s, hostel parties and heart to heart conversations. While each one of us is struggling with the pressure, we never miss out on a chance to watch a film together or sit and chat till the crack of dawn. We know that we are there for each other. The networks that we are making here are going to last forever, the greatest alumni network ever, the famous XL-mafia!
The first month at a b-school taught me what fulfillment feels like despite all the struggle, hectic schedule, and pressure. This article is intended to inspire many more with amazing B-school stories. Come on, buckle up, and reach the stairway to heaven!