There used to be days – we called them working days. We woke up every morning and got ready to rush to a skyscraper – we called it the office. Mondays used to be the gloomiest days and the entire week used to go by waiting for fun Fridays. We lived our days cussing office but at the same time having fun discussing work and enjoying the company of our colleagues. Then there was an unprecedented arrival of a big typhoon called COVID-19 that trapped us all inside our houses. Now there used to be days – and we called them mundane days when we woke up and went to the desktop placed on the table right next to our lazy bed at 9 am and came back to our cosy bed at 6 pm. What follows next is a wave of nostalgia, and you immediately want to go back to your office to get rid of the monotony. Sounds strange but true!
But for some blokes like me, the darkest hour was indeed followed by dawn. There were few interviews lined up with the premier B-schools we know as IIMs. There were few extraordinary days when I took a break of around one hour to appear for these interviews and try my best to impress the panel, and in the meanwhile, get mesmerized by their personalities. “I am going to be like that someday,” I used to think to myself. In my mind, I already had worked out all the permutations and combinations as to which college I was going to choose upon converting some or all of them. And then, one fine day, I woke up to an email from IIM Nagpur with my admission offer. Yes, it took me a while to believe my eyes. But once I pulled myself together, I put on my dancing shoes and announced the news to my team. You could feel the envy piercing through the phone.
And that was the beginning of my journey towards IIM Nagpur and MBA. Nexus team and the Admission office from the institute were always in touch to help through the transition from work-life back to studies. I anticipated I would be embarking on this journey while on the campus, but that could not be possible owing to COVID-19 this year. So we all started this expedition putting technology to use. All the admission processes, classes, and club activities were held online. However, there was no shortcoming in the entire online operation, apart from the human touch that we all want – we’ll have to wait a little while for that. From the very first day, professors and seniors start grooming you holistically into a professional. You enter a busy schedule where you have to balance your studies, assignments, make new friends, and also actively participate in as many competitions as you can to cope with the highly competitive environment.
Time flies so quickly at IIM - Amidst all the hustle, it feels like ages since the daily office life was left behind (even though it has just been two weeks). So for all those who feel like they won’t be able to go back to studies after entering work life, take it from someone who had the same thinking – go for it, you won’t regret it!
About the author – Pragati Lohani is a first-year student at IIM Nagpur. She worked for a leading IT giant and has 42 months of work experience in the banking domain. She likes to write, watch movies, and play badminton in her free time. She is looking forward to exploring the unseen aspects of her personality at IIM Nagpur.