After all the tough times, sleepless nights solving the multiple aptitude books and mocks, memorising and revising the vocabulary and formula, clearing CAT or XAT or the numerous other entrance exams and then clearing those nerve-wracking GDs and interview. Finally, you make it to the B-School of your dreams!
Wow! Wasn’t that a long and tiring journey. If you thought getting into a B-School was difficult, surviving the journey ahead is an equally difficult task. Today as I complete my first year at SPJIMR, I look back at the year that was, wondering how fast time has flown. The journey of nine months wasn’t an easy one. Transitioning from the comforts of home to the scary and extremely fast-paced first year MBA was a difficult process for every student.
Getting added to countless WhatsApp groups, hundreds of emails flooding the inbox, assignments and their crazy deadlines, resume, competitions, class participation, surprise quizzes, end terms, the art of making PPTs and everything else that follows. It almost seems like we are at war, except for the bloodshed and killings. B-School life is like an artificially simulated environment where there is no other choice but to compete and face the mounting pressure. But this hunger game is for teaching you and at the same time getting you ready for the roadblocks that you might face ahead in life.
One of the first things that I learnt after starting this journey of mine is that it is not wrong to accept that you don’t know. You aren’t alone when all the credit, debit and z-values are going over your head. It is not possible for everyone to know everything. Give it your best shot and things will definitely start getting better. Being insecure definitely does not help.
This leads me to my next point to get to know yourself better and prioritise the different tasks that you need to do. You might think that you will be able to handle everything that comes your way. This ends up in you overestimating yourself. You are no demigod who can manage everything at the same time. Prioritising was what became important and taught its value. It also taught me to accept myself with all my weaknesses too (we often tend to focus only on our strengths, while we ignore our weaknesses).
One more thing MBA helps you realise is that luck plays a huge factor in deciding your fate. The best that can be done by us is to concentrate our efforts on those things which are in our hands. And there is no point in whining over things which are not in our control. When you look back at these instances, you will realise there was no point wasting your time and energy. Just remember that everything happens for a reason. This will help us become more accepting of our surroundings.
Another important thing I realised over the course of my stay in a B-school was the need to develop a good support system. In this rat race, it is important to have people in whom you can confide in, considering they are also going through the same phase. Your study group or your roommates or your classmates will end up becoming your family away from home. There will always be someone on campus who is ready to listen to you and help you out just like how your mother back home would. Needless to say, it will be these moments that you spend together that will be cherished in the long run and not the classroom studies or placements.
I might have forgotten to write about certain things but I am sure you will discover various other things as you go through your B-school journey. Things are definitely not as depressing as they sound. Challenges are the constant and it just requires a little bit of effort to overcome them. I have realised that being positive is one of the key traits that will help us sail through a B-school.
I hope my journey as a PGP-2 will be even more interesting get me ready for the adventure that lies ahead.
- Radhakrishnan Venkataraman
PGDM Candidate, 2020
SPJIMR, Mumbai