"Why do you go home so often? Yes it's nearby, but why do you go all the time?"
"Whenever there's a holiday, you head to your uncle's place."
"You read gossip and fashion magazines?! MBA students have time to read these things too?"
"Are you not participating in any case study? Job kab milegi?"
"Students are into start-ups? Kuch entrepreneurship tu bhi kar.. Any business plan?"
- things I'm accused of and questioned about. Sometimes I wonder am I the right kind of MBA grad student? I do participate in some competitions and try to know the world. But what I can't do is give up my day and night and food and ethics. I try to contain my ambition. Aim high but not too far away in the sky. Is that wrong?
I am twenty two. Most of my friends are working. Some of my friends are pursuing higher education: a few technically inclined ones are doing M.Tech, Science and/or foreign university- enthusiasts are abroad for M.S. and many are pursuing MBA like I am.
All of them are smart. Most of them funny. Many are intelligent. Some talented. A few brave about life choices.
Everyone is deceptive. Not all have much figured out, but all are confident. There are those who are not only sure of themselves, but also make sure others aren't. And then some are too cool to think too much. They just save their charm for the right moment and remain passive and "chilled out" for rest of the time.
Five years ago, I was in class XII and that in India means Board Exams followed by Entrance Exams. I knew I'm good at academics but I knew I can't slog. I ate, slept and watched a lot of TV- which helped me remain sane. I appeared for two exams- didn't clear one of them and did well in the other. In the hindsight, limited ambition helped me enjoy the toughest year in a student's life. College? I went to an NIT. Pretty neat!
Two years ago I was in the final year of engineering and decided to give CAT a shot. Herd mentality? Maybe. I did appear for oncampus placements for a few days, because normally I'm a risk averse person. But somewhere in between,I decided to focus only on belling this cat and not suiting up for the interviews. Risk taken. Return? I got a decent score, call from some decent institutes and finally admit into a good college. That right there was pretty ambitious, I believe.
Last year during internship program, till I didn't get an offer, I had a fractured toe and a bruised ego. One day, I decided to just take a break and spend the night at my cousin's place. The next morning I got my plaster off and following that I got an interview call. It wasn't a company in my dream league. It wasn't a company I knew much about either. After seeing many rejects, ambition had taken a backseat. Regrown toe did the job of injecting happiness. So I gave an interview sans ambition and voila- I cracked it. The company? It is top in its industry and gave me paycheck for having fun for two months.
It is true hard work pays off. Risks precede returns. Being fit and at peace can help win the game. What remains unclear is ambition: yay or nay?
"Whenever there's a holiday, you head to your uncle's place."
"You read gossip and fashion magazines?! MBA students have time to read these things too?"
"Are you not participating in any case study? Job kab milegi?"
"Students are into start-ups? Kuch entrepreneurship tu bhi kar.. Any business plan?"
- things I'm accused of and questioned about. Sometimes I wonder am I the right kind of MBA grad student? I do participate in some competitions and try to know the world. But what I can't do is give up my day and night and food and ethics. I try to contain my ambition. Aim high but not too far away in the sky. Is that wrong?
I am twenty two. Most of my friends are working. Some of my friends are pursuing higher education: a few technically inclined ones are doing M.Tech, Science and/or foreign university- enthusiasts are abroad for M.S. and many are pursuing MBA like I am.
All of them are smart. Most of them funny. Many are intelligent. Some talented. A few brave about life choices.
Everyone is deceptive. Not all have much figured out, but all are confident. There are those who are not only sure of themselves, but also make sure others aren't. And then some are too cool to think too much. They just save their charm for the right moment and remain passive and "chilled out" for rest of the time.
Five years ago, I was in class XII and that in India means Board Exams followed by Entrance Exams. I knew I'm good at academics but I knew I can't slog. I ate, slept and watched a lot of TV- which helped me remain sane. I appeared for two exams- didn't clear one of them and did well in the other. In the hindsight, limited ambition helped me enjoy the toughest year in a student's life. College? I went to an NIT. Pretty neat!
Two years ago I was in the final year of engineering and decided to give CAT a shot. Herd mentality? Maybe. I did appear for oncampus placements for a few days, because normally I'm a risk averse person. But somewhere in between,I decided to focus only on belling this cat and not suiting up for the interviews. Risk taken. Return? I got a decent score, call from some decent institutes and finally admit into a good college. That right there was pretty ambitious, I believe.
Last year during internship program, till I didn't get an offer, I had a fractured toe and a bruised ego. One day, I decided to just take a break and spend the night at my cousin's place. The next morning I got my plaster off and following that I got an interview call. It wasn't a company in my dream league. It wasn't a company I knew much about either. After seeing many rejects, ambition had taken a backseat. Regrown toe did the job of injecting happiness. So I gave an interview sans ambition and voila- I cracked it. The company? It is top in its industry and gave me paycheck for having fun for two months.
It is true hard work pays off. Risks precede returns. Being fit and at peace can help win the game. What remains unclear is ambition: yay or nay?
