you are the choices you make

it stood out, this line, when i read harry potter and then again in shantaram. and thats what our professor said to us on the first day, you have made a choice to come here, to face challenges and to be ambitious. and i thought back on the choices i have made, some tough ones and some tougher ones.

now that i am here, there is an option at every step. there are the immediate choices, should i get out of my bed now or sleep longer? this usually results in the alarm clock snoozing for quite a while, till i realise i am running late for class. should i got to the party or to the street festivals? the key here is the importance you associate to your company. i could go to a party and stand in a corner, similing at the occasional person who looks my way and unsuccesfully trying to make small talk with the unlucky one who chose to talk to me. i sound harsh, but i can get really boring and sad in a party, particularly if i cant dance. and dance in barcelona usually means either salsa or the disco moves on english music. so its quite a task (to put mildly) for my kathak spins or even for my bollywood arm waving. then of course the whole appearance comes into play. i mean if have my flats, no make-up, no figure-show screaming out my boring quotient, how can i possibly match the moves of the high-heeled long legged beauties? naah i am better off imagining it. now come on, its not so bad, i just carried away trying to make the decsiption engaging. should i eat salad or boiled vegetable? the good part is i am never confused with too many options and also that its healthy. so its either of these two, or either of these two and dessert. in the latter case the either of these two doesnt matter. i am definitely not going to stay the way i am, and will soon need new clothes! md, watch out!!

then there are the long term choices. am i a cheerful yellow or a patient green? can i tone up my intuition and my energy to balance the shades of my personality? do i want to wait for those who dont wait for me or do i persist on my lonely bit and fight a losing battle? what is the choice of my career? banking or consulting? media or steel? am i here to mint money or to have a balanced life? is my passion in statistics or in analysis? n i havent made any choices yet. it is now important to choose my passion, because thats what matters finally. in the end, whether you did your cases everyday, or you partied, or you got the best job, what will matter is how happy you are.

now that look back at where i have come from, this mba has turned to be a good choice. the stress on values, and the nature of mba itself revolving around common sense and simplicty, is a sweet reward for all the waiting and all the questions i faced. there is a long way ahead, and many more choices to make, and life will teach me as i move on. as it is rightly said, "good judgement comes from experience. experience comes from bad judgement." amen to some experience and fond memories.