Thursday, May 8, 2014

coming to the end.

me: i think i have been so sick recently because i've been stressed out and it has compromised my immune system.
boss: why are you so stressed? you have a job and your grades don't matter.

here's the truth that everyone tells you: the hardest part of business school is getting into business school. this is, by all intents and purposes, true. once you have paid your deposit and agreed to attend your ivy league institution that bars you from disclosing your grades to any employer until you have signed a full time offer, it doesn't really matter whether you come to class, hand in assignments or get straight LPs (my school's equivalent of Ds).

but here's the truth that no one tells you: even though it doesn't matter, you are likely so type a that not handing in an assignment hurts your soul. and all those clubs and leadership positions you committed to (whether for personal or professional reasons) require most of the extra time you have left over after classes, assignments, review sessions and group meetings.

having juggled planning a wedding during my first year and working two days a week my second year, i missed out on that part of school they call "fun" and "a vacation from full time work." in short, business school was no picnic for me. i'm glad i did it, because now i have a great job and i feel smarter and more empowered, but the stress it incurred definitely took several years off my life. come to think of it, it took over years of my life.

my road to columbia started in 2010, when i decided to take the gmats. thinking back now, i can't believe how long ago that was. four years is a long time but these four years have been a lifetime. i started officially studying in august and took the test on december 5. three and a half months later i got ginger. a few months after that i met shawn. i remember in our first meeting telling him i was planning to apply to business school in a few months. fast forward to september 2011 and i realized the due date for early decision at columbia business school was just a few weeks away. oops! thankfully someone cool and collected in my life (shawn obvs) helped me edit my essays and get them in on time. i submitted everything on the day applications were due. four weeks later, i was in.

last week was my last day of class, ever. to celebrate, shawn and i went back to the place where we celebrated the night i was accepted into columbia. it seemed appropriate. and sitting before me was a guy who could have cut and run the moment i told him i had been accepted. he could have decided it was all too difficult and would ruin our relationship. he could have been insecure and certain i would meet someone else. instead, he suggested we move in together.

look at us now.


i can't wrap up this phase in my life without feeling immense gratitude for shawn and everything he has done for me. i couldn't have done it without you, babe!