Confessions of a B School Survivor

My life at IIMB has drawn to a close and I am glad that  I  landed here because this institute has taught me so much.There are the hard skills -  It gave me my first experience of using a scientific calculator, making power point presentations (never used power point in college), using excel sheets, the meaning of debit & credit  etc etc and then there are those that I could never truly get. However, the most valuable lessons that I have learnt here are the life lessons, the much neglected soft-skills. The first few months of my common existence with some of the best minds in the country pushed and shoved me under-ground and my confidence level was, close to zero. I had experienced so much pressure for the first time in my life (I was a general arts student so one can imagine). I did not handle it well but it was an experience that shaped my life and I am glad to have learnt from it. I have met many people who also succumbed to the pressure, including my own friends who have done and said things that I normally deem as inappropriate, opportunistic etc. However, I also know that if anyone else had been in this situation for the first time, there's a high chance that they would have also screwed up. So, I have learnt to understand, be non-judgmental and give people a chance. Of course, there are people whose nature is permanently like that and the best way to deal with such people is to just leave them be because we can't be friends with everyone and we don't have to like everyone. I have also learnt that the most important things in life are the relationships that we have - our relationship with God and everyone else. My biggest regret is that I have compromised on a lot of these relationships during this period of my life and  I now realize that it's NOT AT ALL WORTH IT. There is more to life than grades, degrees and achievements... Money can certainly give one the power to get material things...power, prestige, fame, possessions, fake friends, fake love etc, but there is one thing that it certainly cannot give,“happiness". I never got as much happiness dining out in the fanciest of restaurants with a heart that is broken than having mug noodles with rice and some obscure South Indian curry in a cramped room with a loved one. It's easy to take things for granted when you know that it's there but it's a loss that makes you realize that whatever you wanted, looked, striven and  yearned for was right there with you. Suddenly all the fancy cars, plush accommodations, high flying career etc. seem to lose their shine when it comes to the end of the line. A valuable lesson indeed and I wish I did not have to learn it the hard way...but I am mighty glad I learned!