On The Toughest Term Of The B-School Life

These were the thoughts running across my mind as I sat and gazed out the window, on a train that was leading me towards my destination and destiny – IIM Lucknow. Every second was taking me far away from the ‘certain’, ‘the safe cocoon’ that my life had become, and more and more towards an unpredictable future – a future bright with promises, but tinged with anxiety and trepidation as well.

Lucknow arrived and greeted us with a sweltering heat that could give a tough competition to Delhi- the city of extremes, as well. I was familiar with the term ‘HELL’ given to IIM Lucknow, and I naively thought perhaps this is why it is called so.

Oh boy, was I wrong.

Winston Churchill once said ‘If you are going through hell, keep going.’ It’s only by passing through the trials and tribulations, do you realize how much you have gained in terms of wisdom and maturity. It’s only when you push yourself to the extreme do you realize your potential which even you didn’t know existed. It’s only when you have taken great pains to attain something, you cherish that sweet taste of success even more.

IIM Lucknow – a HELL which is now my HOME.

Each and every step I have taken here has been an experience. An experience that remains with you and changes you for the better, changes your perspective about life, about your own abilities, reminiscent of the memories which will remain etched in your mind forever.

Standing on the cusp of the end of first year, I wonder how on earth was I able to survive the first term - attending classes after a long hiatus of 3 years in the workplace, staying up all night for assignments and projects which seemed never ending, grappling with subjects that you found so tough you were fearful of failing, coordinating with multiple group project discussions, dealing with sacrosanct deadlines (23:59:59 hours) for project submissions and batch meets, not getting any time at all to admire the beautiful campus, participating in inter-section wars and coming out of your comfort zone to do everything in an effort to make your section come out on top while building strong emotional bonds in the process, walking around like zombies during committee selection process because of the sheer amount of tasks both individual and group that were determined to make you chase the clock, being heartbroken if you couldn’t get through, dealing with the psychological stress of preparations for summer placements, running around the campus for CV reviews, mock GDs and interviews, with seniors and juniors both coming together to uphold a tradition of camaraderie being formed between both throughout the years.

‘The first term would be the toughest’ – everybody had warned me. And they were right, but not because other terms are easier, but because after a while, you get used to the dynamic pace - and it’s actually amazing to see how easily one slides into this hectic routine and accepts it as though it was always a part of his or her life.

So to sum it up,

Is the first term tough?

Yes.

Was it worth it?

Each and every bit of it.

Would I trade it for something else?

Never, not for anything in the world.