Happy New Year to all! Many business school bloggers have spent the last few weeks reveling in a much-deserved moment of peace and relaxation, but whether students reflected on the year gone by or revved up for 2009, here’s a sampling of the view from the trenches.
MaybeMBA (Chicago Booth School of Business) used some of her cherished down time this holiday season to share what she calls a rambling, personal post on the price of money. As someone deeply familiar with what it means to be “food stamps poor,” she says people who say money can’t buy happiness have never felt the sting of poverty.
From an exotic beachfront locale somewhere on the Indian Ocean, the Ruminator (London Business School) prepares for the eminent arrival of “Mrs. R” in London and ponders how his MBA experience will change when he must say goodbye to alcohol-fueled study sessions and can no longer prey on the hapless females of London. Day-to-day life will now include snuffing out where to find organic truffles and environmentally clean dry-cleaning, and hashing out who pays the rent.
Susanna on the Kenan-Flagler Blog extols the value of her Global Communications class and provides an amusing anecdote that ties in with last month’s infamous Iraqi shoe-tossing incident. Who knew that the charming Tar Heel cookies of North Carolina could be so offensive?
On holiday break from Harvard Business School, Bradley Lautenbach takes a moment to reflect upon the importance of boredom. Jumping to the slow lane from a semester in which life moves at 150 mph, Lautenbach says feeling bored helps clear the mind and forces you to decompress and relax. Boredom, he adds, also causes you to appreciate the busy time, the time when you have tons to do, and helps you realize what parts of the busy time are most meaningful.
Tinydancer savored a much-needed break as she realized how much her life has changed since she was accepted at Wharton one year ago. From getting the hang of networking, challenging her comfort zone, becoming hyper involved and wearing silly outfits way more than a person probably should, it’s been quite a year. Oh, and “I learned a lot about business, she says, “Which is what I am here for in the first place!”
(photo courtesy of Google images)
