A Blog on Life Support

It has been a bit over three months since I returned to the Emerald City and this post has been a long time coming. For the most part, I have been burdened by an unimaginable amount of work coupled with a right brain / left brain territory battle which has not left much time for blogging - even if it is just for the few Rainbow readers who desire a status update now and again.

There have been many times over the last three months when I felt as if the readings, assignments, papers, upcoming mid-terms, homework, club activities were swirling around me like an overflowing pool of water swishing above my head as I treaded to stay afloat. The treading motivated many sacrifices – primarily a hopeful yet non-sustainable fitness routine, my general health, and meeting new people / socializing with my fellow classmates. My cohort consists of 65 students from 30 different countries and the two major benefits from a class this size and diverse (compared to other b.schools with 500+ students from the Anytown, USA) are:
1. The creation of strong lifelong relationships with many people because we spend most of our time together and have left our friendships at home base
2. A tremendous opportunity to learn about different cultures, countries and experiences from one another.

Tonight my friend and study buddy (and by study buddy I mean he teaches me and I bring Tim Tams) organized an event inspired by his TED.com obsession. The concept of the event was for 5 people to each give a 20 minute speech on a topic of personal expertise, with a general focus on culture and diversity. All the speeches were informative, interesting, impressive and absolutely different. I learned about one man’s journey through the culture shock of living in 9 different countries around the world; Chilean history and landscapes; A 6-month trip across Africa in a Land Rover and how to stay calm when running into rebel shepherds armed with AK-47’s; lessons of the Bible from a non believer; and the life of an idea.

Although I have spent most of my time here grasping for air, tonight’s experience lifted me up to take a deep and full breath, reminding me that beyond the assignments and endless pages of words is something I will never be able to learn from a book. These are the experiences worth reflecting on, remembering and sharing with friends – even when it means ‘fessing up to a particularly long period of silence.

Cheers to little reminders that keep me motivated and to all those who shared stories tonight. clink.