Graduates, Lemons and Lemonade

The MBA class of 2009, the class ahead of mine, graduates tomorrow. This signifies a couple of things. 

Firstly, it means that a year from tomorrow, I will be graduating. 

It means that the new crop of 1 year MBA’s will soon be infiltrating our halls- fresh blood- always a good thing. 

It means that despite the crisis, the lack of jobs, the crumbling of and later rebuilding of the global economy- life still goes on- and MBAs are still going out in the world in hopes of changing it- making it better for the rest of us- and of course, grabbing a decently sized piece of the pie for themselves. Good luck. I mean that.

The graduation of the 2009 class also means that it is now time to say goodbye to the new friends I have barely had the chance to get to know. I regret this, as it’s partially my fault- always coming up with the excuse, “next term. When things calm down. Next weekend, when I have less work…" continuously and guilelessly believing that I could evade the passage of time. And now, like so many other people that have passed in and out of my life- and so many opportunities that have passed me by just because I happened to blink- I have to say goodbye and wonder if I’ll ever see these individuals again, these people whose faces and voices have become the wallpaper and soundtracks of my life. I honestly hope so. 

So the lesson learned? 

Savour the days- the friendships- the individuals- the exceptional people brought into my life by this modest MBA because before I know it- before any of us know it- it will all be over. 

Some good news along those lines though (disguised as bad news) is that I’ll be sticking around Spain for the duration of the program. 

In other words; I’m not going on exchange. 

Anyway, someone once told me, Cuando la vida te da limones... Haz limonada. So that’s exactly what I’ll be doing; Haciendo limonada in Barcelona. Don’t get me wrong- I’m still angry.

Speaking of making lemonade and taking advantage of situations- I’m leaving for Turkey tomorrow. "Semana Santa", “holy week,” or to us students- "Spring Break," is finally upon us! I doubt it’s going to be the wet t-shirt contest, tequila shot taking, sun soaked type of “Spring Break” Cancun was back in the undergrad era however, I’m just as excited- if not more. 

One full week sans tapas, sans callous Catalan cab drivers, sans mind boggling case studies and waiting at bus stops in the rain at 8:00 a.m. 

So off I go again- If only for a short while. Semana Santa is in fact holy - a much needed break considering the fact that finals ended three weeks ago and we’ve since been going full speed ahead with a three day negotiations seminar, a week long intensive course on strategy implementation, and now a week of term 3 courses. There is an air of apathy around here. Maybe its because after the intensity of finals, we were denied a breather. Or maybe its because in one or two days time, we will all be headed to airports and train stations in search of our own brands of tranquility. 

It’s time to GO. And “go” we will.

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”

~Robert Louis Stevenson