Night Owl's Revenge

Pick a theme song! I know it sounds frivolous, but we have a LONG year ahead of us before we are hopefully packing our belongings and leaving our jobs for the business schools of our dreams! There are going to be highs (admission, fellowships) and several lows (GMAT, and gasp, rejection!) along the way. In order to draft the very best application essays you should be doing deep examinations of your core values, what matters most to you and why (Stanford bound or not), and what you hope to accomplish after school. At times you will question your motivation for applying, and struggling with the GMAT is downright painful!

I applied to four schools for a seat in the class of 2013 and was rejected from three programs and waitlisted at my top choice (more on that later). I love music, and I use it as a tool to keep moving forward when I get discouraged. The lyrics to Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On” reminds me of how far I’ve come. I’m a poor kid from West Philly, and if it wasn’t for the support of my family, friends, and teachers who believed in me, I wouldn’t be where I am today. If all of those people still believe in me why shouldn’t I believe in myself?

There were a lot of times in my past where I could have thrown up my hands and given up. But life continues to move forward, and I realize that it’s my choice to participate or not. As a child my grandmother repeatedly told me “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again”. So, with this thought in mind, I’m not leaving. If things don’t work out with my top choice I’m going to keep dreaming and give this process one more shot. I must have done something right to get waitlisted. This year, I’m going to adjust my thinking and really embrace the GMAT.

If anyone out there is reading this here’s my advice to you: pick a song and load it onto your ipod/mp3 player. Perhaps you have a favorite quote that always lifts your spirits and gives you inspiration. Tape a copy where you can see it when you need a boost. It takes courage to open yourself up and go through the application process. I may fall flat on my face again, but at least I tried to achieve something difficult. No matter what happens this year life will go on, and I will move on to the next challenge.