Night Owl's Revenge

This is the last post in the series, but I think it’s the most important. I should have deferred my applications to business school last year, as 2010 is a year I’d like to forget. I lost my grandmother to cancer, the environment at my job was extremely negative, and the recession hit my family hard. In 2009 I became the sole income earner until my brother found a job last summer. Real life threw major issues my way that required my full attention.

Friends advised me to wait a year to apply to school, but I pushed through the stress and unhappiness and completed my applications anyway. They gave me something to do outside of worrying about work or my family’s situation. A hard head really does make a soft behind, because the result was a poor GMAT score and zero acceptances.

One thing I’ve learned over the past year is to never underestimate the role that happiness, or personal fulfillment, can play in your life. If you don’t like something, change it. I took that attitude and applied it to the one thing I could control. I found a new job that I really enjoy. I actually feel like my contributions matter and that my teammates and I will make a real difference in the lives of the patients we serve. Finding a work environment that I enjoy has allowed me to open up in other aspects of my life. Instead of worrying about work I can use my precious spare time to volunteer, discover new hobbies, and nurture creative projects like this blog. In short, I am me again, and the feeling of returning to myself can only be described as welcoming back an old friend.  

Time doesn’t heal the wound death causes but it dulls the pain. I know that my grandmother loved me and wanted me to live a long, happy life. I’m not sure what else will come my way this year. I do know that right now, I have the time and energy needed to devote to the application process. This year, I’d like to keep my head in the game and assemble the best application possible.