The Story so far...

I am really excited about this blog! This is the first time I am posting directly onto a blog, rather than typing out something , editing, correcting, reviewing and then simply copying the finished bit onto it. It's the first time I am simply letting my thoughts flow and typing it out as it comes directly onto the net. It's a bit scary; like posting some part of your diary out in public. But this is a journey I want to share, and I hope I can record what I learn as I blunder my way through this maze of application processes.

It's all new to me-- the application processes in International schools. Where I'm from, the most you to do apply to a school is send scores of the qualifying exam and fill up a form. Yes, there is the exam, the group discussion, and the interview, but the whole process of finding out who the candidate is and how he or she can contribute to the school culture, how he or she would benefit from the school; the essays, the resume: the works... I was intrigued, then fascinated, and now I am jittery. I do not profess to know myself so well as to answer these probing questions about my past , present and future. Which is probably how most people are when they start, but it is really all about figuring that out -- what I want, what I have to offer. Whether I get the admit or not, I know this is going to be really difficult -- and really exciting. It's an opportunity to figure out what I am and what I really want from life. It's not something that many people go though life knowing.

So where am I in my journey?

I have decided that I want an MBA. That was the first milestone. I want this. Totally and absolutely. It's not so much that I was shaky about it before, as that it always seemed an impossible dream. Then I realised that it was only impossible because I would not try for it.

I have cracked the GMAT -- that was the second milestone. I did break the magical 700 barrier at the first attempt and am pretty happy with my score. Preparing for the GMAT was something I did that proved to myself that "even I" can really stick to a plan and routine and follow it though to the end. I have come a long way from my not so responsible college days where routine and plan were just not part of my dictionary. I have learnt to put my mind and heart into something and resist the temptation to slack off. That's good to know... considering that it's something I thought myself pretty bad at.

I have almost figured out what I want to be doing ten years down the road after my MBA. Now this is the part that I am still working on. I know where I am looking to make an impact, but I don't have a concrete idea on what I plan to do. So many students change that life goal given the exposure and opportunities of the MBA experience. I know that there is something deep inside me that has been there since I was in school, that I have idly thought of once in a while without really reaching out for it. But can I make it my life goal? If I do , I don't think it will be that easy to give up. The mists are still swirling, and I am giving myself the time to think it through. I don't want my plans to sound half baked in my essays, but -- oh how fast the days fly by!!

Well that's it ... that's where I am. Now let's see where I go from here!

Here I go...

I'm doing the same thing every other admission-obsessed MBA aspirant is doing. I am reading MBA applicant and student blogs, scouring Accepted.com and ClearAdmit.com blogs for itsy- bitsy details, lying awake at nights wondering what I am going to write in my essays, reading Richard Montauk like a bedtime story every night, bookmarking School websites containing information I need to remember. It's not even started yet and the application process is already taking over my life.

Yup, that's my introduction. I am MBA aspirant shooting for 2008 Fall.

There is so much to do! So much to consider, to understand, to decide. So many thoughts to organize and to channel. There is something very cleansing in putting thoughts into words -- I am hoping to find the answers to the really big questions in my soul searching with this blog. More than anything else, this is a way to connect with other MBA obsessed bloggers out there who will probably be the only ones who can understand and share the highs and lows of this momentous journey. That is to say that this blog the only hope I have to prevent my friends running in the opposite direction each time I open my mouth: because right now, the MBA admission process is all I seem to have to talk about :-).

Will I make it? I hope so. At the end of it, I know I will be a whole lot wiser than I am now. Maybe my blog would help someone as the applicant blogs for this year are helping me now. If nothing else, I know I will make friends here with similar dreams and aspirations and headed in the same directions. Here's to dreams -- and making them come true!

And so begins yet another MBA Applicant blog!