“I don’t want to be a product of the environment. I want the environment to be a product of me.” – The Departed



Life is all about making the choices, right or wrong, they govern everything. Whether you like it or not, they lay out the path to your future.

Choice-1: Time series: 1990s Location: Jammu

A was the loafer of the class. The kind who incurred the teachers’ wrath to the maximum. The back-bencher who never completed his homework on time and somehow managed to fail in almost all of the exams. But, A was the one who enjoyed school-life the way he liked it and the way he wanted it.

B was the allrounder of the class. The one who made everything gold just by touching it. Be it studies, sports, extra-curricular or girls. The one envied by one and all. But, B was a teacher’s delight & parents dream.

C was the very studious and very hardworking types. The one who kept maximum distance from girls out of shyness. The one who completed all his homework on time and kept fair distance from sports, lest it interfered with his studies. C envied B and was scared of A.

'I' chose to be C.

Choice-2: Time series: Early 2000s Location: Dehradun

D was the child prodigy. The one who danced with mathematics and revolved around science. The IIT type!

E was someone who had never heard of IIT-JEE till 11th standard. Whose only goal was to excel in 12th board exams, as successfully ingrained in his mind by the teachers. The one who bi-cycled his way from one tuition to another.

F was the one who played cricket during lunch break and basketball by bunking classes. The one who fought with all those who wanted a fight in school. And the one never to miss a beautiful scenery whenever presented with an opportunity.

'I' chose to be E.

Choice-3: Time series: 2003-07 Location: Patiala

G chose to be the studious type in 1st year, the sport buff in 2nd year, the relationship type in 3rd year and the heart-breaker type in 4th year – and landed with a decent placement.

H could not come to terms with higher engg. Subjects during 1st year, struggled in 2nd year too, made some good friends (finally opposite sex as well) in 3rd year, ended with a decent CGPA and a satisfactory placement in 4th year.

I was the sporty/lovebird type in 1st year & 2nd year & 3rd year & 4th year! Placement never mattered to this NRI types…

'I' chose to be H.

Choice-4: Time series: 2007-09 Location: Gurgaon

J chose to give priority to CAT over everything else. The job took a back seat atleast in the 2nd year after lotzzzz of grinding in the 1st year! However, many new interests came upfront like booze-ism (finally!!!!), chatting & then more chatting with the beauties of NCR :P This was step-1 of the paradigm shift…

K was the star-performer-in-office types! Worked morning, afternoon, evening & nights as well as spent weekends in office too! This complete work-a-holic type got appraisals, promotions & recommendations. But not the satisfaction of cracking CAT…

L was the one who cracked CAT without compromising on the job – the multi-tasker… & as if the IIMs were not enough for him (atleast not I,K), went on to join bigger firms and the dreams of cracking GMAT & then MBA from outside & then…

'I' chose to be J.

Choice-5: Time series: 2009 onwards Location: Mumbai

M is the typical studious MBA-types. The one who attends all the classes (out of all that do take place :D), takes all the quizzes, case-studies and presentations seriously. And participates in all MBA-related competitions, henceforth is able to build a star-studded CV and runs away with a glittering summers offer!!!

N is the other side of M. Never to attend a class, unless absolutely urgent! He gives top priority to sleep, the next priority to movies, games, sitcoms, P-stuff and anything & everything which can be watched on laptop! When seen in campus (in those rare instances), his percentage time spent with opposite sex candies (again a rare species in MBA instt.) = his CAT percentile (98+) ;) And he somehow manages to keep this engagement in summers also! Luck By Chance??

And then there is O. Or should I say OMG! Time is an entity in short-supply for this MBA soul. Which means that his ‘Theory of Busyness’ makes sure that he cannot become a part of the indulgences of either N or M. Like 14 others of his batch, he is the front-runner (who unlike his name suggests is lagging behind on many fronts…). But then he chose his destiny so he really cant regret! And so he tries his best to do justice to his responsibility and to strive for a college-frontrunner balance. Whether he will succeed or not, only time can tell – but rest assured he will never be down & out! Summers – No comments please!!!

'I', yes you guessed it correctly, chose to be O. (OMG!!!) – Paradigm shift – Complete!

From C-E-H-J-O, my world has been determined by the choices I have made till now! And choices, it will be again, that will chalk out my path in the coming future – choices made by me!!

So guys stay tuned, till I happen to take the next gamble and make my next move :-)

Time to make my next choice – over & out!