My dream of joining a B-School came true -By Udita Nayak from XIMB Bhubaneswar

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We are competing in this highly competitive world. Every day we are learning something new, something exciting and something that defines us. In this process of learning and unlearning, we seek to find our purpose. I am an engineering graduate. In the fourth year of engineering, I dreamt of joining a B-school. But this dream of mine took its own time to transform into reality. In this journey, I experienced several hiatuses in the form of placements,  extracurricular activities, curricular activities, work experience and so on. Later on, I realized that these hiatuses were actually nurturing my dream by making me more skilled.

My first encounter with CAT

My first encounter with CAT happened in the third year of my graduation. Unfortunately, I did not come out with flying colors. I pondered on various aspects and decided to gain work experience before appearing for CAT again. Then my whole focus shifted to placements. I was offered jobs from four prestigious firms. Out of all, I chose Wells Fargo. My whole journey from Campus to Corporate was special in every way. I had incredible experiences.

After completing 2 years with Wells Fargo, I started preparing for MBA entrance examinations diligently. Though, I can’t deny the fact that even in those two years, I was somehow keeping myself busy with the activities, which were aligned with my ultimate goal of joining a B-school.

Things I learned during the process of joining a B-School

My first step was to make a list to identify my strengths and weaknesses. This was done to ensure that I was not falling prey to the same mistakes, that I did in my first attempt. This process was a bit taxing, but trust me, it was of paramount importance.

Some of my learnings are as follows:

1. I learned about basic processes and gained expertise in various topics.
2. Reading helped me in numerous ways. It is better to devote a fixed amount of time every day. 
3. Sticking to a time table sounds boring but it is worth it. It keeps you on the right track.
4. Stay Motivated! Stay Positive!
5. Keep yourself updated with the current affairs. It helps you with a plethora of things.
6. Make good use of social media. With the World at your fingertips, try to leverage social media. You can either waste your time on social media or invest your time in social media. The choice is up to you.
7. The company matters a lot. Try to surround yourself with people who somehow bring you closer to your goal. Try to seek people, who can be your support system during difficult times.
8. Don’t underestimate the power of the right mentorship. Try to find a mentor to help you with this whole process. The right mentorship can provide you the right tools at the right time to crack the exam.
9. Do not compare yourself with others. We are going to carve out different paths to reach our final destiny. There is no point in feeling bad if others are doing well. You just need to ensure that, you are doing better and better with every passing day. It takes some time to gulp this thought, but once you understand this, you have already learnt something huge.
10. Last but not least, do not lose yourself in the process of finding your purpose.

No matter what, stay hopeful

When I retrospect my whole journey of joining a B-school, it makes me wonder how eventually everything falls into place. I have had my days of highs and lows. They taught me that nothing is permanent, neither failure nor success. Also, if you are consistent with your efforts, nothing can stop you from achieving, what you desire for. We all need to be kind on ourselves in the process of achieving something big and something that our heart beats for.

So always remember: “You will never know your limits until you push yourself to them.”

This article was submitted as a part of Become an Author conducted by Dare2Compete.