Last few days at management school, the final half of the journey! -By Nandinee Majumdar from XIMB

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Most of the Management School, have this unique reputation of being the most hectic part of anyone’s life. With a two month internship and a corporate exposure, the one important thing that every management graduate proudly acquires is the new found confidence. This might come along with a little weight gain here and there if you are blessed with staying at home. You might have plunged yourself into the pool of junk food diet to get over the extra work your mentor gave you at six in the evening.

But every sweet memory of corporate exposure, meeting your alumni (some will be your mentors too), Friday night parties and the panic of presenting before the head of the departments and finally bidding everyone goodbye on the last day of internship cannot match the experience that every Management School student has on the first day of coming back to campus. So, let’s give you a glimpse of this wonderful experience called coming back and settling in:

Phase 1: Entering through the gates of a Home called Management School

Although these two months have changed your entire routine into a healthy one (with minimum 4 meals a day), the first thing you notice (and think about) of the campus, is the canteen. Standing with its head high, just as it tries to beckon you for the morning breakfast after 2 long months, the most important notification you check on phone is that of Swiggy, Zomato and Uber eats offers! But you do visit the canteen and exchange pleasantries with the workers there. All of us know these are the people who will come to your rescue with Maggi and Coffee at three in the night for the next seven months.

Well, food is an important part of life, not that of Management School life though. But what’s more exciting is to see all your batchmates after such a long time! The first day of stepping into college goes into meeting your friends, friends of friends as well as the people you didn’t know in the first year! And why not? You are too excited to see all the familiar faces after so long. This comes with sadness of not getting to meet the senior batch.

Phase 2: Meeting the junior batch at Management School

We may or may not agree, but we all are averse to change. You feel it the moment you notice new faces on the campus. The junior batch is there. With mixed feelings and a little diplomacy, you meet and try to know about the junior batch. The exact feeling of meeting them can be compared with trying out a new dish in a familiar restaurant. You are comfortable about the ambiance but doubtful about the taste. But deep inside, you still have the faith that it will be a good experience. This phase also gives you confidence, an extra boost when you are hit with the sudden realization of being seniors.

The inquisitive questions start pouring in! With nearly a year of experience in the campus, you proudly show the management school around to the junior batch. You guide them a little, here and there, about the rules and regulations and subjects (more about the professors!). Subtly, you also do not forget to let some of them know about the life that awaits them here with some anecdotes on how to get around the rules!

Phase 3: The emails start flooding your inbox

As you are engrossed deep into the satisfaction of being the senior batch with a corporate exposure, the one thing that brings you back to the grim reality is your inbox and WhatsApp groups! The class schedule with some pre-course reading assignment is here already. You run a quick glance through it to know if you have got comfortable timings. As the famous saying goes; Man proposes, God disposes. One gets a hands-on experience of it with the class schedule. None of us are ready to attend classes after the comfortable working hours of the office. But the words of the email shriek into your ears that you need to rush because you have a class right in the morning. With much reluctance, you bid goodbye to the juniors, rush to your room, pull out something to wear and voila! You find yourself seated in the class ready to begin the next academic year.

Phase 4: And the day ends or is it the new beginning!

You get accustomed, again, to the busy corridors, rushing to class to get the seat of your choice, lunch, assignments, group allocation for projects. Even before you realize, you are back again and are a part of the routine. But routines don’t always mean class and study sessions in libraries. It also includes roaming around at night around the campus, getting a midnight snack even if you are not hungry and having unannounced sudden parties. One can hate this way of life, but can never escape it in these two years. And did we all miss it? The unanimous answer will be yes. Because it is odd yet beautiful in its peculiarity, hectic yet peaceful with the independence it brings to you. It teaches you responsibility yet makes sure you can have little spells of carelessness. Most of all, it makes you ready for a corporate life yet makes sure you enjoy these two years like a teenager again!

This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author with Dare2Compete.