My First Blog

Two months ago, after five years of full-time work, I returned to school to pursue my MBA. I am thrilled to be learning in an academic environment once again, and school is definitely keeping me on my toes! Unfortunately, despite the best of intentions, I have not been able to stay in touch with all of my friends in family as often as I would like. By writing a blog, I hope to share a bit of my MBA with you.

I think the best way to explain my goal for my MBA experience is to start with a book I read over the summer, "Eat Pray Love," by Elizabeth Gilbert. In one part of the book, the author becomes friendly with an Italian who likes to identify the one verb that describes the energy of a city. He inspires Elizabeth to evaluate her favorite American cities to do the same. After some thought, she describes New York with the word "Achieve" and L.A. with the word "Succeed." After reading this chapter in the book, I challenged myself to identify the verb that to me represented San Francisco, the city where I lived in at the time. The word I choose was "Explore." Over the years, San Francisco has been a city where people have come to explore themselves. You can still find interest in yoga, eastern religions, and counter-cultural movements in San Francisco as its residents look to explore themselves. San Franciscans also enjoy experiencing other cultures, especially through their food. In addition, San Francisco is a city where people explore the world around them. As a group, residents of the bay area tend to enjoy the outdoors, through hiking, camping, biking, surfing, and many other activities. Explore.

Now 8 weeks into my MBA experience, I have decided that exploration should also be the theme underlying these next two years of my life. I want to expose myself to as many new ideas, industries, and potential careers as possible. I have joined a number of clubs, and have attended a wide range of speakers. One day I might attend a speaker on private equity, and the next I could choose a speaker on corporate social responsibility. So while some of my classmates have very clear career goals, I am keeping my mind open to exploring new possibilities. I know I want to have a post-MBA role that is strategic and challenges me, but aside from that, I have much exploration to do.

I am so grateful to have friends and family supporting me on this journey. I hope that the impressions I will share here during my MBA experience will add something to your life as well.