- Wednesday night: A huge welcome BBQ, followed by bible study
- Thursday night: Dinner with some other graduates who I met plus another bible study
- Friday night: A huge drinks/nibbles celebration, then went out for pizza with some new friends and a funky night club (one of only three in Palo Alto ... I think us MBAers packed out the place!)
- Saturday day/night: Got up late, a big lunch time BBQ, then out for shopping galore with some very helpful girls, another Mexican dinner, then a huge 1980s party at our dorm
- Sunday: Tried out this cool huge big black church (That is, full of mostly African Americans, not in a black building!) then got back for "section olympics", where we played three legged races, tug-o-war and turn around/put a hat on/run relays between our class mates. It was both really stupid but really cool that a whole bunch of pretty serious businesspeople could muck around like that. Then, off to meet my mate Kausik in San Francisco for another dinner ...
So it has been pretty non-stop - before, it was non-stop exams, now, non-stop partying and meeting people. Lots of fun, but strange in a way. We all want to meet all these cool people and be known ourselves, that's what we're here for ...
... At the end of our two-day business simulation on Friday, one of the Professors gave an excellent talk about what to expect out of Business School. Now, believe me, I've heard (and am continuing to hear) a lot of the same thing: "you get out what you put in", "these are the best 2 years of your life", "don't do drugs" etc (I made that last one up, honest!).
What this guy had to say was really cool. He said to us (and I paraphrase, well, what I got out of it!) ...
I want you all to be very aware of FOMO. What is FOMO? It is the fear of missing out. It's that nagging feeling you get when you know a party/event/social thing is coming up, and you've been non-stop with all of these, bu you go anyway, because everyone else is going. And you don't want to miss out ...
... In business school, go your own way. Figure out what drives value in your life and go with it. For some of you, that will be getting to know everyone's name in two months and going to every party. For most of you, let me suggest to you that it will be getting to know a few people well, and taking time out to be still, to reflect, to be quiet. But whatever it is, don't let FOMO drive your decisions in the precious time you have here."
Wow, I wish I'd found out about FOMO earlier in my life! How much of my decision making, I reflected, particularly about social events, has been driven by FOMO!
(No FOMO, no!!) =)
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