There’s something about being strapped into a harness and rapidly plummeting towards the ground that really puts things into perspective. No, this isn’t another “MBA is a roller coaster” analogy. I’m talking about good old, pinned-to-your-seat, I’m-getting-old-since-when-did-I-get-motion-sickness amusement park rides.
The Luna Park fair popped up in Lausanne a couple of weeks ago. It is very visible and very audible from our study room. As my group and I tried to focus on the many tasks at hand, the inner child in us was screaming, “Just one ride!” We made a pact – survive exams and presentations, and we’d go tackle the biggest, baddest ride there.
Fast forward to me hurtling towards what felt like certain death – and, weirdly, thinking about how grateful I was for the last two weeks.
Last weekend was Easter, and real breaks are rare around here. Even when you technically have time off, it usually gets eaten up by networking, coursework, or working on extra-curriculars. Easter gave us a proper five-day window to breathe.
We did have exams the following week, but if this program has taught me anything, it’s how to prioritize properly (read: procrastinate). Cassie and I headed up to my sister’s place near Zurich, with two of our closest friends, Steven and Yulin, flying out from the UK to join us! Even though it was only three hours away, it felt like we’d properly escaped the bubble.
We spent the weekend hiking in the rain, visiting day spas, paddling around lakes, and playing board games, which was somehow exactly what I needed. It gave me a minute to stop and realize: that this year has already been a total blur.
Trying to explain it all to my friends was like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. We’re somehow already at the end of Module 3. Every day feels like a marathon, but the weeks vanish before you even notice.
It also hit me how weird it’s going to be being back in the ‘real world’ next year – when life isn’t packed with eighty other people going through exactly the same chaos with you.
Of course, as soon as the moment to relax showed up, it disappeared. We said our goodbyes, jumped straight back into the madness of exams and presentations, and, finally, made our way across the street to Luna Park.
To top off the week, the Social Club put on an incredible afternoon down at the lakefront – good weather, good company, and a lot of very tired but very relieved classmates. I sometimes joke that I paid a lot of money just to make 80 new friends, only for them to leave at the end of the year.
It’s true though. Next year, we’ll all scatter to different corners of the world, off on our own rides. But that’s kind of the point – we didn’t come here just to stay together, we came here to grow, and take a piece of this with us. For now, I’m just enjoying the one we’re on – motion sickness and all.
