I made it!!

Is anybody out there? Can anybody hear me? It's been a llooonnggg time since my last post, so for all I know nobody actually checks this anymore, but that's no one's fault but my own. Oh well!

As I sit here tonight, I'm happy to report that I'm only two papers away from being done with my first semester of grad school. Yay! What a wonderful feeling that is. I'm a little exhausted, a little burned out but very pleased with myself for this decision I've made. And I've learned a lot already. For example, I now understand the basic principles of accounting, something I was worried I would never get. I have safely ruled out anything in accounting as a career, but I've still learned a lot.

I have met many wonderful people, classmates who have become friends, who have suffered through the same assignments I have and have also worked very hard to do well on all class assignments. I have built a strong relationship of trust with a team of four other people who are very different from me, background and belief wise. In fact, three of them aren't even originally from the U.S., yet we've found a way to pull together and get things done. And I feel like they're people I have built a relationship of trust with, which also feels good.

This whole year has felt like such a journey to me. The first three months were spent intensively studying for the GMAT then taking it, then applying for grad school, doing interviews and finding out I got in. I spent the summer taking a GMAT math prep course and before I knew it school started.

I was so scared and intimidated that first day. I walked into my first four-hour lecture (something I had never experienced before) of accounting and was stressed how I'd ever make it through. I didn't do as well as I might have hoped, but I did make it! And I made it through my three other classes too: Teams, Marketing and Managing and Leading in Organizations. Each has taught me new things and helped me learned more about myself. I still have a long ways to go, but I'm officially on the path.

As this school year officially closes this week (when our last two team papers are prepared and submitted), my hope is to see myself enjoy my three-week break and then prepare to continue on my grad school journey.

One semester down, five more to go. But a nice break to look forward to now!