The year that was: 2014

On the last day of 2014, as I sit down and dwell on the year that rushed by only two words come to my mind - changes and experiences. But before we come to that, let me quote some very interesting lines from one of the movies in my must-watch list - Good Will Hunting.

So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. ... And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. (source)

2014 for me was the year when I focused on gaining experiences through travel and interactions with people from very different backgrounds to augment the academic and professional knowledge. The year started with the amazing news of acceptance of my candidature at HEC and it has been a roller coaster ever since.

I consider myself lucky to have got the opportunities to travel across India and Europe during the year. During the first half of the year, I went on several trips across India, covering Hyderabad, Jaipur, Nainital, Manali and Rohtang Pass, among others. Those who know about my love of driving, would have easily guessed that most of these were road trips.

September came, and the big relocation to Paris happened. Its actually to Jouy-en-Josas, a town about an hour away from Paris, where my college is located. The next three months were filled with weekend trips to Paris, where most of the exploration of this beautiful city was done by walking through the streets filled with majestic dernier-millennium architecture. December 20 was the big day when the wife arrived in Paris. Over the next 10 days, we hired a car and drove over 3,500 km in France covering Paris -- Champagné -- Bordeaux -- Avignon Provence -- Nice -- Grasse -- Cannes -- Nice --  Paris circuit. I must say everyone should once in the lifetime do this road-trip for the views, roads, amazing driving etiquette and the small towns on the way. Though, please be warned that the toll charges will burn a big hole in your pocket! 

Photo credit https://unsplash.com/bec_brown

Last but not the least, last four months of 2014 have been really amazing courtesy the stunning bunch of people in my intake at HEC. Have a look at some of them in this video on Youtube (link). Only after coming to an international B-school you realize the importance of mingling with people from backgrounds so different that you would not have come across in your existing professional life. 

All-in-all I am happy to say that I am very content with the year 2014. Having said that, I have started jotting down to-do lists for the first quarter of 2015 - as they say an MBA student's calendar is never empty! I have a feeling that it is going to be a very busy quarter, and an year by extension. Even though, I am not a big fan of new year resolutions, but I have decided to put my health on top priority for the next year. Eventually, there comes a time in life when you realize the weight of truth held in the cliched proverb 'health is wealth'.  

I raise my glass to the amazing year that went by, and to health and happiness of everyone that is reading this blog. Cheers!