Remember that scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice asks the Cheshire Cat which way she should go? His answer hits differently now that I’m at Fuqua: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

I used to think that was terrible advice. Like, shouldn’t we always have a plan? Shouldn’t we know exactly where we’re heading? But here’s the thing about business school — sometimes the best moments happen when you’re not following a map.

Let’s be real — doubt creeps in more often than we’d like to admit. Those nights when you stare at your ceiling, wondering if you’re cut out for this. When your case study presentation didn’t land quite right or when that finance exam score wasn’t what you hoped for. We all carry these invisible backpacks of expectations — our own, our families’, our classmates’ — and sometimes, that weight feels crushing.

But Fuqua? It’s teaching me something powerful about those moments of doubt. This place is like a safety net for risk-takers. Where else can you bomb a mock negotiation one day and laugh about it over coffee with your study group the next? Where else can you pivot your career completely, try new professional identities, and have an entire community cheering you on?

One day, in my Leadership Communication class (easily my favorite), I was stuck in my head, wrestling with some heavy thoughts. Then, my classmate gave a presentation about walking for mental health.  It got me thinking about all the little things I miss when I’m too focused on where I’m going — like the cardinals that hang out near the building, showing off their bright red feathers like they own the place.

At the heart of those intense feelings, between classes, when my brain feels like it’s about to explode from case studies and financial models, I just… walk around the campus. No destination. No purpose. Just me and Duke’s gorgeous campus. And you know what? That’s when the magic happens.

The first year at Fuqua is intense. It’s like riding a roller coaster. But aimless walks through campus have become my secret weapon. They allow me to process everything I’m learning, let my mind wander and make connections I never saw before. They’re when I remind myself that it’s okay to not have it all figured out yet.

That’s the real MBA lesson, isn’t it? Learning to embrace the stumbles, the uncertainties, the moments when you feel completely lost. Because each “failure” is just data — another point on your learning curve. Fuqua isn’t just teaching us business strategies; it’s teaching us how to fail forward and how to turn wrong turns into discoveries.

Sometimes the best way to find your path is to stop looking for it so hard. Just walk. Listen to the birds. Feel the breeze. Let your thoughts run wild. Because maybe, just maybe, getting a little lost is exactly how you find yourself. And here at Fuqua, getting lost comes with a guarantee: you’ll never walk that path alone.