Can’t Believe We’ve Come So Far Already

I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed. Somehow it is December. I feel like it was only weeks ago that we were sitting in orientation learning about the adventure all of us were about to embark on. We had just met our teams, were learning the ins and outs of Duke and Durham, and figuring out what it meant to be a grad student.

Back then it was still stiflingly hot and humid as can be. We were all strangers to each other. Since that time, however, all 112 of us have become fast friends. We’ve spent more time with each other than with our own families, and Fuqua has become our second home (first term’s workload made it more like our only home!). It has been a real whirlwind. I won’t speak for my classmates, but I can safely say that I have learned more in these past five months than I did in my first two years of college.

Socially and academically, I’ve grown in ways that I could never have imagined. My abilities to work in an academic team and make presentations have improved tenfold. I have learned how to interpret graphs and data, create excel spreadsheets, and concisely, yet thoroughly, write business documents. To think where I was when this all started and where I am now … I am a stronger, more thoughtful, more capable and more confident person than I thought possible in such a short amount of time.

I’m thrilled about this MUCH needed winter break, but can’t wait to start up again in January.