It's April already. This means that we have about 6 weeks remaining in our MBA. People have started to plan what they want to do for their last long break before they get on with their busy career. I wanted to get some advice from my mentor on what his thinks about this last long break since he was the same shoe as me years ago. And here is what he told me:
Ok, seriously, I say you should spend the time to see the world. I know you have been to many places, so see the world may have different meaning. If I have visited most places I'd like to see (like you), I would spend a whole month in a city I really like and live like a local. I will shop at farmer's market and learn local cooking. I will spend weekend at where the locals go. And I will take pictures and write notes to make sure every bit of experience is kept and remembered.
Alternatively, you can pick one thing you are interested in and make yourself a real expert (not McK type of expert). If you like ramen, you can travel through Japan and taste 100 top ramen in 10 cities in a month. If you like architecture, maybe you can wander across US or Europe or Japan and visit all the great architect works. If you like music, go follow the live tour of your favorite artists. Be a groupie. This is your last chance.
Or go scuba diving like crazy in some random islands. You will dive in same location for so many times that even fish there get to know you. But only when you do that you will see the details.Or follow a book you really like. Live the story, not just read the story.I can go on and on. The point is, you may want to build a "spike" at this moment. Go for depth, not breadth. It's not about how many cities you have visited on Facebook.
Be creative. Be crazy (take a train from London all the way to HK, for example). You can afford that (not just financially).Or maybe you are embarrassed about some really simple thing like you can't swim or can't ride a bike or can't cook. Then learn it.It's a luxury to have seen the world already before you start b-school. You should know much better about what you can do and want to do in the very last summer break. Don't waste it.
And last he told me to enjoy life.
Maybe the only way to live your life is to enjoy it.
- Vivian
- Singapore, Singapore
- Though spent 3 years in US when I was 10, I was born and raised in Taipei. Graduate from NTU in 2002 and Yale Graduate School of Art in 2003. After graduation, I joined McKinsey Taipei office in 2004 as a business analyst. After three years, I felt completely exhausted and decided to pursue my MBA at Haas. I have to admit that going to Haas was one the toughest yet the best decision I have ever made in my life. After graduating from Haas in 2009, I re-joined Mckinsey but transferred to the Firm's Asia corporate finance practice. I moved to Shanghai in May 2011 and now I live in Singapore, working for a global design and strategy company called frog. In my current role, I help companies achieve their growth aspirations by helping them design, develop and bring innovative product and experiences to the market.