Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone is having an amazing day, wherever in the world they are.
It is crazy to think how I got here, my first holiday away from home. One year ago today, I was sitting in Aspen, waiting for the phone to ring. I had my interview for Manchester Business School. If all things went well, I would get to pack up and move overseas the following Sept. I was at my grandma’s house with Kathryn, my mom, Mike, and of course, Granny. They were listing to one half of my conversation, and critiquing (congratulating) my answers as soon as it was over. (The room upstairs has a window to the living room, so they weren’t hanging by the door with a cup against it!)
I am very close to my family (ies), and holidays were spent diving around from house to house (see the movie ‘Four Christmases”, like that, less crazy though, thankfully.) That is the challenge of having divorced parents. But the challenge ends at logistics. I am so lucky to have such a warm and loving extended family, and have been so welcomed into Kathryn’s family. Even if it was tiring driving to house after house, and trust me, it is, every holiday was filled with love, family and food! And I couldn’t ask for more. Going from that, to a thanksgiving spent learning about mergers and acquisitions, a dinner at an Italian restaurant with a good friend, and back home to work on more projects is quite a change! Spending my first holiday away has proved to be a bit harder than I thought.
The challenges of being away from my family and the home I have known for pretty much all my memorable life got me thinking about why I am here, what I am doing, and most importantly, in the themes of the holiday, what I am thankful for. So be warned, there might be sappiness. But there will be a lot of love.
I am thankful for the opportunity I am embracing at Manchester Business School. The chance to change my life, study my ass of, party on occasion, and build my skills to move to the next step of my career. It is funny, all thought I came to England to learn, I am not learning everything from England. It is better than that. I am learning from England, I am learning from India, Peru, China, Japan, Brazil, etc. I am learning from over 45 different countries, with more to be added from next year’s class. I am learning from the best and brightest these countries have to offer. I spend more time with people who don’t live in England than I do with people from here. But that is the glorious part of Manchester. That true international make up, which is helping me grow.
I am thankful for Not for Profit, Mergers and Acquistions, Marketing, Corporate Finance, Accounting, Economics, and every other class/project I have done or will do. Well, maybe not accounting, but can you blame me? Even with the challenges from class, or a month long ‘hell’ stretch with 4 presentations, 4 reports, 1 test and countless case studies (I think, I might have lost count…), these classes give us the environment to learn from each other. Sometimes they are good. Sometimes they suck. Well, most of the time they suck. But that is the point of us being here, learning the technical skills, but more importantly, the medium for us to learn from each other. Learning about how to manage your time, manage your efficiencies, and manage working in a team.
I am thankful for Red Bull. While it may not actually give you wings, it does help you plough through tough classes and study sessions. Keeps you awake when you have just a couple more hours to go.
I am thankful for the internet. Not only does it help with the studies, more importantly, it helps with sanity. Staying in contact with sports, news, and tv (yes, there is websites for that!) Some nights you have to shut out the world and responsibilities, take some personal time and not have a care in the world. Don’t worry, the assignments will still be there the next day.
I am thankful for Saturday afternoon football (soccer, when I am not to hungover), old friends, new friends and anyone that who has come into my life. I am thankful for the occasional Manchester sun (got to enjoy it when it comes). I am thankful for the 5 minute walk to school, and will be even more thankful when the weather gets worse! I am thankful for my camera, my running shoes and every other tool that gives me those moments of peace.
I am thankful for my family. They have loved and supported me every stage of my life. They have been with me every step of the way, the mistakes I made, the adventures I went on, and the learning I have done. I have been lucky enough, through all the craziness life throws at everyone, to have their support and love.
And I am thankful for Kathryn. Her support has been amazing. She gave me enough strength to set out on this adventure, and she gives me the strength to be my best in everything I do.
Even though Thanksgiving has been hard being away, I still have so many things to be thankful for. Most importantly, I am thankful that being away does not mean I am alone.
