The biggest stories of 2021: A reflection

2021 was a challenging year for me. I did not keep a diary, so it would be hard to recall every significant event in 2021. I’ll make an effort nonetheless to describe events that had a massive impact on my life. As I said, I did not keep a diary, so the events are not listed chronologically.

The year of growth

I learned a lot in 2021, if not anything else. The learnings are as varied as they can be- I learned about friendships, negotiations, gossips, etc. Of course, it’s just another revolution around the sun. Still, I think I have grown more as a human being, trying to appreciate opposing and diverse viewpoints. I tried reaching out to more people, asking them about their feelings, trying to network. There are pros and cons to that, but that will perhaps be the subject of a future essay.

I got into IIM Ahmedabad

This will probably be one of the most critical events in my life, if not the most important. I don’t really know how I managed to do it and why I signed up for an MBA, but it happened, and I now regret it (I’m kidding; I’m grateful.). IIMA is a magical place, honestly. Sure, the usual tag, brand, etc., exists, but in my opinion, the people make this place what it is. I’ve not seen a more intellectually stimulating and diverse group of people anywhere. Although, in all fairness, I have not seen much of anything.

I graduated from college

It might not sound like a lot, but I graduated from IIT Kanpur in 2021. I studied Electrical Engineering, but I think I learned more about life in those four years than engineering. Sadly, I could not attend the convocation because I had my final exams at IIMA from the very next day. I would love to someday go back to IITK and experience the beautiful campus again, even if for a day or two.

I got bitten by a dog and fell ill with dengue

The initial few months at IIM Ahmedabad were grueling for me. To start with, I got hospitalized because of dengue fever. Those four days were tough physically and mentally. However, I’m truly happy that my friends helped me through it all. The loneliness that I felt at the hospital is hard to describe using words; it was a very unpleasant experience.

A few weeks after that, a dog bit me for reasons I did not understand. I was angry at the administration and wrote a strong-worded email that led to nothing at all. “A is A.” You can read more about it here.

Looking ahead

I am not a believer in New Year resolutions. However, it is helpful to have some sort of priority order in mind each year. Of course, that list has to be flexible. For 2022, I would love to focus more on academics - maybe do a few projects, and continue reading as many books as possible while also trying to maintain a vibrant social life. Wish me luck.

Thank you for reading till the end. I hope to write more essays this year; however, I won’t promise anything. As I said, I’d make academics my main focus this year and try to center other activities around that. Let’s see how it goes. I hope you have a great year! See you around.