The Graduate...

July 11th 2008,

Clishé Clishé the title?… ah well what to do… at least I did not make my face book status as ‘Ashish is now a graduate’ on May 18th 2008 like half my friends did : )
And yet again I am writing… like the zillionth start… no promises as to how long and how many times will I start to write… but I think I should continue … lets see

May 18th 2008, the Wharton Class of 2008 graduated – graduated as the heavens opened up and soaked all and sundry with emotions and rains… believe me tons of it. It was funny sitting on Franklyn fields waiting to walk the isle… mixed feelings from finally the D day arriving to the pains of the rains… did not know what overpowered which ? I mean which overpowered what… … But that was the saga of the day…. And that was the last time I ever met more than half of my classmates… yes that’s true… once normal life has resumed or resuming for many… we won’t have the time or opportunity to meet so many of these wonderful people ever again… what a shame. But there in lies the beauty of the MBA… bringing these wonderful people together… at one time for 2 years… and for those looking to do an MBA… go for it if only for this one reason if nothing else….

So after thinking, dreading, partying, celebrating, crying (some of us did) and anticipating the end of the MBA – the best 2 years of our lives (most of us)… it finally happened… and it came and went, like one day life will for a lot of us…
It was a great moment though, all my family with the people who I love and respect the most were present, seeing me walk – leading the cohort as the cohort marshall… and I felt blessed… I was proud that I made them proud… and so were all other 799 of my mates feeling the same…
...I don’t know still how life is post it though… I am still discovering…

But surprisingly I was not sad on graduation… partly because at the end of beach week, when the Black Party ended (unfortunately 3 hours before scheduled close) I was real sad…. The last time I would be partying Wharton style with just Wharton kids… or my friends… all together… and I was somber and in denial… But till graduation came, philly was a big party centre with parents and students and families and extended families descending and making the place come alive with talks and emotions and happiness and grace… and so it felt like it was all great…. And no one had the time to think and ponder…

The even better thing was that I, after graduation, had decided to go all around the world (oops I mean America – got confused because they say world cup of baseball and the only teams playing are all American… I wonder why) and visit friends in all corners or rather parts of this incredibly insane and amazingly wild but serenely calm and interestingly diverse country… ya I traveled up and down the east and west coast… and stopped over in Chicago… and ended with Stef’s wedding – my first American wedding in Seattle… beautiful

I flew most places, amtracked some… and drove a bit… all in all I will say is that the American flying has to be one of the worst in my limited travel of the globe… but the American driving experience has to be one of the best … Delayed flights and more than rude staff of these airlines didn’t help, but Southwest made my day… late discovery… but at least I discovered….

And guess what, I was welcomed- from up there in Main to down in Atlanta, in Sandiego to Seattle… welcomed by all parents and family members…. It never felt that I met them then, many for the first time…. And my US experienced was enhanced manifolds… I enjoyed each and every conversation with my friends’ parents and family… it was incredible to see where these amazing gems of mine (I mean my friends) come from… and what makes them what they are… I had a great time listening listening and more listening (the parents were such knowledgable and nice people that I had no reason not to ask questions and understand America and its people from the people who have made it)… Every place I went, I wanted to stay longer… every place I went I thought I made a connection… and every place I went I spent some valuable time with my friends… Who said I had graduated… in fact I was living a perfect life… with friends in teir backyard… being shown around, entertained and taken care of… spoilt ah well… I can’t thank all of them and their families enough…

I will remember so many conversations… at random places and random moments… allowing me to discover these friends (and guess what this time, not outside their comfort zone, but right on their hometurf). I am closer or so I feel – to so many of them now… don’t know when will we meet… but when we meet- it will be one step closer if not more…

I will try and write about every place in separate blog entries (I wish I do) else this one will never end…

And this trip had many firsts… for me….. but let me just mention one of them… On the beautiful Santa Monica promenade – one june morning – I went biking – yes tandem biking with Ed Meylon… So whats the big deal… right… nopes… it is a big deal… first time to LA. : ) kiddin I mean that’s nothing… but the fact that I was biking after 15 years of my life and able to bike again – for a straight 2 hours… at speed so fast that I would wonder if we crashed what would happen… and the freedom to spin the wheel fast and furious with gay bandon… can’t describe… sorry… I never thought I would bike again… not after losing my sight… and there I was free… free to do what I liked … standing while cycling… bending left and right… leaving the handle and letting go… (although I sat on the back seat so this is not as dramatic as I am making it ) exept I didn’t figure how would I do willy in a 2 seater … lol…

My trip is full of memories… memories that I did not capture in x thousand photographs… but did capture in some maybe 100 audio files… most of them moments with friends… and conversations… may be I will figure how to post them somewhere at least a couple. But the idea was very clear… I did not want to go and see the tourist attractions… in fact imagine I didn’t even go to anything related to Hollywood in LA…(I know what a shame ) but the idea was to live the American life in these different places through and with people and people as diverse as Wharton is… and I can proudly say that I achieved that and much more…

So then came the time to leave America and from NYC… straight to where it all started… back to Mumbai… and this time not even a stop anywhere… a direct flight… July 11th I left the Us… and I had gone July 14th… so almost exactly 2 years… wow…. As excited as I was to go to the US… surprisingly as sad I was leaving the country… going back with no place or a visa to come back to… but leaving some of my closest friends all over the country… those who made my Wharton experience and kept me sane at Wharton… I never thought In my wildest dream that I would miss NYC… or America… well I was wrong… or rather I concluded it this way… it was difficult saying goodbye at every point of time … and I am a very bad good bye sayer… but especially from NYC that day… when I met like 7 of my close friends in a matter of 2 days I was in philly/NYC … I was almost in tears waiting alone at the airport going back home… and it fel that for me ggraduation had just come – I graduated July 11th 2008….