2011 is my year for venturing into uncharted territories. Just one month into the year, it seems like the short-term future is going to be nothing short of exciting. While it is inevitable that I’ll proceed with trepidation, it is with a renewed sense of motivation that will keep me moving forward in face of new challenges.
After a year-and-a-half at SMU, academic learning is finally converging upon a single focus and sophomores are looking to align their interests with a little less than 2 months left to declare their majors. Though I haven’t done so myself, I’ll be looking to do so soon. While I was still a little unsure of which path to take last semester, after being exposed to a whole host of subject fields in the past 3 terms, I think I’m ready to take the plunge this time.
Beyond academics, 2 of my friends and I have also decided to take up a consultancy project that will put our knowledge and skills to the test. In this half-year long project, we’ll be looking to try help a local SME turn its tide by applying what we have learnt in the books into a real-life situation and see for ourselves what works or don’t. This experience will certainly stand us in good stead in future projects and work opportunities.
The upcoming summer also holds tantalizing prospects. Although I don’t think I’ll be travelling to anywhere new or exotic, I hope this summer break can be fruitfully spent completing an internship. While others are aiming for prestigious posts at big corporations, I’ll probably be going after an ordinary position to build up my foundation and working experience first. Hopefully, if everything goes well, I’ll be starting work as soon as after final exams in April.
Next year might still seem a tad far on the calendar but the thought of living and studying abroad for 6 months is already filling me with anxiety and excitement. After an abandoned attempt at summer exchange last year, I’m better prepared this time; armed with extensive research on where to go and which courses to clear on exchange. All that’s missing now is for the application window to open in May. Fingers-crossed, I hope I’ll be posting from the U.S., Canada or Europe next January.
Undoubtedly, I’ll be looking forward to the next 12 months where I have to step out of my comfort zone and throw myself at challenges – daunting yet refreshing. And in one year’s time, I’d have learnt much more about myself, and emerge, in Daft Punk’s words, “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”.