Harvard Business School photo 10153847145128172
Harvard Business School - Facebook page
Harvard Business School photo 10153847145128172
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? "For me, HBS almost ended before it even started.
When I left the military the summer before moving to Boston I felt lost, disconnected, and hopeless. Later I would discover that I suffered from depression and service-related post-traumatic stress disorder, but I didn't know it back then. All I knew was that Harvard Business School was the last thing on my mind, a place that seemed surreal and out of reach. The only reason I even made it to move-in weekend was because of my loving and supportive parents. I remember my father telling me that weekend, as we stared at raindrops sliding down a coffee shop window: 'We really want to come back in two years to see you graduate, you know.'
Life is dynamic. So is my changed perspective.
One month later I'm at a noisy gathering – busy, bustling, lights. 'You don't talk much,' I'm told. Funny how he has no idea what's going on with me. Amidst a crowd of friends and strangers, smiles and stares, I now remind myself – everyday – that pain and struggle can be found in places where they are least expected. We won't ever know unless we become still enough to notice, and courageous enough to ask.
I will be humble and I will be still. I will do my best to notice those hidden calls for help, no matter how big or small, and I will ask. I will open my arms and I will listen, because there were people who did the same for me: like a man coincidentally named Phoenix, from the ashes, who smiled at me one sunny day and reassured me it was going to be ok. I will tell those who feel troubled this:
'It will get better.
'I believe adaptation begins with neither strength nor courage, but a willingness to completely surrender to what is. I adapted by learning to accept and learning to let go. I started by giving to others what I felt I was lacking... and I was surprised at how quickly my empty suddenly became full.
'Most of all, I overcame it. You can too.'
I will tell them I am ready. I will tell them I am stronger. And I will tell them how much I smiled at my parents when I walked across the stage to receive my HBS degree." — Marla Metz (MBA 2013)
Each year we ask MBA students a question taken from the last lines of a poem by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Mary Oliver. Read more: http://hbs.me/20njGLq
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