SOM’s Worst-Kept Secret

At the beginning of the year, the Class of 2011 provided us with a booklet entitled Student Guide to Yale SOM an opportunity to add some more color to your early days. This compilation of “pooled thoughts” and “shared tips and secrets” was developed by the Classes of 2010 and 2011 and passed down to us to ensure that we hit the ground running upon our matriculation. With tips on juggling a busy schedule and where to find a mechanical bull to ride, this useful collection of words of wisdom has helped many of us effectively navigate the diverse offerings of SOM, Yale, and New Haven. That said, there is one “worst-kept SOM secret” in particular that has stayed with me since the first time I read it. This entry is the last in the booklet (perhaps placed there with purpose), and it reads, “The worst-kept SOM secret? Two years goes by in a blink. So meet everyone. Take risks. Push yourself. Try something new.” If this was your first time seeing this, I urge you to read it again. Now, close your eyes (well, just close one eye because you won’t be able to continue reading otherwise) and think back to when you started at SOM. Where did you come from? What did you want from your time here? What were your hopes, goals, and dreams for the future? Next, think about where you are now. Are you making progress in achieving those goals? Is there more that you can be doing? Are you doing too much? Are you meeting new people and trying new things? Finally, picture yourself at graduation. What have you accomplished at SOM? Did you take risks and push yourself? How many new things did you try? Did you make the most of your experience? Do you have any regrets? In the blink of an eye, while it’s a reality that we long to avoid, our time at SOM will in fact end. Soon enough, I imagine, we’ll be sitting next to one another, as we did at matriculation, under a tent, on those hard, white, plastic folding chairs, reflecting, asking where all the time went. While I expect each of us to offer different answers to this question, my hope is that they're all going to be good ones. I encourage you to live it up, folks; the clock is undoubtedly ticking.