CATchy moments..

The new year had set in. The day of decisioning had dawned. Since 12 midnight on Jan 1, I was eagerly waiting for the CAT results that were supposed to be announced on Jan 2. In spite of this being my second attempt, last time the attempt was only half-serious and so the excitement was essentially non-existent. Back then, I had checked my results only a day after they were announced... Not this time round though. So now, here I was wasting my time just refreshing the various CAT discussion forum pages to find out whether some good soul had found the link and posted it for all of us. But that was not to be. No specific time for the declaration of results being specified, it was an ideal breeding ground for rumors. Some people even took advantage of that to extract some fun by simply posting bogus links, much to the dismay of everyone else. I was irritated, bored and that uneasiness and uncertainity was simply unbearable. So, at 2:30am I simply decided that the limit was reached. No more would I spend my time on such useless stuff. And as Ted had said in the series How I Met your Mother (for those who have not already watched this serial, it is definitely worth a watch and the concept is very creative); "Nothing good happens after 2:30am!" :P

The next day, I got up and was quite hopeful that the results would be out by 9am but no! No news either... Everyone was just cursing the IIMs... And rightly so.. At least they should put up some notice about when the results will be declared. Are they not aware that there are more than 1.75 lakh students out there waiting for one silly link?

After waiting for as long as 4pm (and also having a light lunch since I had lost my appetite), finally news came in that the coveted link was out ... And IIMK was the first one to oblige. But alas! The site was already down by the time I tried using the link! Finally when I did get to see the result what a sense of relief it was! I felt being in a dreamworld! I had expected to do well but this was more than I had expected. This was what I had only hoped for! Could this really be true... The next few hours I lived in a reverie. I spoke with a lot of friends and relatives and it was a wonderful feeling. Similar to the moment when I had heard about getting through the JEE. Though in this case, the battle had just begun. Still there was the crucial stage of GD/PI to pass through.

But then, I thought that I should suspend all thought about the future and enjoy the present moment. Because it was the most wonderful present that I had received :-) And I think such moments of success are the ones that are remembered the most since they are the meeting point of your dreams and reality. But rather than being disappointed or getting too carried away by such deciding moments, I feel that the journey towards your goal is the real success and not whether or not you finally reach that goal. And that is why it is essential that you put in your best effort when the time is appropriate. Agreed that the ultimate outcome may not truly reflect your efforts (some people who succeeded might not have prepared as much as you have) but ultimately, you are definitely much better placed to succeed if you have put in that extra bit. Efforts may not guarantee you success but definitely improve the odds that you do. After all, preparation can only take you so far. In the end, what you will need is a few leaps of faith.