Week 1 - Chaos, Connections & Tribes

Week 1 wrapped up!

Mathematically that also means 2% of the course is over. And what all happened in this 1 week? Classes, parties, after-parties, after-after-parties, assignments, quiz (yupp, a quiz already) and “I. have. Learnt. NOTHING!” (inside joke). Amidst all this chaos, the most incredible part that I observed was the bonding.

158 individuals, coming from different parts of the country, having different academic and professional backgrounds – yet within just one week, almost everyone has found their tribe within this diversity.

There are the ones who play football every evening, some who hit the gym in groups, the badminton enthusiasts, the ones going to Mafa bhai together (iykyk) and the list goes on. It’s fascinating how, as humans, our first instinct when adapting to a new environment is to connect and find our people. It is relaxing to know that 157 others, like you, are facing the same kind of emotions, nerves and are completely clueless on what to do for the DOMD (Designing Operations to Meet Demand) class.

While my words can hardly capture the depth of chaos, confusion, and helplessness in the air, the situation is grave - so much that a professor stepped in to hold a guidance session at 9 PM for this cohort of smart but directionless individuals. The session turned into an outlet for frustration, with people venting, complaining, and even breaking down—all within just one week!

This is exactly where the tribe comes in. These tribes, they are more than just a group of people with same interests. They are the support system here. Everyone equally willing and eager to help even though none of them have figured their ways out.

By now, it's probably obvious how much I prefer using the word Tribe instead of Friends when talking about the relationships here. So, have I found my tribe yet? Well, Yes!

What do we do together? Rant about the backlog, discuss irrelevant ideas, crib about not being able to wake up in the morning, all this while sitting at Bhavesh bhai’s café and hogging Maggi at 2 AM.

Lastly, thanks to the hype from my tribe, I am contesting for the post of PGPX Secretary to the Career Affairs Executive Committee (Imposter syndrome level: maxed out)

Well, that was week 1 all about, finding my tribe and eventually realising that these 157 individuals who were completely unfamiliar a few weeks ago are going to be my family for the next 51 weeks!