Stronger

​Today’s guest entry is by my classmate, friend and one of my favorite Brazilians in the class – Henrique. So with great pride and excitement, let me introduce a good writer in the hiding!!! Thanks for sharing buddy and thanks for being a great friend! 

Stronger

"Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering; not amid joy." - Felicia Hemans

Five months into the program, module I and II are over. Half the class is jailed in the dungeons doing desk work for their ICP projects (yours truly included), and the other lucky half is travelling around the world doing ground work for their projects. I thought (and eagerly anticipated) that things would calm down, and that I would have more time to myself – to sleep, to focus on my job search, to bike more, or to just procrastinate endlessly. I could not have been more wrong. But that doesn’t mean this is bad. I am now interacting much more with my group, an average of 12 hours per day. We are all certainly more aware and mindful about ourselves and about each other. Work is efficient, so much more. I am amazed at the end of each day of how much we have accomplished despite endless discussions that can last for hours. The behavior change on every single person in class is clear as water, and we still have another seven months to go.

I can’t help to go to bed each night and noticing that my heart is filled with pride about all of us. Coming to IMD is not an easy choice. It’s a life-changing option, and all of us have paid a very huge price for being here, be it personally, professionally, or financially. But none of us ever questions that choice – at least not anymore. We all can see the life-changing experience that we are going through, and how much it is transforming us into better persons. It’s not about the leadership stream teaching us how to manage people; it’s about being more mindful and aware in life. It’s about becoming more humane. It’s about understanding what we want, and what we don’t want. It’s about understanding who we want and who we don’t want. It’s about learning about ourselves, and which careers we can pursue that will give us the chance to be the most happy and accomplished. It’s about understanding that our personal and professional lives are interconnected, and one cannot function well without the other. In one way or the other, all of us had to face those questions in the past 5 months, and we will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.

I have been away from my home, family and friends for almost a decade. I have lived in 7 different cities and 3 different continents during this period. I faced countless obstacles that made me question my strength, my choices, and my commitment to go on. I look back from where I stand today, and I can’t find reason to regret any of my choices. I made good and (many) bad choices. But I learned from them. My choices made me the person that I am today, and they brought me to the grounds that I now stand.

I am where I’m supposed to be.  We all are. And we can count on each other when the times get rough.

Henrique Martins de Araujo