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I’m so happy to report that the second year of my MBA experience feels fun, stimulating, rewarding and relevant. That’s not the report I would have given you at this time last year. But I survived my first year of business school, and I’m here to say that it’s true: there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I came from a non-traditional background for business school: I had a liberal arts education and I avoided all quantitative courses in college. After college I enjoyed an exhilarating career in outdoor leadership. When I began to realize I needed to broaden my skill set to grow professionally, I started to consider pursuing an MBA, but I dreaded the required coursework it would entail. Just the thought of spending my days in accounting, corporate finance, and statistics was daunting. These subjects and skills were far outside my comfort zone, and I didn’t know whether it would all be worth it in the end.

My motivation for pursuing an MBA was for gaining skills to apply to the topics that I did feel inspired by: in my case that is social and sustainable enterprise, which is a strength of the . It was the application of business tools that excited me, not being mired in the weeds of acquiring those tools. But I knew that if I could make it through the required coursework of the first year, I could begin to explore my real interests and passions in my second year.

So I struggled through my first semester of business school. I questioned many times if it was worth it, and worried that perhaps business school just wasn’t a good fit for me. Spring semester got better as I adjusted and was able to take some elective courses. And then the summer came and I was delighted to finally try out my new skills in the context of a real company. When my second year began this August, I was refreshed and ready.

This semester I can finally say that I am truly excited about all of my classes. While I’m still working hard, I feel motivated to put in the work, I see its direct relevance to my interests, and I’m better able to utilize my strengths. I’m able to choose projects in my classes that offer an immediate benefit to me in terms of skills gained. Now when family and friends ask me “How’s school?” I can finally answer the question with excitement and self-assurance. I’m so glad I took the plunge and made it to the other side of the tunnel.