You know, the more I think about it, the less I want to think about it. I only have one quarter left here at Stanford and then I will re-enter the job force back home in New York City. I have mixed feelings about the whole process. On one hand, I really am looking forward to having a paying job and being closer to friends and family. Over the course of my time here, my New York connections have fallen by the wayside. B-school is just so intense. It's hard enough to make time for all the things you have to do here. It is that much harder when you add the complexity of a three-hour time difference and just a different lifestyle in general. Yet, as much as I want to go home, I have built a very comfortable and enjoyable life for myself on the West Coast. The GSB has become a home away from home.

So, I finally made a decision on where I'll be working after graduation. I'm headed to Archstone Consulting, a new strategy and consulting firm. I interviewed all throughout the fall quarter, and that took up a lot of my time. It was almost too easy to get caught up in the process for the process's sake. On some level, many of us came to Stanford for help with landing that "perfect job" after graduation. That fact made this full-time job search that much more important. I also tried to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Yeah, I'd like to think that this is the last time I'll ever look for a job. But that's just not realistic, so I tried not to make a bigger deal out of this decision than necessary. I listed the things that were important to me over the next five years and made a decision. I needed to be at a company that would allow me the opportunity to learn new things, work on different types of projects, travel, and give me plenty exposure top-level executives. I also needed to be around people I like. Since Archstone is a start-up, I'm sure there will be plenty of chances to build on different sets of skills. I also really liked the people I met. All in all, I'm glad to be finished with that part of journey.

As far as going back to work is concerned, I am really excited and nervous at the same time. I haven't taken an 8 o'clock class all year, so being at work before 8 a.m. is going to be really hard to get used to. However, getting a regular paycheck will make it all worth it. (I cannot understate how much easier it would be if I had more disposable income saved up before I had set foot on campus.) Once I get closer to my start date, I guess I'll start waking up earlier just so my body doesn't go into complete shock.

My work last quarter was pretty manageable. I took five classes, but two of them were two-unit courses that only met once a week. So far, I have only taken one "across the street" (non-GSB) class: Curriculum Construction. My other classes were:

• Personal Creativity in Business -- Easily one of my top three classes here
• Comparing Institutional Forms -- I learned more about organizational form than I ever imagined I would
• Emerging Business Opportunities in Education -- One of my professors was the President of the California State Board of Education
• Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy -- I had the opportunity to perform a consumer behavior audit for a major home furnishings company

I continue to be amazed at how much I am learning and how much there is to learn. I am much more comfortable with marketing and financial analysis than I would have ever imagined. I am even taking a couple of accounting classes and an economics class in my final quarter. I came to school expecting to just take the basic finance and accounting courses, but over time have come to appreciate their importance and their value. I guess I've "grown up" professionally.

As June looms ever closer, I keep waiting for things to get easier, and in some ways, they have. People are making more time for lunch dates and small group dinners. Second years are trying to get that one class they came to the GSB to take. You would think that people start doing less work. I haven't found that to be true. Instead, since most folks are taking stuff they are interested in, people are more focused on their classes. That's not to say that we're killing ourselves. It's quite the contrary. I think we're a lot more savvy with time management and figuring out what work is essential.

As I think about my last quarter, I feel many different emotions. I am excited about receiving my diploma and going out into the working world to apply what I've learned. I look forward to the structure of work life. I am also sad about what I'll be leaving behind. I've become very close to a number of people here and we just won't be able to spend as much time together after graduation. I love the control I have over my schedule and the amazing Bay Area weather. I will also miss the vacations every 10 weeks.

To be honest, I don't think too much about graduation. I know it's slowly approaching, but I guess I really want to put off dealing with the reality of it all. We've recently started to set up our alumni e-mail addresses and as more and more people make decisions on where they're headed after school, people are starting to make plans for getting together after B-school. I know I'll be a member of New York's alumni group and I am already marking my calendar for the Black Business Student Association's conference and our one-year class reunion. But all that's so far in the future I can't worry about it now. (In case you haven't noticed, denial can be very useful...)

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