I am sitting in front of the ocean in tropical weather, concluding my journey at INSEAD. It has been a truly life changing year.

• Read more about How INSEAD Students Grow Without Losing Their Essence

If long run averages are anything to go by, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a Fontainebleau to Paris car ride to last 45 minutes. But the moment you throw a national public transport strike into the mix, the travel time increases to an astronomical 2.5 hours. To many a bystander, this would qualify as a high barrier to entry. Hence, if said bystanders chose to cozy up in bed with a warm mug of cocoa, rather than brave the vagaries of Paris’ traffic network, they would probably not be judged too harshly by society.

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Fear of Missing Out - FOMO. Some of you might have heard about it, or even might have felt it before.   It is somewhat of an invasive feeling of anxiety that others might be having more meaningful experiences. It tends to get people to become distracted from their inner desires to avoid the feeling of being different, or not part of a group or community. FOMO can happen in very simple ways.

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When you hear “INSEAD”, “fashion” isn’t necessarily a word that comes to mind. After writing a blog post about my intention to switch to a job focused on luxury fashion, people asked, “So why didn’t you choose a Master’s programme specialising in that industry?” After all, the post-graduation placement in luxury from schools like IFM, SDA Bocconi, and HEC is incredibly impressive.

• Read more about What I Learned About Fashion From an MBA That Took Me Around the World

The final exam has just ended. People are streaming into the school bar, congratulating each other. Some even start hugging their friends and bidding teary farewells. A typical bunch of graduating MBA students, you say? Not quite. That was the scene played out last month when we finished Period 2, only four months into our ten-month MBA.

• Read more about Choosing INSEAD’s MBA for its Global Identity

A week after graduation, I still don’t feel like leaving campus. I’m literally writing this post in a breakout room reminiscing the past few days. Friends, academics, recruitment, trips, parties and so on. Looking back, one of the best decisions I made was about where to start my MBA journey.

• Read more about Maison Royale: Our Beloved Home Away From Home

I am writing these lines sitting on a plane. I am flying back home for Christmas, and I look strange bringing a winter coat on top of my luggage in the humid, 30-degree Singaporean weather. When the aircraft took off, I mentally reviewed the last 12 months. What a year.

• Read more about The Legacy of the MBA and the Importance of a Fit Mind.

Part two is written onboard EK355 from Singapore to Dubai, on my way to France. So excited to start my journey with the school! This post will focus specifically on the INSEAD application process, and the preparation that I did.

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P4 has been quite a different experience at INSEAD. Now that things are a bit calmer I can finally take a step back and see the bigger picture. Recruiting time. It's something that you can actually feel in the air.

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Writing this on board of GA821 from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, I am filled with both sadness and excitement. I'm sad that I left the family I built in KL, but excited to go back to school soon. This post is also intended to help me sort out my thoughts and hopefully help you in one way or another. In the following blog, I'll focus on my career journey and why I opted to do an MBA at INSEAD. 

• Read more about From Tech to Start-up, Consulting and Finally, an MBA?!