A Chill in the Air

There's a chill in the air. The stirring of a changing season.And I feel it every day when I'm out on my 15 minute jog in the wintry mornings.But that's not the chill I'm worried about.

Somehow the 'chill' seems to be settling into college ,too. Placement season is nearing , and students are huddling together in groups -discussing strategies, tactics , and gameplans to corner the top companies and the best jobs.There are some exciting times ahead for all of us , for , the future beckons us with arms wide open.

But there's something about placement season that scares me. Friends with whom I've spent close to 2 years now, will become arch-enemies in the quest for that 'hot' job.Its a cut throat world out there, and a lot of what will happen over the next month or so, will be just that- cutting throats ,getting sidestepped, getting trampled over, squashing someone else's hopes to keep your own alive.Like any sport, the placement game is played the hard way, with a lot of gamesmanship thrown in.But at the end of the day , in sport ,people shake hands , and salute the spirit of competition.

Not so in this game.

People will hold grudges long after placements are over - 'You cut me ! You did not let me speak in the GD ! I was right !!' Someone will blame me for what they dont have.Or vice versa.

And that scares me.At the end of it all, will I be able to look into my friends' eyes without feeling that I short-changed them ?

Will things be the same between friends ? Coz if they dont, everyone loses.Whatever job whoever lands up with.

I have been a big advocate of Bschools and their methods - and their 'birds-eye-views'.But I'm having second thoughts about this one thing.