Chapter 2: An Autumn Walk
Interactive Article
Chapter 2 of an Interactive Series. "18 years old. The ripe age to be alive and live life." A coming of age story. A whole new world to explore.
by Vivega Saravana Prabhu
The first class of the day, intro to marketing management. Today’s been slower than usual and I find myself staring at the bald spot on top of the professor’s head. Everything he had said for the past 15 minutes glazed through my mind and in its place stands the flier I saw this morning.
The World of Marketing it read. It was a program for undergraduates like me, looking into marketing as a career. Those who qualify and get accepted into the program will be taken to over 15 different countries where they look at different kinds of marketing styles and techniques. It’s being conducted by the UK’s most renowned marketing company that recently held its position as one of the top 5 marketing firms worldwide. There can be up to 12 participants and the costs for each participant are covered entirely by the company itself.
I really want to try out for the program but with finals drawing near and my part-time job hauling up my life, I don’t think I’ll have the time to go out and have this kind of fun.
I do qualify for the program but in order for acceptance I need to create a marketing strategy for a garden hose by next week but with my thesis being due in 4 days I don’t think I will even have the time to think of anything else. Other than my thesis, my part-time is the only thing paying for my tuition, and if I lose that as well and go on that trip when I come back I will have nothing to pay for my tuition or for my food.
To be honest, trying for the program isn’t really the most realistic choice right now. So I might as well forget about it…
The rest of the day goes by in a haze as my mind keeps wandering back to that flier. Even when eating dinner with my friends all the fun conversations became muffled as my mind and heart became conflicted about what I want to do and what I can do. Yet, suddenly my train of thought was interrupted by my roommate who tagged along with me today. Apparently, she had been calling out my name for the last minute, and after multiple no response, I was awoken by her violent shaking. She looked at me funny and I noticed the entire table was staring at me.