It is a feeling I only know too well. Second week of June. Lots of new faces. Apprehension, shyness. Some over-smartness. It's the same every single time, every single place. I could be in the pre-primary section of a municipal school, or in the hallowed precincts of an IIM, some fundamental human reactions are...er, fundamental. So there!

And it happened to me again. As I strolled into our first meeting at 10pm in the 'night canteen'. Interesting venue, that. But nothing else had changed. There still was a sea of new faces, some smiling, some laughing (presumably out of nervousness), some plain nervous, and some pretending to be nervous while soaking in the atmosphere around them. There were glances all around. Some were apprehensive, a few (from the 'dudes' in the batch) were the 'checking out' kinds, directed towards the 'babes' in the batch. So much goes on in those first few minutes, that it's almost surreal. So many first impressions being formed, so many delusions being created - some courtesy the eclectic mix of European, American and Aussie accents being thrown around.

And yet, some day soon, it will all melt away into familiarity, camaraderie, bonding and relationships. Relationships that will each be different from the other. Some will be acrimonious, some mutual, and some, special. Some purely for achieving a purpose, objective and an aim. Some selfless, stupid and driven by the heart. Some that will fade away at the end of two years. Some that will refuse to, even at the end of twenty.

In that room full of young boys and girls - boisterous, calm, collected and nervous, all at once - there exists a world full of possibilities. What can be accomplished, what can be wasted. Who you can befriend, and who you can destroy with your arsenal of stinging sarcasm. Whether you can turn the MBA into a life-altering experience, or make it a waste of two years of your prime life. It is all upto you. Upto each one of us in that room. Peering into each other's eyes, listening, using all the world's experience to separate lies from the truth, to distinguish braggadocio from plain humble brilliance. Judging each other, forming opinions. And then one day it'll all melt away.

Till then, it is all the same. Everytime. From the pre-primary of a municipal school to the lush green campus of an IIM. All the same, and I only know it too well now :)