Life Goes On...
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on.
-Robert Frost
From the outside, my life right now looks great. I graduated with high honors from one of the world's best universities, completed my banking stint in a top tier group and am now happily working at a "very prestigious" (I hate that term) buyside shop. I'm in a relationship with a girl I'm crazy about, I have good friends, I'm attractive, fit and have the world ahead of me. That's what the outside sees. In reality, I'm a messed up kid feeling my way around in the dark through a world that I feel wholly unprepared for.
I grew up poor. At times, I was very, very hungry. The first few months my family was able to crawl out of poverty, I continued to overeat because I still vividly remembered the hunger pains that often kept me awake at night. I lost one of my siblings and I always blamed myself for what happened. I was sexually abused by a relative. I witnessed things in my native country that still send chills down my spine.
And then there were my parents. Sure, my mom loved me and wanted me to be happy, but unfortunately she had no idea what it meant to be a good parent. My dad was an abusive piece of shit that saw me as his competition, not as his son. We still don't speak very often. On an especially bad day, he had once again taken his rage out on my mom, but to rub in the humiliation he had her wipe her own blood off the walls while he stood and watched. I tried to intervene, but I wasn't much of a match.
I, too, was a bit of a piece of shit. I was aggressive and found myself in fights very often. Though I was smart, I was lazy and didn't do all too well in high school, where homework and not exams governed your academic performance. Needless to say, at 16 I looked like I was destined for a mediocre life at best, but probably likely to end up as another case of wasted potential.
I don't know what changed, but one day I started turning things around and ever since I have kept the momentum going. I had the highest grades in my class from the second half of junior year until I graduated. I did extremely well on standardized exams, crafted a golden essay and lucked my way into a school I in no way deserved to go to. And from there I busted my ass to get to where I am today.
I was independent. I earned my own money and paved my own way. I didn't use my past as an excuse to fail. If I didn't make it, I knew it was nobody's fault but my own. I also knew that nobody would care. If one day I broke down because of all the stress, the world would keep on turning as it always had. It was--and is--my life and my life alone. Nobody cares about the struggles I went through. They care about who I am today and who I'm going to be.
And, I guess, that's my message: take responsibility for who you are, where you are now and where you will be. I don't care that it's a tough economy. I don't care that you go to a shitty school. I don't care that an unlucky string of events rendered you less competitive than your peers. And nobody else does either. We will continue living our lives the same way we always had, but you will suffer the curse of your own laziness and incompetence. It's a tough world out there and if you want to compete in an environment as ruthless as Wall Street, you need to forget about the excuses and find a way to succeed. And if you can't? Well, you weren't cut out for this world anyway. Nobody is going to pamper your bruised ego and give you a job just because you want it. You need to earn it.






That's some heavy shit.
That's some heavy shit.
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Dude, wow. +1 Where are you
Dude, wow. +1
Where are you now?
Given the personal nature of
Given the personal nature of my post, I think it's best that I keep my current whereabouts to myself. All I can say is that I'm very happy at my job and I'm doubly blessed that my firm's reputation is as strong as it is.
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you should write
you should write professionally.
pwnage, good work
pwnage, good work
"WSO is like the 300 for anti spamage. None shall pass." -happypantsmcgee
"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer
I'd say this: it's not true
I'd say this: it's not true that people would not care about your past. They will give you a lot of credit and respect if you made it from the bottom. That's one of the few things that someone will never have if they had banking MD dad hooking them up with internships and positions, and paying with their pocket change for Ivy League education.
My story is not THAT extreme - I started at the bottom, but not that deep, and ended up not that high. However, it also was quite a few bold jumps to the top, and that sort of background impresses people. Which from utilitarian point of view is very good. You don't have to prove yourself that much - your life story already did it.
Yikes. I can never relate
Yikes. I can never relate when reading things like this, they seem almost surreal, but I'm still always impressed... glad to see you 'up here'
Incredible Post & Congrats on
Incredible Post & Congrats on Your Success. I can relate to a lot of things and feelings you experienced and can understand some of the conclusions you have reached in your life through my own struggles.
Man I love this post. Like
Man I love this post. Like you said it's a tough world out there, it's up to you to do you best to get what you desire.Nobody is going to give shit so you have to take what you feel you deserve.Personally I grew up believing that nothing will be handed to me so I always expect adversity in anything.I have always had to fight for anything that came to me and I believe that is what life is about. You might not succeed all the time but you have to fight for it.
The dragon dozes off in the spirit which is its dwelling.
KeepingitPrivate wrote: Given
Given the personal nature of my post, I think it's best that I keep my current whereabouts to myself. All I can say is that I'm very happy at my job and I'm doubly blessed that my firm's reputation is as strong as it is.
Oh yeah I assume that this was the case, but I meant like are you in IB, ER, S&T, PE, HF, corp dev, something else entirely?
EDIT: It looks like you answered this in the first paragraph, which I don't think was there before, but maybe I missed it. Anyways, great job!
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clap. clap. clap. clap. CLAP
clap. clap. clap. clap. CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP. good on your sir! im tweeting about 3 things you wrote in that piece!
"Know what to do, know how to do it, and do it hard." - Juan Castillo
If you are in the Toronto Area join my group "Toronto Prospective Monkeys"
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/group/toronto-prosp...
THIS is the American success
THIS is the American success story.
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
good work. dad's can fuck up
good work. dad's can fuck up your life, huh? been there.
i feel like us foreigners have to truly go through some shit to make it sometimes as compared to the american folks.
pick em, lick em, stick em
Wow, amazing and very
Your story and mine have a
"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
'The Great Gatsby' - F. Scott Fitzgerald
I don't see how people can
My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
Great Post! It's always good
Re-read this today and gotta
See my WSO Blog
Who says American Dream is
this isn't great, it's
Cjl49 wrote: this isn't
-MBP
Bro, I hope you didn't jinx
UFOinsider wrote: THIS is the
You are so impressive! The
--
"In order to write about life, first you must live it"
--EH
Ben Shalom Bernanke
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
Idk why but this seems super
Printed and put on my wall.
seedy underbelly wrote: Idk
"Lucked my way into a school
FlySoHigh wrote: seedy
seedy underbelly
Great story! This reminds me
Impressive. As someone
They should make kids in
etherlord wrote: I'd say
KeepingitPrivate
WTF are you guys talking
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Banking Resume
^ It's obviously a fake story
blackrainn wrote: seedy
The content seems a little
I just hope OP chose not
FinancialNoviceII
seedy underbelly
Marcus_Halberstram wrote: WTF
Why it seems so unreal? How
Good Shit Bro. We must work
I wasn't doubting that
Financial Modeling Training
Guide to Finance Interviews
Banking Resume
Marcus_Halberstram wrote: I