Frazzled, groggy, and anxious I step off of the Ryan Air jet, hoping that my first moments in Spain are smooth ones. Touching down at 9:15, my interview at IE Business School was in only 45 minutes, and I had not even yet lifted myself from my window seat. All the while, seething with anticipation, I sipped down a quick coffee and rushed to the bathroom – just after the Spanish officers eyed my passport and permitted me to pass. Hurriedly dressing in the bathroom stall, I felt as if I was racing against time. Could I have really forgotten all methods of tying my tie in this crucial moment? Maybe it was the fatigue. After all, I had been up since 4 AM in order to catch the bus from Limerick to Dublin which finally got me to the airport. Either way, time was not particularly on my side, and I had about thirty minutes to fix myself up, catch a taxi, and get to Maria de Molina 13 in decent fashion.

In my overconfident and underdeveloped Spanish – which I had hardly used in a year – I got in a taxi and directed my good man at the helm to my final destination. Buttoning my cuffs and straightening the ever-problematic tie hanging precariously skewed around my neck as the taxista weaved through mid-morning Madrid traffic, I pondered what the next hour of my life might have to offer for my future endeavors. Deepening in thought while conversing about Real Madrid, we passed Avenida de America and I was scaling the steps to MM13 before I knew it.

As flustered as I was, I remember thinking how smoothly the past 12 hours had gone to get me from Limerick, to Dublin, to Barajas, to Maria de Molina – and at that moment, I knew things were on my side. From then on, I might have had one of the best weekends of 2014. Enamored by the aura of Madrid and captivated by the quality of the people with whom I was interacting, I knew IE was a place that I needed to be, no doubts whatsoever remained in my mind. Friends that I connected with on the IE weekend are ones that still remain as I traverse Madrid and the IE experience throughout this year. As a stepping stone—a platform—into my real IE experience, I would have to say the enamor remains. The allure of uniqueness, opportunity, and a life-changing experience has only been scaled to appropriate proportions. The contentment and the gratification felt on that one weekend has been amplified into a year of prospects, and I couldn’t be happier. From the IE weekend to the full IE experience – I was privileged enough to get a glimpse into what life might be like a year later. Now I’m living it, and I am loving it.