I Gave It Everything I Had 🎓

It started with a conversation.

“Thana, why don’t you enrol for your Master’s?” Imagine walking across that stage, and me cheering on you.

That was it.

A conversation on 5 April 2024 and I started my MBA.

At that point, I don’t think I fully understood what I was getting myself into. 😂

I was working full-time.

Studying part-time.

And somewhere between those two, I still had my personal life to manage.

The first couple of months?

Mess.

Complete mess. 😂

I was trying to figure out how to work, study, complete assignments, attend classes and still function like a normal human being.

But I kept trying.

And trying.

I had made the decision to do this.

So no excuses.

I was going to finish it.

WiFi and Coffee ☕

My routine became quite simple.

Finish work.

Stay in the office.

Open the laptop.

Assignment.

Some weekends were classes.

Then exams.

Then another assignment.

I didn’t need much.

Give me WiFi and coffee and I could study almost anywhere. 😂

The office became a study room.

Cafés became classrooms.

Weekends weren’t really weekends anymore.

For those months, I reduced a lot of the things I normally enjoyed.

Less entertainment.

Less hiking.

Less travelling.

Less marathon and running time.

More hours in the office.

More hours in cafés.

More time staring at my laptop wondering why I decided to do an MBA in the first place. 😂

But I knew it wouldn’t be forever.

I told myself I could do it.

Then My Work Became My MBA

One part of the MBA became very personal to me.

My final project.

At my previous company, Adecco, I had worked on Adecco MyTime.

That project was my baby.

I had been involved from the demo stage to production, go-live, training and finally the Malaysia implementation.

I knew that project because I had actually lived through it.

So when it came time for my final MBA paper, I didn’t want to write about something that only existed in a textbook.

I used MyTime.

Something I had worked on in my professional life became part of the qualification I was working towards in my personal life.

I liked that.

It wasn’t just theory anymore.

It was something I had built, managed and experienced myself.

There Were Days

Of course, it wasn’t smooth all the way.

There were moments when other parts of my life were falling apart at the same time.

And there were days when I genuinely didn’t know how I was going to keep everything together.

Work was still there.

Assignments were still there.

Deadlines didn’t care what was happening in my personal life.

There were moments I felt like I was doing everything alone.

But there was also a promise I had made.

And I don’t take promises lightly.

Sometimes I would go back and read certain old messages.

Remember certain conversations.

Remember why I started.

Then I would open the laptop again and continue.

Maybe things didn’t turn out exactly the way I thought they would.

But the promise was still a promise.

So I kept going.

Not because every day I felt strong.

Not because I was always motivated.

Some days I was simply tired.

But I had said I would complete it.

Complete it for my family.

Complete it for myself.

And complete what I promised I would finish.

So I did.

Something I Couldn’t Do in My 20s

There was another reason this MBA meant more to me than just having another qualification.

My father always wanted me to continue my studies when I was in my early 20s.

But life was different then.

Financially, I needed to work.

I needed to help support my family.

And I didn’t want to add another burden to my parents.

So continuing my education had to wait.

Not because I didn’t want it.

It just wasn’t the right time.

My father always wanted me to complete my education.

My mum wanted it too.

And Medusa wanted me to do it.

Years passed.

Work happened.

Life happened.

And eventually, that thing I couldn’t do in my early 20s came back to me.

This time, I could do it.

So I did.

Maybe it took longer than originally planned.

But I got there.

One More Surprise 🏆

By the time I reached convocation, I wasn’t expecting anything else.

I had completed my MBA.

That was enough for me.

After everything that happened during those months, just putting on that graduation gown already meant something.

Then came another surprise.

Outstanding Leadership Award.

I wasn’t expecting it.

Not even a little bit.

I wasn’t doing the MBA for an award.

I wasn’t chasing one.

I just wanted to finish what I had started.

So standing there with my MBA and an award I didn’t even know was coming…

I think it just completed everything.

One final surprise at the end of the journey.

And yes…

I was smiling. 😂

35 🎓

In 2025, I completed my MBA.

I was 35.

MBA at 35.

It’s cool too. 🙂

Maybe I didn’t do it at the age my father originally imagined.

Maybe it took me a little longer to get there.

That’s okay.

Because when I finally stood there, I knew exactly what it had taken.

The evenings in the office.

The coffee.

The weekends.

The assignments.

The exams.

The things I temporarily gave up.

The promise.

And those days when stopping would have been much easier than continuing.

I don’t think I did everything perfectly during those months.

Far from it.

But there’s one thing I know.

I gave it everything I had.

And when I look at these photos now, the certificate and the award are obviously special.

But seeing my mum there…

Seeing the people who came to celebrate with me…

That means something different.

Because this wasn’t something I did completely alone.

There were people who wanted to see me reach this moment long before I actually reached it.

Especially one person.

My father wanted me to continue my education when I was in my early 20s.

Back then, I couldn’t.

Life had other responsibilities for me first.

It took a while, Dad.

But I got there.

Dad, I completed it. 🎓

Just here.

— Thana

Beyond The Horizon 🌅