Ever since I was young, I have loved to write. These days, my writing is almost entirely for work, but I’ve decided that I should start writing for myself, mostly as a way to reflect on how I feel, express my (many) opinions about things, and to keep a diary of sorts. These thoughts are of course public by nature, but I hope that whoever reads my posts find them interesting, helpful, and even provocative at times.

I am a curious person about many things, something that has been true since I was younger. Here is something I did as a lark back during business school, but it is a snippet of writing that I return to time to time to see how I have changed.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

— Mary Oliver

To be changed by the world around me.

Many people come to HBS to “change the world.” I was one of those people. But I have come to realize that it is HBS that has changed me. I have learned how to optimize a cranberry factory, absorbed life lessons from a Navy SEAL and a Catholic priest, and experienced South Africa with friends over spring break. I am a different person than I was before HBS, and for that, I am grateful.

While my academic career is coming to a close, I intend to be a lifelong student. I will continue to be curious and open to new ideas and experiences. I will continue to ask questions. By constantly focusing the lens through which I see, I hope to achieve the vision I need to make the world a better place.

One of my favorite recent episodes from Ted Lasso has a scene where the former owner of the soccer team challenges Ted to a darts match — where the owner misjudges Ted’s skills as a darts player (and as a coach) because he looks and sounds different from him. In the climax of the scene, Ted reveals himself to be an expert darts player (and a hustler of sorts) and says:

“Guys have underestimated me my entire life and for years I never understood why – it used to really bother me. Then one day I was driving my little boy to school, and I saw a quote by Walt Whitman, it was painted on the wall there and it said, ‘Be curious, not judgmental.’ I like that.”

— Ted Lasso

For me, the scene has a resonance not only because of where I’ve come from and being underestimated at times like Ted, but also as a reminder to be curious, to not judge based on superficial appearances, and to be open-minded to new possibilities. Hence, the name of the blog (“Be Curious, Not Judgmental”) and what I hope to write about.