From Nogales to Magdalena... to Cambridge

For about half of my life I've had a very close relationship with music.

I know I wasn't always like this. Growing up I was really into Tom Petty, and I remember countless trips I took with my family to go skiing in Vermont where we'd listen to "Ten" by Pearl Jam alongside Led Zepplin and Eric Clapton.

So music's always been a part of my life, but until I was 12 or 13 it was always in the background. I remember being crestfallen when I'd want to watch television only to discover my brother planted on the living room couch watching MTV or The Box (holler!). I didn't just not care about music, I didn't even get the appeal.

The closest thing I can recall as a watershed moment in my relationship with music was Kurt Cobain's suicide. When that happened I remember that all of a sudden I got REALLY into Nirvana. Me and everyone else I guess.

But Nirvana proved to be a gateway. Over the years I got into any number of bands, and I began to associate individual songs with certain moments or memories, some positive, others not so positive.

* * * * *

Recently I added another song to the pantheon of songs that conjure up really happy memories. The song is "Magdalena" by Brandon Flowers, the lead singer of The Killers. He's got a solo album out called Flamingo.

The album's a bit hit or miss. There are 10 songs in total. Three of them are fantastic, three of them are good, and the rest don't really do anything for me.

The highlight is Magdalena, an upbeat number featuring Flowers' voice at its most soaring. You can check out a live version of it in the video here.



If you're interested, the other two essential songs from the album are "Crossfire" and "Hard Enough". 

* * * * *

As regular readers are aware, the Glass Man has been up to his ears in business school applications the past several months. I applied to four schools: Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, and Kellogg. For any number of reasons Harvard Business School was always my top choice.

The first step to getting in is being asked to interview, which I was. I spent the next two weeks cramming as much information into my brain as possible on questions I thought my interviewer might ask me, I had several mock interviews, we even used a video camera. I believe in preparation as a general matter, but especially on something I want badly, and I wanted very badly to get into HBS.

Needless to say, when the day of the interview came around I was nervous. It was an Indian Summer kind of late October day in Cambridge. My interview was at 4pm; I arrived at the admissions office an hour early, my mind reminding me every five seconds seemingly that I'd better not screw this up.

It wasn't a productive chain of thought. Nervously I opened the welcome folder provided by the admissions office. Inside there was a letter from the Dean of Admissions, which I read hurriedly; when I got to the bottom of there was this advice:

"You really can't prepare... although I know you will try! Try not to spend your time memorizing your written application or preparing a script for anticipated questions. If you've brought your iPod, listen to your music, take a walk..."

It was instantly some of the best advice I'd ever got. I told myself that all I could do was give it my best shot, and I knew that wouldn't be possible if I was a mess of nerves.

I walked out of the admissions office and into the brilliant mid-fall afternoon. I set my iPod to "Magdalena" and turned it up loud. I probably listened to it four or five times straight when all of a sudden it was time for my interview. I walked in confidently, feeling upbeat thanks in no small part to the music.

* * * * *

A week ago today I learned I'd been admitted to Harvard Business School, where I'll be a member of the Class of 2013. I couldn't be more thrilled about it.

It wasn't entirely continuous, but my business school application process began in January 2009 when I took my first practice GMAT. Almost two years later I got exactly the result I was hoping for. It's a good feeling.

I got a song for the pantheon out of it, too. Every time I hear Magdalena now I think of that antsy afternoon in Cambridge, my hoped-for future so close and yet so far, and of how good it felt in the minutes before my interview to let go of my nerves and revel in the excitement of the moment.

It seems it was meant to be, too. Re-reading my first post-practice GMAT post from January 2009, I'm delighted to recall that that evening me and my girlfriend went to a concert at Madison Square Garden.

Who'd we see? None other than Brandon Flowers' main act, The Killers.

Cosmic. 

- A.F.O.M.G.