Throwing a hail mary

It's all about perspective.  In football, when a losing team decides to throw a hail mary to try and win a game, some people might see it as a sign of desperation, but I see it as a sign of determination.  They haven't lost hope and they aren't going out without a fight.

While walking down the halls at Anderson, I learned about the UCLA Anderson Commercial Challenge and after watching some of the entries, I thought to myself...can my team compete with these guys? Hell yes we can.  My application was already submitted and the outcome was out of my hands, but in a hail mary attempt to impress the admissions team, I decided I would make a video and try to get it in front of their eyes.  

Did it guarantee anything? NOPE! But was there a chance it could help me?  YUP! That 0.0000001% chance is all I needed to motivate me to crank out an unofficial submission.  If admissions didn't see my video, at least I had a new video added to my channel, but if they did see it, it could potentially tip the scale in my favor, given they share my humor and appreciate the effort it takes to make these videos.


So on the GMAT club forums, some people flamed my NYU video saying that it made me look desperate to get into the school. People have a fear of being judged all the time. Whether it be with women, peers at school, colleagues at work or friends...we are all scared of being judged and at times, this will stop us from taking risks and doing what we want. Well I'm here to share some advice with you. In the words of one of my favorite musicians, Childish Gambino, "I ain't gonna be around forever, so fuck it all."  Internet trolls will always hate and you can never please 100% of the people around you. Regret the things you did instead of the things you didn't do.  Where someone sees my video as a sign of desperation, others will see it as my determination to get into a school. I'm glad most people can appreciate my videos though and that the Debbie Downer's only make up a small percentage of the population.


Moral of the story, make your own decisions and take calculated risks.  Throw a hail mary if you feel the time is right. Don't let someone discourage you because sometimes, big risks pay off.  Did you guys see that Michigan kid that sang a song to try and get off the wait-list?  Bet you some of his classmates made fun of him, but shit, he got off the wait-list and into Michigan. If I was going to get rejected from UCLA again, I was going out on my terms and I was going to do everything humanly possible to get accepted. 


If you got a minute to spare, here is the project I put together with my awesome friends.  The challenge was to create a 60 second spot about UCLA Anderson.  I'm hoping this pass is completed for a touchdown!