Fucked up CAT but found my way :)

Saw on GV news today that CAT dates are around the corner for this year!

Seven years ago, around this exact time, I was in full-on CAT prep mode. Every single day felt like a do-or-die scenario - early mornings, late nights, math formulas scribbled on every available surface, and the word “percentile” practically tattooed onto my brain. The stakes felt enormous, like this one exam would decide everything about my future. I walked into that exam room with months of effort weighing on me, hoping it would all pay off.

Then, the results came. And yeah, it didn’t go as planned. I still remember that hollow feeling, like all those months of effort had just vanished into thin air. I dreaded breaking the news to my parents, thinking they’d be as crushed as I was. But when I finally told them, they were weirdly chill!?!? I’ll never forget my dad’s reaction. He just looked at me and said: You did your best, maybe this wasn’t meant to be.

No lectures, no what’s next, no pressure to try again.

Instead, he surprised me. He told me not to waste more time preparing for another shot and that maybe it was time to just start working, get some real experience. And while I was still hung up on what didn’t happen, he had this unshakeable calm about it all, like he knew life had other plans that didn’t involve a CAT score. I wasn’t sure if he was right, but I took the plunge, jumped into a job, and decided to just see where it would take me.

Fast forward to today, and somehow, life’s worked itself out in ways I couldn’t have predicted. I’m now a VP at a startup that’s grown to a $3 bn valuation - not because of a perfect score or a path I’d planned but because, bit by bit, things just fell into place. It wasn’t a straight line or even close to what I imagined, but it’s a reminder that sometimes the things you don’t get end up giving you something better.

Also, I know it’s easy to say this now. When you’re in that moment of feeling like you missed the one shot that mattered, nothing anyone says makes it easier. That disappointment hits hard and deep, and only the person who’s going through it knows the weight of it. But from someone who’s failed at this exact thing before, just know that life has a way of working things out, even when it feels impossible. So, keep going, there’s a path forward even if you can’t see it just yet :)