Shipra Chopra
Procurement Executive
Philip Morris Management Services (ME) Ltd.
EMBA Class of 2017

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I live alone. For the first time in all my life, I’m the queen of my own castle and it has been more than 3 years now.

Living solo does not necessarily mean you have to be lonely. There are always friends to be made and fun to be had, and in a city like Dubai it is not difficult to socialize at all, but what about family? Is there a way to find a family away from home?

Well, if you ask me, the answer is YES!

You just might have to redefine your idea of family. Family can be parents and siblings, or it can be a group of people who look out for each other and are comfortable together.

As an expat, I can confirm the importance of finding a group of people you can depend upon, look forward to meet when you are living alone and after trying a lot of different activities from paddling, salsa classes and book clubs I realized that I need to do something more meaningful in my life and that made me join S P Jain.

S P Jain has transformed my entire life, be it from sleeping hours, the way I interact with people to the way I have become more serious about my career. The immediate change was my schedule, from available to busy.

Yes, it’s a stretch on the word family, but I really value the relationships I have with my fellow batch mates. Just think of how many times you have needed to know something about a city and you have gone to your blog subscriptions and twitter first. Sure, there is information on the internet, but isn’t it better to get details over a whatsapp message? Trust me, sometimes I get information before any official source, fire at Dubai creek is one of these examples:

I feel as if I have found a couple of very good friends here in EMBA 34, with whom I go out on weekends, have house parties, do group studies/projects and celebrate.

My Birthday Celebration in June 2015 is the most remarkable memory for lifetime. Also, our batch has a tradition of “cake cutting” every month for all the babies born in that month, which unites all of us and builds a healthy relationship at personal level.

So next time you are feeling lonely or homesick just talk to someone in your family. With all the time differences throughout the world, you are bound to find something, a hobby, people, or group of people no matter when loneliness strikes!

Or may be joining an Executive MBA helps where you meet more like minded people as I did