Life = Something Going On

Is life a continuum?

 

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines it as "a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees".

 

For me, the crucial part of the definition is the last part - varying by minute degrees. When I think about my life as a continuum, I find it difficult to fit it into this definition. My life has not changed by minute degrees. On the contrary, there have been some quite extreme changes. And, though I say, my life, I find similar instances in the lives of some people I know. Perhaps, it happens in everybody's life.

 

Then why, one might ask, am I thinking about continnum in life. The reason is that I had always thought about life as a continuum, or rather, in continuity. Now, as it turns out, it was even more foolish of me to think about life to be in continuity. The subtle difference in the two terms is that, continuum allows for some variation, whereas continuity does not. However, the closest I could come to a word that would bring some semblance to 'life' as something that has a begining and an end with some changes in it, was 'continuum'.

 

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines continuity as "a: uninterrupted connection, succession, or union; and, b: uninterrupted duration or continuation especially without essential change".

 

Comparing continuum and continuity, I feel more comfortable with the prior than the latter, though still not satisfied with the word. As I understand it, everything that has a begining and an end, is a process and that process involves certain steps. I am sure that people who study spirituality could possibly have a better definition. I am sure that the people who study physics or engineering or any kind of science could give a better definition for what a process is. But for me, as a layman, I consider a process as something that has a begining and an end, and betwixt I have to go through some steps.

 

But, life hasn't given me till now any sense of ontinuity, continuum or process. However, to be a little bit more comfortable with some word that allows me to define 'life', I choose - process. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines process, simply as 'something going on'. Although it scares me to apply this definition to life, it however allows me to at least be a little bit satisfied with what I can call 'life'. Something going on, is not something that inspires confidence in me and nor does it tell me anything. However, my curiosity to define life lessens a tad bit.

 

The most common definition of life that I have heard of till now is that 'life is a journey'. I think that, that is one of the most naive definitions. That time is in the past, when going on a journey meant literally going out into the unknown. Now, even if you need to go to the next town, you get there using a GPS. And, GPS systems are now even available on mobile phones. So, the unknown will only exist in your journey if you go into the moutains or the deserts or the jungles into areas where human habitation is uncommon. So, I think that the definition of 'journey' itself has probably changed. The dictionary I keep referring to, says that journey is an act or instance of travelling from one place to another. The destination is known in a journey, whereas in life, it is not; unless you consider death as your destination. If that is so, then I don't think this blog post is for you.

 

A journey involves travel and travel involves plans. I would really like to meet someone whose life turned out exactly as he or she had planned it (granted they should have had some plans first). In my experience, insignificant as it may perhaps be, nothing goes as planned. Something does go on, and that is - life.

 

So to conclude, a certain degree of acceptance of the definition of life as a process, helps me to accept the sudden changes that happen in life. Since I accept that life is 'something going on', then I also accept that anything can, essentially 'go on'.

 

 

Nissa Bella

 



Nice. It has been my life for a year now. It definitely does not feel like it and it feels like the year has gone by too quickly for me to even notice it. I arrived in Nice, on the French Riviera or the Côte d'Azur as the French call it, on September 2nd, 2011 to start an Msc in Finance in EDHEC Business School. I was excited and yet, clueless!

This was going to be my first foray into the world of Finance. I had studied finance before but I had barely even scraped the basics. It was more of Accounting than actual finance. I had no idea what was in store for me. It has been a year of confusion, moments of brilliance and moments of complete ignorance, making me feel like a Kindergarten student. There were times when I could recognize that there were letters from the English Alphabet in front of me with words I knew the meaning of and also numbers, written in the English style, but it seemed like a completely different language when these words, of which I knew the meaning, made no sense when they were put in that order. There were also times, when I encountered words that I had never heard before (perhaps for good reason) and symbols that represent prehistoric art, rather than mathematical symbols. I am sure that the mathematicans and statisticians, if ever they land on this blog post, would roll their eyes in disbelief; but some times, I have realised, that these ultra-smart people don't really recognize that there exists a world that is completely oblivious to this field and in fact, does not care about it.

I must be honest! I arrived at EDHEC, quite unprepared.  That is very relative and I have had numerous and lengthy discussions with my classmates on how EDHEC had not provided us with the adequate information. The course was intended for people with 'no or little background in finance' (as their website still says). Unfortunately, their interpretation of 'no or little' is highly contestable. EDHEC believed that the statement means, that you should already know about linear Regressions, so you could proceed easily towards Multiple Regression and then go on to understand Heterskedasticity and Homoskedasticity and then finally, the ARCH and GARCH Model. Although I do say finally, it was not finally. It expected people to learn programming in less than 18 hours!

Well, all said and done, I did manage to learn a lot. I was going through a sentence yesterday and I was surprised that at the start of the year, I had not understood it and now I did. I will give it here: "Assumptions of the methods do not coincide with the nature of your research problem - For example, you make a claim about mean-reversion of stock returns and your methodology assumes a geometric Brownian motion."

Although EDHEC was the reason for me to be in Nice, it fulfilled almost a 10-year long desire to learn and improve my French. I had started learning French back in India, but coming to France and improving it here has been simply the best way possible. I had seen a documentary on a travel show a few years back about the French Riviera, and I had thought at that time - "I want to go and live there for some time". When I started skiing not too long ago, I had dreamed of skiing in the Alps and last Winter, not only did I ski in the French Alps, but I also went to Chamonix Ski Resort, where Mont Blanc is located. My first weekend in France, I went to Monte Carlo and experienced one of the most glamorous nights ever. It has been a fabulous year, socially. I have travelled over the last year to Paris, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Geneva, Mont Blanc, Antibes, Cannes, St.Paul de Vence, Eze, Villefranche-sur-mer, Rome, Pisa, Florence and Prague. That list just boggles me.

I have met people in EDHEC from so many countries that it is even difficult to count any more. And, each one as amazing as the previous. The almost intoxicating mix of cultures has been the highlight of my stay in France. I have made friends from so many countries! It feels amazing!

Currently, I am doing an internship at the JW Marriott hotel in Cannes, and although it's not the best and I continue my search for something better, I am working in CANNES!!! Right by the beach!!! 

France has been great to me. And, words fail me to thank this country. The people are extremely nice and very hospitable. The food is great. I have some excellent French friends. Very few French people know how to speak English, but when they see that a non-French is making an effort to speak French, they try to help you and are very much impressed by you. However, some times it has been quite funny that I speak to someone in French and that other person speaks to me in English. I love the French culture. I love it because they are proud of their own language and their own culture and do not feel the need to emulate others. That is what I feel for Maharashtra, my state in India and my mother tongue Marathi. I can understand their thought process because although it's a different country and a different language, the feeling of pride is the same.

 

 



 

It is next to impossible to express your gratitude when there are so many things to be grateful about. How do I say thank you? How do I measure my experiences over the last year? How do I measure my learning? I have been so enriched over the last year that it is humbling.

However, the biggest question of all is;

Where do I go from here?