There is a life that you cannot even imagine now.

And it is waiting for you if you work hard.

Last week, I attended the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle, US. This is the most important annual conference in our field, so most researchers all around the world attended this conference. In every INFORMS conference, we have a tradition of organizing an alumni meeting as METU graduates, mostly industrial engineers. There are hundreds of METU graduates working as academics, research scientists, and engineers all around the world, so this is a great opportunity for us to meet old friends from our college days and meet with new ones who may have graduated well before or after us.

I love these meetings. These meetings are the things that I enjoy the most during academic conferences. Even for some of us, these meetings are the only reason why we attend INFORMS Annual meetings.

This year, I had very interesting conversations with some of my friends there. In one of them, my friend said

“I had no idea that the life I am living now even existed, let alone that it could ever be an option for me.”

I said, “Yes, this is exactly how I feel about my life.”

Let me explain. In our generation, most kids like me from middle-class families were raised with the following expectations:

• Go to a good college.

• Graduate with good grades.

• Get a job in an established firm with a stable salary.

• Get marry.

• Have kids.

• Work 9-to-5 until you retire.

That’s it. Nobody told us that

• We can study abroad.

• We can have a graduate degree from top schools all around the world.

• We can build a life in a developed country.

• We can buy a house in a developed country.

• We can raise a family wherever we want.

• We don’t need to work for a traditional 9-to-5 job.

• We can enjoy our lives before retirement.

• Where we are born does not necessarily define how we will live.

We should not blame our parents for not telling us these because they did their best within their capabilities and vision.

I don’t have kids to say that “the sky is the limit” and to encourage them to live a big life yet, but I feel obliged to tell my young readers that

• You CAN study abroad.

• You CAN have a graduate degree from top schools all around the world.

• You CAN build a life in a developed country.

• You CAN buy a house in a developed country.

• You CAN raise a family wherever you want.

• You DON’T need to work for a traditional 9-to-5 job.

• You CAN enjoy your life before retirement.

• Where you are born DOES NOT necessarily define how you will live.

And the only way that I know to achieve this is through EDUCATION, not necessarily through a formal degree but by improving yourself every day.

Question: Are you living a life better than your dreams?

Cheers,

Sidika