[MUSIC] Exactly a year ago I was
teaching here at IESE. A first year of teaching plenaries during
the communications course is a big deal for a lecturer. I was teaching in my country,
Poland, for the last 12 years. I've been a journalist for
the last 18 years. But IESE is something else,
as you probably already noticed. Demanding students, top notch professors,
there's no fooling around. And you know what? I felt great. I felt I'm in the right place,
I felt happy. I felt professionally prepared. That kind of feeling when you walked
onto campus and started studying here. I was a little nervous before
the first plenary session. So when I walked out of the practical
session at class, you know so well by now, I sneaked into the bathroom
to do a little breathing exercises. But in the meantime, I checked my phone
as I usually do in any break, and it said John was admitted to the hospital. I immediately stopped
thinking of my plenary and wrote back to my husband,
I'm coming back home tonight. My son was in the hospital in Poland
with a dangerous pain in his hip, and the initial diagnosis
did not look good. I rebooked my flight without giving it
a second thought, I did my plenary. I wrapped up the practical sessions,
took the luggage from the hotel, and started my trip back home. The minute I slammed the door to
a taxi taking me to the airport, I got some pretty intense hot flashes. What have I just done? I canceled everything like a hysterical,
crazy lady. I acted based on my emotions, and
this is a serious business school. I made a fool out of myself and they're never going to ask me
again to run IESE plenaries. That's the spirit I came back home with. It was, I must admit, pretty depressing. The next morning I woke up
early to go to the hospital and spend the day with my son. When I opened the door to
my son's hospital room, a mom accompanying another
kid in the room shouted out, you're finally here,
he was waiting for you all that time. And then I knew I made the right
decision to come back home. I knew that my gut feeling
was not failing me. My intuition was not failing me. Because no school and no job, no matter how good they are,
is going to be your home. No school and no job,
no matter how prestigious they are, is going to be your forever. Your home and
your forever are the people you love, the ones who love you and need you. Your forever is this,
I'm coming back home tonight.