Sooo, my parents gave me a pleasant surprise over the phone recently. They decided they will be flying from Muscat, Oman to Houston to visit me for my graduation. It was something unexpected since my father is in transition period between 2 jobs and he’s super occupied with it.

It’s increased my excitement for graduation alot. I cannot wait for the graduation ceremony and seeing my parents standing proudly by my side with the biggest grins on their faces! More than mine, it was my father’s dream to see me graduate with a respectable degree from a respectable university such as UoH.

It makes me happy seeing them happy. I wish for nothing more than happiness. I don’t think I have earned this degree. I think my parents have because if it wasn’t for them & their hard work to get me here, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it!

Yes, It’s that part of my life where a new chapter is about to begin. 2 weeks away from graduation. Bringing about a lot of mixed emotion of excitement & nervousness.

Excitement because I am about to complete a Bachelor’s degree after working my way through 5 years of school. It molded me into a better version of myself. Taught me about the realities of life, how to pick friends and maintain relationships. It has prepared me for a professional career that I soon hope to embark on.

Nervousness because I am finally about to enter a world where experimenting and making mistakes is no longer an option. I will be responsible for all the consequences for every decision I make (it’s scary)!

I think it’s time I put on my big boy pants and face the realities of what is coming my way. Take it up as a challenge and face it head on! 😀

You know my professional struggles. But there is a a side of me that just like to kick back, relax and do something that brings me true peace of mind. I am an avid reader of mystery and suspense books. I wont name any but if i hear a good review on a book, I will read it. My other hobby is gaming. Yes, I love to play video games. I know, reading and gaming are two extremes but it works out….LOL.

Started out with my first online video game playing League of Legends in 2011. Played it consecutively on a daily basis religiously for 4 years. (Yeah, I know sounds crazy!). Realized it had taken over my life so I quit playing until recently a very popular game came along the way. I am sure you’ve heard about it. Fortnite.

Yes, Fortnite. It’s my new video game addiction. (Not as bad as league) I am way more improvised on time management when it comes to gaming now. But, yeah to give you an idea, Fortnite is a battle royale game where 100 players drop down on an island, scavenge for weapons and materials to survive attacks from other players. Sounds basic but it’s alot of fun. Strategizing.

But, yeah. these are my hobbies in a nutshell.

So y’all read my previous post on my educational background. Now let’s talk about the real life struggles upon graduating in December. I have a decent academic background for bachelor’s degree graduate. I have good professional skills which are essentially referred to as “good habits” by companies. But then, why is it that it’s going to be a struggle for me to land a job…..?

Answer is, experience. I have zero professional environment experience. But as a college graduate, you’re not expected to have any. So why the trouble? Every company looks for professionals that have at-least 2 years working experience to hire them even on entry level positions; a bachelor graduate doesn’t have it and doesn’t qualify for jobs. This creates a vicious circle which is tough to break out of.

Solution to it? Networking. If you’ve built a strong network over your academic career with your faculty, peers and other professionals you’ve come across, and maintained good relations with them over the time, you can use it as an opportunity to line up interviews and possible get picked up for one of those. Win – Win Situation.

So, yeah. That’s exactly what I am doing. Planted the seeds of graduation in my networks. It’s now a waiting game as to how fruitful the opportunities are when they present themselves!

So yeah, you guys saw how I am graduating with a double business degree and thats great, right? It’ll get me a good job, good pay, leading to me living a comfortable life. But that isn’t my true passion.

Everyone has a true passion. Some love cooking, some love volunteering and so on…. me on the other hand? I am true a petrol head/speed demon. I love cars. I love driving them. I love looking at them. I love working on them. Most of all, I love taking them on a high speed sprint.

The roar of an engine when it comes to life pumps me up with adrenaline. I love that feeling. I am a speed devil too. The fastest I’ve ever clocked out a car is at 150 mph. It was ’14 Chevy Camaro SS v8 turbo charged engine.

Speed thrills but kills? True. I cant stress enough how unsafe high speed driving is. An immature shouldn’t do it at any cost. I didnt start driving at high speeds out of the blue. I have been through immense defensive driving training over the ears. The kind of training they give that shows you the reality and consequences of high speed driving and what should be done in a moment of error.

The training taught me discipline. Now I use those skills to enjoy driving to the maximum. Yeah, I’d choose driving over sleep in a road trip! Haha!

Hey guys, welcome to the section of my blog that describes my educational background. I was brought up in Muscat, Oman (an unknown, yet one of the most peaceful countries in the middle east/world) . Having been brought up in the middle east, I was very much accustomed to the Arab culture. Even so, I did attend an Indian school known as Indian School Muscat until grade 10. After which, I switched over to the British School Muscat for my grade 11 & 12.

Going to a British School opened my eyes to the real world. The faculty showed me different options of careers that I could pick and pursue without any pressure. Even then, through grade 11 & grade 12, I was unable to decide a major for myself. It wasn’t because I was not taking keen interest but because I was so amused by the different options, i didn’t know how to pick one over the other! (Everyone’s been here)

That being the case, it lead my path to the US where I applied to Lone Star college in Houston since going to a community college gave me an additional year to decide my future career while I was taking the freshman classes. Eventually, I decided I wanted to pursue a degree in MIS(Management Information Systems) and applied to the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston.

After completing 3 successful semesters in this prestigious school, I decided i wanted to step up my degree to the next level before graduating and decided to do a double major in Marketing(Best decision ever). I think this was a good decision because it is going to pave a strong path into the opening moments of my career because it’ll give me an edge over the competition.

Imagine a person who knows IT systems and can successfully market it. (Yeah, that’s a jackpot for an IT based company). Currently, I am a super senior graduating in Fall 2018 and I am very excited for what my future holds for me!

A little on who I am? Hi, my name is Murtaza Eski. I am currently a student at the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston. Being a super senior, I am excited to be graduating this fall with double BBA Majors in Marketing & Management Information Systems. It’s a big milestone that I have achieved. Not to mention, I have made my family proud with this accomplishment.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton