{"id":1464,"date":"2016-12-01T13:50:58","date_gmt":"2016-12-01T12:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=62808"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:06","slug":"welcome-to-the-real-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/12\/01\/welcome-to-the-real-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the real world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

It\u2019s 8 p.m. on Friday evening as I get on my bike. It\u2019s not the first time that I realise that my summer coat isn\u2019t made for cold autumn winds, but buying a winter coat hasn\u2019t been my priority in recent weeks, and especially not now, not tonight.<\/p>\n

My almost eternal summer has come to an end and it\u2019s about time I admit it. An entire summer spent on the Adriatic Sea and you almost forget what a coat even is.<\/p>\n

Yes, I spent a full summer in Croatia, sailing young people from island to island as a skipper for a holiday organization, and yes, that\u2019s as good as it sounds. The early morning swims in the crystal clear water to get your day properly started, the massive floating festivals on the open sea and the fine dining at medieval castles with stunning views: the organization\u2019s motto \u201cNothing Like The Real World\u201d will never be more appropriate than for this radical event.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, none of that\u2019s happening right now. My short bike commute to the campus has ended and I arrive at the Polak building, commonly known as a fancy yet sad excuse for a university library. The bright artificial lights, the groaning people and the numerous empty coffee cups leave no room for illusions: there\u2019s no summer to be found here.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in between the empirical evidence supporting a two-tier board and a revisited formula of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital, my focus fades away and I\u2019m back in Croatia, partying at yet another out-of-this-world venue, napping in my hammock, drinking champagne while anchored in a natural bay and racing in the regatta against 50 other yachts: am I finally<\/em> going to win this time?<\/p>\n

The PA voice abruptly awakens me from my daydream. It\u2019s 11.50 p.m. and the Polak building is closing in ten minutes. Great. This means that I have exactly 13 hours and 40 minutes left to know everything about capital structures in an assumed hypothetical environment with a perfect and rational capital market and where information asymmetry does not exist, before my exam starts. Welcome to the real world.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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