Who IS MBA Cutie? -- FAQ

Today I write to you not as Cutie, but as the creator of Cutie. I started this blog last November, mostly out of frustration with the MBA Application process and to improve my writing skills. Over time, MBA Cutie has developed and taken on a personality of her own, not entirely MBA related. Over the past few months, friends of mine and my blog readers have asked me various questions about me and MBA Cutie. I plan to answer the most common questions here.

Who is MBA Cutie? Is she really you?

Well... she is loosely based around me and my life, but some of the things that happen to MBA Cutie are fictionalized or dramatized. MBA Cutie has grown and changed during her time as a blogger. When she started out, she was a little stiff. One of the coolest things about MBA Cutie is that she openly says things that many people are thinking, but are afraid to say themselves. To a one extent, she is me, but she's only one dimension of me. She's the dimension I choose to show on this blog. To another extent, she isn't me, because I create her, I decide what happens to her, I modify events in my life and in the lives of people I know to make them "blog-worthy". She's more my creation than anything else.

Well then, who IS MBA Cutie?

She's not afraid to speak her mind, even if it makes other people cringe. She's exciting, and she lives for the moment. She is happy with herself. But to develop a relatable and likeable characteristic to her, I have tried to make her real. She is trying to figure out who she is, she questions the way she acts and the way others act towards her, she wonders why things are the way they are, and she does get hurt. As MBA Jackass said, there are haters. But then, there will always be haters. No one likes everyone all the time. I'm working on a fiction novel outside of this blog, and I regularly reread entries to draw ideas to develop my characters in that novel.

Will you continue to write as MBA Cutie once you are at Ross?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I would like to, and I think the Cutie character can take on an interesting perspective while at Ross. On the downside, however, since I'm not exactly anonymous, it may be more difficult to protect the anonymity of people I know there as opposed to now, where my social contacts are not all in one community.

Hey Cutie, I think you wrote about me! But I told you that stuff months ago, not yesterday! What's the deal? Where do you get ideas on what to write about?

Haha, you have discovered the key to chronological disorder! I may or may not have been influenced by you. In fact, I may have been influenced by more than just you, but it took me a little while to form an opinion and then to be able to write. I write about a lot of things out of order to protect the anonymity of people who I may be referring to in my blog. Also, in real life, some life events just happen at times that aren't opportune. The benefit of creating a character like MBA Cutie is that I can have things happen to her when I want them to happen to her. Most of my writing topics come from life. My friends will talk to me about something, I will hear something on the radio, or something will happen to me ... and then I write about it.

So what's up with Cutie and the youngin'? Was he real?

I knew this question was coming! He's relatively real, he is based on someone I met. However, Cutie's timeline with him did not follow the same order of events that happened in real life (whether that's shorter or longer or just in disorder, I cannot reveal). Some events and emotions with the youngin' were fabricated. Also, I started feeling that the Cutie & the Youngin' story line needed to be phased out. Cutie is about to embark on a very exciting few months: confusion, moving, new environments, and new people. It's time to pick up some new story lines.

Do you care if people know who you are as the writer of this blog?

Not really, but I think that by knowing who I am, it could ruin the experience of reading this blog. Part of the allure of the MBA Cutie is that you don't really know who she is, and so she becomes what you want her to be.

Why did you pick the blogging name MBA Cutie?

I was applying to B-school at the time and wanted to pick a name that was fun and flirty.

What advice do you have for people (especially women) who want to pursue their MBA?

GO FOR IT! And don't be afraid to be different. The business world may have promoted conformity for years, but the best and brightest ideas come from people who can see the world differently than anyone else. I especially encourage people who would not conventionally consider an MBA to look into it. An MBA can give you the skills to make visions into reality, successfully, skillfully, and with credibility.