Page 271 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Chapter 27

Harvard (2003)

‘ I had never been a man with a plan. I had always taken

life a week at a time and followed instincts rather than

a roadmap. ’

got on the plane to Boston without any clear expectations
I about what I would learn or who I would meet. I was just
really, really excited. I wasn’t doing the course to get a job at the
end of it; I just wanted to learn for the sake of learning and I found
that quite thrilling. I had this image of Harvard students –
clean-cut preppy types with satchels and floppy hair – and I was
eager to experience a little of the freedom and optimism that I
associated with being a student. When my plane landed and I told
the taxi driver to take me to Harvard, I felt great.
Throughout the admissions process I had been told that the
AMP was so intensive that I wouldn’t have time for anything else.
I didn’t believe them. After all, I was the guy who could work
eighteen hours a day and do the work of three people. Maybe most
people couldn’t do anything else, but I was sure I would have time
to relax and enjoy the student lifestyle. My God was I wrong! They
said it was an intensive course, but, three days in, I had to reassess
my definition of intensive.

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