“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I remember the words that graced the entrance to the Operating Room in my grandfather's nursing home in Calcutta:

"I expect to pass through this world but once...
any kindness that I can show...
let me do it now...
for I shall not pass this way again."

Our lives may be fleeting moments in eternity, but the possibility that lies within these ephemeral moments is far wider than we often allow ourselves to believe.

What will I do with this one wild and precious life?

I will treasure this moment given to me, and give of myself in return;
Seek to marry strength with sensitivity, aspiration with humility;
Support the irrepressible human spirit that finds expression in great music, great art, great poetry;
Celebrate the beauty in every smile;

I will try to give others the most precious gift that my parents have given me
– the freedom and empowerment to make choices for oneself –
because it is through these choices that we understand who we are,
and grow into the person we were meant to become.

And... I will remember to say thank you.

— Soma Mukherjee

The Portrait Project

Each year we ask our classmates a straightforward, simple question taken from the lines of a poem by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Mary Oliver. We share with you intimate and candid responses to this question, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Concept and photography: Tony Deifell, MBA '02

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