I write this story dahil gusto ko po i-share sa inyo how great our God is. 

I’m an average person and I came from a low profile family. Ang parents ko po ay marginal income earners lamang, though meron silang kinikita pero it is purely for subsistence only and sometimes kulang pa nga. 

Pagka-graduate ko ng highschool hindi na ako nag-atubili pa na mag-decide kung ano ang kukunin ko sa college since hindi din naman kaya ng parents ko na tustusan ang mga pangangailangan ko. Pero since mabait si God, one of my relatives shouldered my miscellaneous and other school fees. I chose Accountancy and Accountancy chose me. Kidding aside, ito ay marahil sa expenses: hindi masyado magastos compared to other programs and I am certain na madali ako makakahanap ng trabaho. In short nakapag-aral po ako at nakapagtapos. 

Throughout my four-year stint sa college, naging maayos naman ang takbo. Siguro normal lang po na may mga times na mahirap pero nakakaraos din naman. After graduation sa college (April 2015), instead of working immediately, I asked my parents na mag-review muna in preparation sa board examination (October 2015 CPA exam). Supportive naman po ang parents ko at yun I attended the review classes. Bago po nagsimula ang review, I made a vow sa sarili ko na I will be doing rigorous preparations, subukang sagutan lahat ng materials and pipilitin ko ipasa ang board exam whatever it takes. At yun nga nag-pursige ako mag review. 

In every preboard exams, pinipilit ko po maiangat ang grades ko, and yes, sa awa ng Diyos, naa-attain ko din naman. The day before the actual board exam, aral pa rin ako nang ara,l which is for me ay isang malaking pagkakamali. Dapat pala, I should have taken a rest that time. Noong araw kasi sa undergrad, when exam comes, I usually allocate at least one day to relax or do something other than studying para naman conditioned yung body pagdating ng exam. 

So nung time na yun, para akong nag-cram at feeling ko napa sobra ako, which is I am not used to. Tama pala sabi nila na anything na sobra ay hindi mabuti. At naging domino pa ang effect kasi hindi ako masyado nakatulog the night before the exam. Another thing pa na pagkakamali ko is that I kept overthinking sa mga pinaggagawa ko in every subject instead of focusing for the next subject at nagpadala din ako sa takot while taking the exam. 

Nang natapos ang board, I have the strong intuition na babagsak ako.  Despite of that intuition, I prayed hard. I asked Him if in case I cannot make it this year, help me to regain strength instead and guide me all throughout. Nung lumabas yung result I wasn’t aware. I received a lone text that contained the following message: “This is a just a mere postponement, take a good respite and bounce back again”. Sa isip ko, I guess dumating na yung kinatatakutan ko. I immediately check over the internet, but since hindi accessible ang website ng PRC that time, siguro marami ang umaaccess. So I opened my Facebook account instead, sa news feed one by one nakita ko yung names ng classmates ko with a CPA sa dulo ng pangalan nila. I waited for my turn but that didn't happen. 

My heart shattered that time. I failed! Opo, masakit po sobra. Hindi ko alam kung bakit or kung saan ako nagkulang. Masyado ko pong dinamdam. I even wept in tears. But life goes on no matter what. That time I made a list of my weaknesses, topics na hindi ko kabisado and I kept it. I decided to look for a job since I can no longer continue to take another set of review due to financial difficulties and at least man lang makatulong nang kaunti sa pamilya. And thank God, I’m employed one week after the release of CPALE result but not as a CPA.

I followed the advice, I took a good respite, a hiatus. For 1 year and 3 months starting from October 2015 to December 2016, sinet aside ko po yung review materials ko. Gala lang ng gala, enjoy dito, enjoy doon. Hanggang sa dumating ang panahon na I am totally healed and natanggap ko na. Opo, for me acceptance is the key to move forward. Inisip ko na lang the best and brightest are yet to come. Pero while working feel ko po merong kulang, tingin ko po meron akong kelangan i-achieve. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, i am certain na CPA title iyon! Nagkataon din ng nalaman ko na hahaba na daw ang coverage ng exams effective October 2017 for Business Law at Taxation. I weighed everything and I guess this is the time to make a comeback, ka ko. 

So immediately I tendered a resignation letter despite of the fact na I am about to be promoted as an Accounting Supervisor. Opo, never po ako nanghinayang sa position since alam ko po sa sarili ko na temporary lang iyon but having a license is permanent. Priceless po kung may CPA license ka. I am thankful na walang nagpigil sa akin yet they wished me a goodluck. Oo supportive po masyado yung department namin, especially yung immediate supervisor ko. Noong na-inform ko sya, I really thought na iho-hold ako but I was surprised nung sinabi niya, “Hindi kita pipigilan, professional development mo yan. Maganda position mo pag CPA ka. Alam ko papasa ka sa susunod mong take. See you at the top!” 

Nafeel ko po that time na papasa ako sa darating na MAY 2017 CPA exam. I took it as a sign from above. After I received my last pay check, naramdaman ko po na hindi ko pa rin pala ma-afford mag-enrol sa review center  and I am afraid that I can’t defray the necessary expenses, so I decided to undergo self-review. Opo nag self-review po ako from January 2017 until nag-board exam. I know risky siya pero I have to give a try. I have to give my best shot. Anyway I have a good number of review materials from CRC-ACE, and I guess hindi naman masyado nabago ang accounting standards for a short span of time except for few topics. So ayon nagsikap po ako aralin yung weaknesses ko especially yung mga topics na nailista ko from prior CPA exam. Naging maganda po ang takbo ng review sa bahay starting January 2017. Mas lalo akong naging ganado mag-aral dahil nadadaanan ko lahat ng topics kasi nga mas mahaba ang time ko mag review sa bahay. Na eenjoy ko sagutan yung mga quizzers at sample problems. 

Pero this gigil and optimism was overshadowed by grief. Approximately 45 days away from the actual board exam, my younger brother called me. Noong una hindi ko ma wari ang mga pinagsasabi niya. He keep on crying. Until such time na nalaman ko, na our father passed away. We bereaved his death lalo na po ako. Sobrang sakit po isipin, na with a blink of an eye, yung isa sa mga inspirasyon mo ay bigla na lang mawawala. Yung time na yun dun ko po nalaman how weak I was. Again my heart shattered into pieces. I really thought I am strong but that time, I felt that I am actually tired. 

Despite of that unfortunate event, I still trusted His plans and again I asked for strength. Strength na  sana I can take the board courageously without being affected. God and my family are my only refuge during that time. And yes, sa awa ng Diyos, natapos ko po lahat ng subjects. Nakapagtake po ako ng May 2017 CPA exam. But nung lumabas po yung result, exactly 9:00 pm ng May 29, 2017, nakita ko po yung surname ko pero iba ang first name. Hindi pala ako yun, wala po ako sa list ng passers. Pero wala po akong lungkot na naramdaman kahit katiting that time, siguro po manhid na ako.

Nung time na yun palagay ko po conditional examinee ako and nung available na ang ratings, dali dali ko pong tiningnan. Upon looking, my grades are above 75 except for business law. Oo conditional po ako for business law. Kahit nagkaganon, I'm thankful pa rin kay God since binigyan niya ako ng chance to take and hopefully pass the CPA exam. Right after nun, I looked for a job, para naman may maitulong ako sa pamilya. 

Habang nag-aantay ng October 2017 CPA exam, never po ako naging complacent. Everyday I read my notes and every weekends, especially pag walang work nagso-solve po ako ng problems. I even joined the review session sa CRC-ACE pa din, kasi nga concept-based sila at PETMALU ang mga reviewers. So talagang mag sisink-in yung mga tinuturo nila. Pagdating ng October 2017 CPA exam, I took the board for business law only. 

Mixed emotions po ang naramdaman ko after taking the exam. Siguro hindi ko na anticipate yung new topics ng masyado. Pero at the end of the day, masasabi ko po na ganap na akong CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT kahit wala pang result. Hindi sa nadalian ako, bagkus damang dama ko po kasi yung presence Niya upon taking the exam. I owe everything to Him. Nov. 2, 2017 ng lumabas yung result, approximately 11 pm. Nakatulog po ako nun dahil napuyat sa kakaantay at umasa sa "very soon" na results. At pag-gising ko ng 2 a.m., tadah! CPA na ako. Isa po ako sa napabilang na pumasa. In form, we waited 10 working days but in substance 18 days po hinintay namin pero masasabi ko po, na worth it ang paghihintay. Anyway sana'y din naman akong maghintay since birth.

A piece of advice lang po galing sa bumagsak, na condi at kalaunan pumasa. When you stumble, it's okay na damdamin. Opo, okay lang po umiiyak nang bongga. Kasi po that's one way to ease the pain. Pero right after, you have to STAND UP and SHAPE UP. HEED the lessons of failures, ilista mo yung mga pagkakamali mo or yung mga weaknesses mo. At paki-try po na wag na ulitin yung pagkakamali at gawing strengths yung weaknesses mo. At higit sa lahat BOUNCE BACK! You have to WIN the race. Kasi po, i highly believe na we are destined to be a CPA the moment we chose Accountancy. As to when and how, individually we have to figure it out. Marami po akong aral na  napulot while chasing the CPA title, at isa po dito ay HUWAG SUMUKO. Please bear in mind that in this world "You either WIN or LEARN". Just in case hindi ka nag succeed, don’t treat it as a failure, because failure surfaces only when you stop trying. So keep pushing. And lastly, do not ask for an easy CPA exam, because it will never be! Instead, ask for strength & guidance from Him for He is the source of everything. God bless at goodluck sa lahat ng mga CPA aspirants. You can do it mga LODI! Puso!!!

Sincerely,

Malupet Ang Kafaith, CPA