C.P.A.H.U.R.R.A.Y!

Una sa lahat, congrats to each and everyone of my batchmates. 100%. We left no one behind. And also to UP-Diliman in general. Obviously, 98% isn't a hundred, but we'll take it. To the topnotchers, saludo ako sa inyo. I always make it a point to tell people that the topnotchers were just an arm's length away from where I sat in the review. Hehe.

---

Now that the boards are finished, I wish I could say what the others are saying, that they're glad to have their lives back but I can't. In the first place, I never really had a drastic change in schedule. I never really studied seriously 5 months into the review. One week to go and I still studied 2 hours a day and slept at 11. I still surfed the net and watched TV. I still went out to see Ros. My parents gave me this advice: Put your life on hold, at least after the board exams. I'm sorry but I disobeyed them. Life's too precious to put on hold. Even if only for six months, even if it's for the boards. If it sounds a bit arrogant, it's not me talking, blame it on the euphoria of passing.

---

Looking back, reminiscing the exam, I realized that I was either brave or stupid or bravely stupid. This is because I took MS and P2 without knowing certain topics by heart. The night before MS, I told my self while studying, "Screw this, I'll just wing it tomorrow." Luckily, MS was relatively manageable. But I was stressed out from worrying, and I vowed to not let this happen again the following weekend. Not surpisingly, the same thing happened with P2, I took the exam without knowing how to compute for EUP, FIFO costing, spoilage, etc. I just prayed for at least 30 sure items.

---

"The review really doesn't help you. Your undergrad will determine the outcome of the board exam." My father gave this piece of advice before I started the review at CPAR. When I heard it, I was like, "Oh shiyet! Patay tayo dyan!" Basura undergrad ko e, so I was really banking on the powers of the (in)famous Valix and Guerrero Tag Team. You know what? He was right. Honestly speaking, only 20-40% of the review was actually used in the actual exam. To my batchmates, how much of the review helped you? I mean, really help you? And don't say 100%, you don't have to suck up and kiss Sir Valix's ass anymore since you already passed. The truth is, the benefit derived from the review is incremental to what you already know. It's either you know it or you don't. AGAIN, I would like to disclaim, if it seems arrogant, it's not me talking, it's the euphoria of passing.

---

For others, to become a CPA is a dream, it is an end, something to achieve, a goal that is set to be reached, the final destination, but I realized that for UP and for some students, becoming one isn't a dream, it's just a means of reaching a dream, a stepping stone, a road that would lead to something greater.

---

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

• To God, Jesus of Nazarene, St. Claire, St. Jude, Our Mother of Perpetual Help for the blessings.
  
• To my family, my sister for giving me a cash incentive for passing (a lousy thousand, but hey, it's still a thousand) my mother, for excusing me from the chores (even if she said that she looked older during my review because I didn't help her), my father for helping me appreciate the real world applications of audit theory, Mako, May and Jun, for just being there and for keeping me company at the hotel.
• To Ros, who believed in me even if I didn't at times. She was never stressed with the boards because she knew for a fact that I would pass. She never had the slightest doubt. I don't know if its blind faith or simply love, but thanks (I have a feeling it's love, though)
• To The Contemporary Hotel in Araneta Avenue for my accommodations though I didn't have the chance to use the pool, and the sisig and the pancit canton tasted the same.
• To my musical inspiration during the review, Johnny Cash. Please listen to Hurt, Help Me and When the Man Comes Around.
• To Yhca, for helping me overcome my mental block a few minutes before the exam by telling me when to accrue interest when computing for loan impairment and for telling me what AD meant in the formula for EOQ.
• To my batchmates, for the 100%. Kitakits na lang siguro.

Time to move on.

21:22