A Journey of Twists and Turns
My CMA story is nothing unusual. In life, there will always be ups and downs. I made my first step towards this goal on the summer of 2017. I was still a student of UST-AMV College of Accountancy then. Having our last semester on the months after, I decided to take up CMA review with the January-February testing window as my target date of examination.
My friends and I have set our minds to become medalists, taking both parts in the same testing window. It was a feat that, during that time, was close to impossible, juggling our academic life with this new goal. With this in mind, we did our best to reach the impossible, studying every day, day in and day out. I have tried different methods, working on index cards, manila papers, yellow pad papers, business pad papers, cellphone notes, notebooks, fillers, handouts, you name it!
From the start of our summer 2017 until January of 2018, I have been studying hard for part 1. My mistake? I completely neglected part 2, with my exam date on the latter part of February.
I took the part 1 exam in January, got out of the testing center, an hour to spare, with full confidence and high hopes that my score would be above 400. After that, I gave my mind a week’s time to rest and relax my brain.
February came, and it came fast. By the first week of February, I am cramming all of part 2 in my head, missing out on writing formulas on index cards, on manila papers, basically everything. All I had time to do was to review the handouts and write on yellow pad papers.
My testing date was fast approaching, and I could not concentrate on studying part 2 because of overthinking, and I keep on feeling that all hope’s lost in being a medalist. I wanted to quit, but on the day of my exam, I pushed myself out of bed and went to the testing center.
I finished the multiple-choice questions in less than 2 hours, and I closed my eyes, hoping and praying that I earned at least 50% score. I opened my eyes and stared at the “continue” button for 5 whole minutes and when the timer said I had 1 hour left for the MCQ, I clicked the button, again closed my eyes and prayed long and hard. I was relieved to see that the exam was taking me to the essay part. I used almost an hour and a half for my essay and believe me, I went out of the testing center still praying for good results.
After some time, results for the part 1 is out, I hurriedly open my e-mail full of excitement just to find out that I was way below the passing mark. I was devastated. I felt like my whole world crumbled. I kept on asking myself, “If I did this bad on part 1, what more hope do I have in part 2?” It took me the whole month to get over it, to the point where I even forgot to open my e-mail when the part 2 results were released. It was 2 days after the release when I realized I haven’t checked the results yet. I opened it and I cried when I saw that I am one-half done with the CMA exam. I passed the tougher Part 2 exam!
I immediately filed for a re-take of my part 1 and studied rigorously. During that time, I marched and graduated college, June 1 to be exact, and I continued studying right after. I took the exam by the end of June, with the thought in mind that this will be my last exam and I will pass the exam this time around. Results came shortly after, and I was glad I passed my retake on Part 2. With just the 2-year work experience I can now claim my right as a certified professional!
With this, I am currently taking up my bridging program in Colegio de San Juan de Letran, not giving up on my dreams, with the thirst for knowledge backing me up.
Every failure I come across makes me stronger and stronger still. My achievements aren’t the only things defining me. These setbacks, and how I manage to get back up on both feet completes the definition of myself. These comeback moments are what makes me who I am, a man of twists and turns, making the most out of everything, and that, is my CMA Journey.
Keep on striving for your goals. If I can do it, you can do it, too!
About the Author:
Julian Job Martinez is a graduate of BS in Management Accounting in the University of Santo Tomas. He passed and completed the CMA exam last May/June 2018 testing window. He is currently taking up BS in Accountancy in the Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Intramuros in pursuit of the Philippine Certified Public Accountant title so that he can maximize his potential in sharing his knowledge and expertise in the field.
