I Thought I Had To Become A CPA
After graduating from Rider University with a degree in Accounting in 2015, my objective was to continue studying to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). This was the progression a recent graduate in my field would typically follow; therefore, I felt compelled to pursue it. I never really asked myself why I wanted to do it, or if it even made sense for me. I had the notion my career wouldn’t be complete unless I became a CPA, and worst of all, I was seeking it mainly to achieve a certain level of status, and to fulfill a societal expectation.
At the end of the summer in 2018, three years had passed since I graduated, and I had made minimal progress towards completing the CPA license requirements. In fact, I was about to put it off once again by taking an expensive trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The difficulty of the process and the amount of hard work it entailed was intimidating and I kept avoiding it. To get the license, I had to earn another fifteen college credits and pass a series of tests in the areas of tax, audit, regulations, and financial reporting.
I had never travelled by myself before and it was terrifying to me. Going on a solo journey for a couple of days, challenging the perception I had of always having to travel with companionship, would have forced me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to grow. Having spent almost an entire weekend researching lodging, transportation and entertainment for an ideal trip to Cabo, suddenly I felt a mindset shift. Realizing how much money I was willing to spend, I said to myself, “I could actually invest this on a CPA prep course instead and start studying for the tests.” Right then I abandoned all my travel plans and a day later I purchased an eighteen-month subscription to a CPA review course and its complementary books.
The end goal was audacious and seemed far out of reach, however I knew that committing to the process and working persistently was going to be a tremendous learning endeavor. Regardless of the outcome, it was going to facilitate plenty of growth, as well as provide an opportunity for positive change and self-development. Reflecting on my shot at a professional soccer career the year prior and recognizing how much it changed my life for the better, gave me the perspective, confidence and courage I needed to make this attempt.
Given it was almost the end of September, and the last CPA testing window of 2018 was fast approaching, I decided to sign up for the tax exam and effectively had about twelve weeks to prepare for it. At this point in my life I was working a full-time job, thus my plan was to study before office hours, and after when feasible, then as much as possible on the weekends. Also, I wanted to stay physically active by strength training at the gym a few times a week and playing soccer on Sundays with a team in an adult league.
The thought of enduring another difficult process and having a test date on the calendar stimulated me. Aware of my limited knowledge in this subject matter, I tried to mitigate feeling overwhelmed by seeking some guidance. I knew of Danielle, who attended the same university as I did, and had gotten her CPA license a few years prior. I hadn’t kept in touch with her for a while, nonetheless I decided to reach out. When I contacted Danielle, she seemed thrilled to find out I was aiming to complete the CPA requirements. Soon after we got on a long and informative phone call. She answered my questions, shared her experience and gave me valuable tips and suggestions on ways to effectively approach the exams. At the end of the conversation, Danielle mentioned being impressed by the decision I had made to pursue the CPA license while also working a full-time job. I couldn’t have been more grateful for her, as not only did she pass on her useful knowledge about what it takes to become a CPA, but also sparked great motivation in me with words of encouragement.
Asking for advice was always uncomfortable for me, as I had the perception I would be “bothering” the other person, so I would often choose to follow a self-sufficient route. Recognizing the value of asking for support was humbling and taught me an important lesson: Most people are always happy and willing to help others. Furthermore, it led me to understand embracing one’s weaknesses and relinquishing pride are paramount to maturing as an individual and becoming more courageous.
As soon as I got access to the studying materials, I was eager to start executing my daily plan. Most days I woke up at 4:30am, ate a small breakfast, headed to the local Starbucks, studied until about 8:15am then I drove to work. After leaving the office between 5pm and 6pm, I got a cup of coffee, went down to the tower lobby, and studied for a couple more hours until around 9pm, unless I went to the gym after work. On the weekends, I went to the gym or to play soccer, typically in the morning, and I studied as many hours as possible before and after. Remaining focused and consistent with the studying routine I had developed gave me drive and facilitated steady progress in terms of absorbing content.
As my confidence increased a little bit each day, I began to appreciate the process more and found it easier to avoid distractions, such as going out for social events or activities and engaging in media entertainment. In fact, sitting and studying for hours at a coffee shop, a library, or the lobby at work, while sipping on a cup of coffee became rather enjoyable for me. With the day of the exam getting closer, I realized I was slightly behind schedule in terms of reviewing the material within the tax section thoroughly. Because of the limited time I had, I knew I was not going to have the chance to carefully analyze some of the concepts. This provoked a bit of anxiety in me, since I would have preferred not to rush through any of the information I needed to study. Nevertheless, I tried to focus on what was under my control in the time that I had left – learn as much as possible, get some practice tests done and develop the best test-taking strategy I could.
On the day of the exam, I got up at around 6am, had breakfast and immediately after, I crammed in some last-minute principles and ideas I didn’t fully grasp. At 11am I put away all my studying materials, took a shower, and drove to the testing center about 30 minutes away from home. Upon arriving at the site, I put my belongings in a locker, went through a rigorous identification and security procedure, until I finally entered the test room and sat in front of a computer in a cubicle. I felt nervous, but relatively confident in the knowledge I was able to acquire in the time I had dedicated to studying. The exam was structured in multiple parts with a time limit to complete each one. This factor of time added pressure, however, I managed to stay calm and answered all the questions to the best of my ability. After completing the test in a couple of hours, I exited the building and drove home feeling relieved and content with the effort I had put in, not only taking the test, but most importantly preparing for it in the previous three months.
Two weeks had gone by since I took the exam, when I found out that I did not pass. The next CPA testing window was in April of 2019, and I had the option to either retake the tax exam or sign up for any of the other three sections. Although I wasn’t devastated by not passing, I got somewhat discouraged. I knew I had to move on, consider my options going forward and plan accordingly. Consequently, I decided to take the exam on financial reporting - the densest section in terms of volume of information, requiring a longer preparation period. Because I wanted to prevent rushing through any of the content again, I started studying right away.
I didn’t change much as far as the behaviors I had adopted while approaching the previous test, and for the first several weeks I felt the same drive, confidence and joy in my daily progress. In retrospect, I believe implementing better nutrition and recovery strategies would have significantly enhanced my performance by stabilizing my energy levels and increasing my mental clarity. More specifically, I would have introduced intermittent fasting and regulated my sleeping pattern to at least seven hours per night. After the twelve-week effort toward the tax exam, I understood that the number of hours spent studying doesn’t equate to effective retention of information. Several times I found myself trying to study just to go through new content, but dozing off due to exhaustion, and this only impaired my learning efficiency.
Towards the last five or six weeks of the test preparation schedule I had been consistently following; I began to feel drained and indifferent about the subjects I was going through. Therefore, I realistically assessed the progress I had made and how confident I felt about the material I had taken in thus far. I realized I was going to need more time to reach a proper level of readiness to take the test. This meant I had to wait until the next CPA testing window around July of 2019. Given such circumstances, and the fact that I didn’t pass any of the four exams until then, I also had to consider whether it made sense to make another large investment in renewing my subscription to the CPA review course. It was due to expire within one year and it was unrealistic for me to pass all four exams in this time frame.
I took the opportunity to pause, reflect and ask myself if continuing this pursuit was truly worth it. I couldn’t justify it and recognized it wasn’t what I wholeheartedly wanted. Subconsciously, I knew I was not following a true passion of mine and was mostly doing it because of perceived societal pressure. Learning to let go of it all and accept failure was life-changing and freeing.
This experience served to reinforce what I had discovered to be a useful belief: Committing to a bold and meaningful objective offers a chance to evolve in unexpected ways, independently of the desired outcome. Forming supportive habits and routines along the way, while becoming intentional, strategic and deliberate with one’s decisions and actions can be transformative. Also, one can gain valuable knowledge about favorable behaviors and environments to lean towards, for the creation of a healthier and more fulfilling life.
Moving on allowed me to focus my attention on the next season of my life. It encompassed a scary reality I was going to have to face sooner or later. I was $60,000 in debt, meaning it was time to build courage and make the required sacrifices to pay it off as soon as possible.