Dear CA Students,
Many of us expect life to be smooth and without any challenges. But the reality is that life is made of day & night, happiness & sorrow and success & failures. The sooner we accept this duality of life, the better it is for us.
I have had a good share of challenges in the last 10 years and I strongly feel that it has grown me far more than anything else. It has been a painful but liberating process of metamorphosis. There is a saying that "no pressure, no diamonds" and I feel that's true for everyone.
I would like to share my journey with the intention to inspire some of you to face challenges with far more strength & calmness and emerge victorious in your journey.
I am here to share my journey to let you know that you are not alone. If I can, you can do it too. I hope my story and its ups and downs will resonate with some of you. I aim to inspire you and give you a little push to keep moving on.
CPT: My encounter with the first failure
It all started when my peers from school brought the CA prospectus at our farewell. I registered for CPT and started preparing for the exams. I underestimated the efforts required and gave CPT without proper preparation. As a result, I failed the exam and it was quite a shock for me because I was a bright student in my school. I could not take it well at that time. However, with my parent's support, I again gave my exams and cleared the exam in 2nd attempt.
Here, I learned that failure is temporary and it is not forever. Right preparation is all that is needed to turn a failure into success. This marked the start of my CA journey!
IPCC: A journey to becoming tougher
I studied at Delhi University and managing time was a task back then. During my final year, I started preparing for IPCC rigorously. I gave my first attempt and I again could not clear the exam. This cycle continued for the next three attempts. At this juncture, I also thought of leaving CA but my parents kept encouraging me to keep going.
I cleared my first group of IPCC in November 2011. With this success, I was relieved that I am capable of doing this. Meanwhile, I joined the CA articleship and kept appearing for the second group.
During this time, an unexpected event shook my life. I lost My Father. It was devastating for me and I have no words to express how I felt at that time. My whole world came crashing down. I lost hope in everything, including myself. All I wanted to do was stop giving exams and get a job to support my family.
Sometimes, it is mere few words that can give us strength in the situation of utmost despair.
There is a dialogue in the movie "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" which goes like this
"Kuch waqt do, sab theek ho jaega". (Give some time, everything will fall in place.)
This one dialogue gave me immense stillness in times of extreme distress. I remembered it whenever situations became overwhelming. In June 2014, I cleared my second group of IPCC. Finally, now I was a CA finalist!
In this tough phase, I learned two things.
"Pain is inevitable but suffering is a choice" and one has to find an anchor to one's ship during a storm to survive. For me, it was just one dialogue from the movie.
CA Final: Thirteen attempts and the triumph!
I had around 9 months in my hand to prepare for CA Final May 2015 attempt after passing IPCC. I did my classes of all the subjects, studied and appeared for my exams. But the result was negative. Again, my confidence tanked. I kept appearing for exams, sometimes, giving both groups as well. But the streak of failures continued for 10 attempts.
Somewhere around Feb 2020, I had lost the zeal to study each and every paper again. I did not know how to improve my marks or do things differently. There was no one to guide and show the right direction. However, I had no choice but to keep fighting. I knew if I gave up studying, I will be asked to get married. Frankly, in order to save myself from getting married, I filled up May 2020 exam form for the second group.
But the unexpected happened and the entire country went into lockdown due to COVID and May 2020 exams were postponed. This time was quite difficult as my overthinking was at an all-time high. I had invested more than 10 years in my journey and I had no result in my hand. With each extension of the attempt, I questioned my CA journey. I constantly doubted myself and thought I will be nowhere professionally if I did not clear CA. At this point, I didn't have the courage to ask my family to give me money for pursuing something else. They may not have denied but inner conscience did not allow it.
I knew I had it in me to clear the exams. All I needed was proper guidance, someone who can tell me where I was going wrong and how to change my study strategy. I have always believed in the idea that the universe grants you what you need the most when you ask for it diligently.
In July 2020, I stumbled upon Ashutosh Sir & IGNITE. After one conversation with him, I joined the IGNITE core program. Every day was incredible! I learned study strategies that changed my preparation game altogether. More than just strategies, IGNITE imbibed virtues of discipline, consistency, and self-awareness in me. But the most valuable thing that I gained was to smile and love myself again. IGNITE was indeed once in a lifetime experience and turning point in my CA Final journey. One of the key things that Sir always emphasized was giving tests on a weekly basis. It proved to be a game-changer for me.
I gave only the second group in Nov 2020 and I finally cleared in this attempt. This success was a life breather for me just like how one would find water in the middle of the desert. I just can't express how I felt when I cleared in this attempt after a continuous streak of 10 failures. It's beyond words.
I gave July 2021 attempt but I did not clear it. However, this loss didn't hamper my enthusiasm. I developed a certain level of steadfastness because of my journey and I kept my focus on efforts rather than results. Being an old course student, Dec 2021 was the last attempt and I decided to give my 100%. I did last 5 years' MTPs, RTPs, and exam papers and I gave my exam.
On the result day, my hands were trembling. I typed my roll number with shaking hands. As the mark sheet flashed on my screen, the only words I saw were "PASS". I just ran to my mother and rested my head in her lap. This was it! I was finally a Chartered Accountant! This day was one of the best days of my life and I still remember every moment of it.
In the end, everything was worth it! The 13 attempts in CA Final were extremely testing but I had sailed through them and reached my goal. I can now add two coveted letters before my name. I feel the value of earning these two letters is best known by those who really struggle to earn them.
In the end, I would like to share some life lessons that I learned during my CA journey. I wish someone had told me this earlier in my journey.
If you have a dream, pursue it to the fullest. No matter what happens, do not leave it before you have given your best. Every destination will have a journey full of obstacles. It is on us, how we navigate our way.
Trust yourself and the process and have patience! You will grow as you keep marching ahead. There will be people who will say bitter things unintentionally. It may pull you down and make you question your worth. To push through this, become self-aware and set your eyes on the goal. CA is a journey of transformation from a rock to a diamond. You will have to go through high pressure to attain this qualification. It is part of the process and we all are strong enough to take it.
Find your anchors! I cannot emphasize enough the support my parents showed me in each failure that came my way. I am forever grateful to be their daughter. I am thankful to IGNITE for coming into my life as a ray of hope when I needed it the most and walking with me until the goal was accomplished.
Now I begin the journey of Chartered Accountant and am quite excited to take on new challenges. All the best to everyone who is aspiring to be a CA. I hope you will reach your aim with flying colors.
CAclubindia
