Journey to the 3 Letters After My Name

I bet you are wondering what letters is she talking about lol.

A couple of years back I had the courage to embark on my CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) journey. I had toyed with the idea for a few years as I was not sure if that was something I really wanted to do (talk about adulthood decisions).

I had everything planned out from start to finish. I love being in control so I mapped out my schedule and knew exactly when I will take my breaks and finish the whole program. I knew it was going to be challenging but I underestimated how this was going to stretch me. Fast forward to now, I have had to retake exams 4 times and take some breaks which I never accounted for in my original plan. As a sensitive person (I mean verrry sensitive) every “Fail” was accompanied by tons of tears.

For so long I have felt like I can’t talk about this journey until I have earned the designation which comes with the letters “CPA” after my name. There is also a part of me saying there might be someone going through the same thing and they feel alone so talk about it. So here I am talking about it. It has not been easy and I’m very much aware that it is not meant to be easy. If I’m being honest, sometimes I feel ashamed that it’s taking me this long to get it done. Sometimes I wonder; will I ever get it done? Is this for me? Should I quit? NO! NO! 2021 WE ARE NOT QUITTING! I know it will mean the world to me seeing this through.

Seeing fellow candidates earn their stripes is a double-edged sword. It reminds me that this is doable, and I too can do it. On the other end, it stings really bad. The sting comes with a voice in my head that says, “Are they not your mates?! What are you still doing?!”.

I have had to catch myself, be kind, and remind myself that good things take a lot of work and time. There is nothing wrong with taking a break and continuing when I am in a good mental space. I must remind myself that this is not a sprint it’s a marathon, so I need to celebrate every little step that I manage to take (I have passed 3 out of 7 modules so that’s something right?). Be happy for those who have achieved their 3 letters and understand that we all have different paths. Maybe this might not be my path but only time will tell and when that time comes, I need to be ok with that. Or maybe my path is just longer, I will eventually get there and earn the 3 letters after my name: “Alphine Makoni, CPA”.

All this to say, if you are pursuing something, “DO NOT GIVE UP” for there is light at the end of the tunnel. It might not be easy but keep your head down, keep pushing, and talk about it; there is always someone willing to lend an ear; I know I am, and I look forward to hearing from you my lovely blog readers.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

17 Comments Add yours

  1. Emily Paskwa says:

    Alphine! Let me just start off by saying thank you for posting this! I also started my journey to gain the 4 letters (ACCA) last year, with the pandemic and everything it’s been very hard. I failed the two exams that I took & it’s been hard for me to move on from that. After reading your post, I’m now encouraged to get up & try harder! I should not quit. So thank you for sharing this ❤️

    Like

  2. Nancy T says:

    Let’s do this. We Rise!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Kudzaishe Tinarwo says:

    Thank you ,this spoke to me. I am motivated not to quite.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for taking time to read ❤️

      Like

  4. Anonymous says:

    Thank you ,this spoke to me. I am motivated not to quite.

    Like

  5. yandiebhobha says:

    I’m motivated. I wont give up. Thank you Mrs Makoni❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you ❤️ I’m glad you found some value from this post.

      Like

  6. Audrey Ropafadzo Makoni says:

    It’s not a sprint but a marathon!!!
    You’ve got what it takes!!! Keep pushing!!! Keep believing!!! Soon it will be over!!! We will look back and laugh!
    So proud of you 👏🏾 We keep cheering you on
    “For by You I can run at a troop of warriors; And by my God I can leap over a wall.”
    ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18:29‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬
    https://www.bible.com/2692/psa.18.29.nasb2020

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Mama ❤️

      Like

  7. Thandi says:

    This is what I just needed to hear this morning!

    I am doing my module 1 of 7 for my MBA and ooh boy I have had way more moments of like “what am I doing, should I switch to a M.Sc, how will I handle my first fail” blah blah but this post has re energized me to keep on pushing soon the 7 modules will be done in regardless of how many times I take them 😊.

    Wishing you all the best in your journey, those three letters will come in due time – the key is to enjoy and learn from the process at the end of it all❤️

    Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You got this Thandi! ❤️ It warms my heart knowing that this post fueled you to keep pushing. Thank you.

      Like

  8. I am so proud of you. Those 3 letters after your name are calling your name. Keep pressing in. Just by admitting your path, you have conquered the fear of failure. Go get the now!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Doc. Thank you for always supporting me.

      Like

  9. Kelly says:

    Your transparency is very brave. In the end the accomplishments, numbers or grades, and letters after your name do not change the person God made you to be! You are beautiful inside and out. You are not on a break, you’re just working on a different area of you. Thank you for allowing your voice to be heard.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Kelly!

      Like

  10. Deborah Ajayi says:

    Thank you for sharing this Alphine. It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparison. But you are right – everyone is on their on journey; some people take longer to reach their final destination maybe because they stopped to smell the roses and take in the scenery. I am rooting for you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Deb! That means a lot!

      Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s