08/10/2025
#๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉรฉ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ | ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ
It begins with a box - plain, dull, and heavier than its appearance. Inside, thousands of pieces, and on the cover, a picture that seems so unreal that it almost mocks you: three letters that bring a strong desire within you - CPA.
With much excitement, you dump the pieces onto the table to immediately begin. Pieces tumbled out in chaos, like the semesters that blurred into one another, like the notes scribbled in the margins of books and reviewers you swore youโd understand one day.
As per usual, edges come first as they are the easiest - structure, boundaries as represented by the class schedules, syllabi, deadlines, and to-do tasks. The frame was built quickly with lectures and attendance. Predictable. Manageable.
But the middle is where the real fight begins.
You pick up one piece - Quizzes. Quick battles, some won, some lost.
Another piece - Exams. Longer, Heavier, it seems endless and unbearable.
You pick up one piece โ Restless Nights. Frayed at the corners. You remember the silence of 2 a.m., the pages you reread again and again, praying theyโd stick in your mind. You feel your body as if it no longer belongs to you - too heavy to carry, too tired to rest.
Another piece โ Failed Quiz. No matter how you tried or rotated it, it never fit as you were expecting. It never felt like it belonged. Just like the day when you stared at your paper, and your brain turned blank. You walked home in silence and could no longer bear the heavy feeling in your chest.
A piece that is undeniably hurting - Sacrifices. Missed celebrations. Cancelled plans. You didnโt simply choose to study; you gave up parts of yourself to pursue your dream.
Thereโs a brighter piece โ Nameplate. A small and simple tag during OJT days. You werenโt still a CPA, but for a moment, you felt like one.
You work through more: Diploma, Board Review. Some fall into place easily. Some pieces will make you shed tears, together with doubts - that maybe you chose and bought the wrong puzzle after all.
You nearly lose one piece โ Self-Doubt. It slips off and hides beneath the table. It takes minutes, hours to find. When you finally hold it again, it feels heavier than the rest. The longer you hold on to it, the more you become unsure, leaving you unmoved, not knowing what the next step is.
Eventually, you will come to realize that each piece had a purpose. Each season โ whether youโre stuck on quizzes, exhausted in internship duties, or deep in the trenches of review โ it matters. Every single piece and season matters. Every phase brings you closer to completing the puzzle.
Sometimes the pieces donโt fit right away, and others feel like they went missing. Inevitably, you will wonder whether you have picked the right puzzle to form and complete. But if youโre patient โ if you trust the process โ the right piece will always find its place.
And when you have finally figured everything out, you will stare at the image of the puzzle, not just the โCPAโ. But everything behind it: sleepless nights, failures, doubts, sacrifices, deadlines, tears, and prayers. Parts of you that cracked, and some that refused to be broken.
You smile.
Because this puzzle wasnโt just a picture.
It was a story.
It was yours.
Words | Marianne Nicole Racca
Graphics | Mitz Kristel Lim
๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ.
๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐โ๐ป
