Being a consistent topper in school and college, and then entering CA is a risky decision.
Why?
Well, because once your family sees where you stand, they're sure that you'll also clear all exams of CA in a single attempt, and so did I, when I cleared my CPT in 2014 in the first attempt and scored 96% in CBSE Board Class XII in the same year.
I gave my IPCC's first attempt for both groups in November 2016 and cleared the first group. This was the first time in my life I had experienced failure. 2017 is the year where my downfall began. I graduated from college in 2017. I appeared for IPCC Group 2 in May 2017: FAIL. Since college was over and I had high hopes that I'll clear in November 2017, I joined an articleship in a mediocre firm as I had a lot of time in my hand, and I didn't want to waste any more time due to attempts. It went like this:
November 2017: FAIL
May 2018: FAIL
November 2018: PASS with flying colors.
In all, it took me 5 attempts to clear IPCC Group 2. Can you imagine a girl who always stood at the top of all classes in school and college, flunked in IPCC 5 times? Well, that girl is me.
What happened between these attempts?
I was 23 when I cleared my IPCC and I felt unsettled. Some of my other friends from coaching or office or training were already Chartered Accountants at this age. I saw my college friends climbing the corporate ladder and here I was stuck with my principal, trying to get him to sign the articleship completion form and relieve us, but it doesn't happen that way, does it?
The constant pressure and the fear of being left out are immense. The constant nagging from parents “isse acha MBA karleti, abhi tak do saal hogaye hote job karte huye” or “IPCC nhi ho rha, final kaise hoga?”
So much so that I was forced to think about the choices I made. One white angel reminded me of the benefits to continue and the other evil angel reminded me of the horror I faced when I failed so many times.
But I had various friends who got me out of the dark hole and encouraged me to keep going, my family was always there, they just wanted to make sure that I was happy emotionally and mentally.
So, I got through my IPCC, and yet another tragedy takes place, COVID'19! It took the world by storm, exams got postponed, and on our part, we started delaying our studies, just having fun being locked in our houses due to the lockdown.
My attempt was Nov'20, but I had to opt-out for January'21 because I wasn't prepared to, even after so many leaves and extensions of exams. The mind can be the biggest enemy sometimes.
I wasn't sure about the January'21 results too, I appeared for a single group, and as expected I Failed.
I planned for a single group again in July'21 as I had low self-esteem due to the many failures I have faced in this journey, I was so sure I'll clear after the exams, but again, I failed with 194 marks, passed in all subjects with exemption in one but failed in aggregate by 6 marks.
The CA journey is not about hard work only, it also depends on luck, to some extent. It hurt, so much so that I went to the gym and I cried for I don't know how long to make me feel the pain, the suffering to get over and start all over again.
Only 2.5 months were left for December'21 attempt now, so I decided for both groups, even though I wasn't prepared for the 2nd group, but my main aim was to score an exemption in the Elective Paper 6D: Economic Laws. I studied again, changed some books, changed my ways, analyzed my mistakes from the answer sheets, and BOOM, I cleared Group 1 with 233 marks and exemption in Economic Law with 78 marks! Mission Accomplished!
For all those wondering, I still have 3 papers to go in May 2022 for CA Kajal Kathpalia, but there's nothing to stop me, and soon I'll reach there. How do I know this? Because I'm going to work for it and I've come so far, haven't I?
This course teaches you so much about life and failures, it has made me mentally strong and it has taught me to deal with people who always try to bring you down.
So, if you're struggling. Remember that you can only work hard. Don't let the fear of failure define you, instead of rising above it. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
With this, I want to remind everyone pursuing CA or any other course, who is feeling the social pressure and constantly trying to believe that it was the right choice, do not have second thoughts for your decisions. Sure, the time and efforts required are a lot, but so are the fruits of your hard work and patience.
Don't let others' success hamper your growth, instead, let it be the guiding light to move ahead and learn from them.
No one decides the right age to be “SETTLED”. Someone feels settled at 21, someone doesn't feel settled even at 50! P.S. I'm 25 and I'm not happy where I am right now, but it's definitely better than where I was last year, both mentally and physically and that should be your goal too, to be better than yourself each day.
You do YOU!
-Kajal Kathpalia
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