by alisabet12 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:02 am
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to write a quick note thanking everyone on this most helpful forum for reviewing my vignettes, the messages, and the encouragement. It's been a long haul for me - started this process back in 2008, took all the exams rapid fire and didn't pass any of them (used to be embarrassed but now that I have passed each one, I don't care). It took me 4 years to bounce out of that colossal "fail" between 2008-2009 and convince myself to get back on the horse. Then, Halloween 2013 is when I started back up with the intent of being licensed by the end of 2014. After the first pass in Feb 2014, then a couple fails, then an additional pass, then a fail, a pass, and then a fail, I ended 2014 with 4 passes, and 3 remaining retakes. Mid 2014, I also had my second child and was conducting a new job search. In any case, here I am at the end of the line, 18 exam attempts to get 7 passes under my belt, 15+ years practice experience, 7.5 years schooling, and finally can legally call myself an architect (just waiting on the paperwork). The one thing I learned throughout this lengthy process was to learn how to cope with "failure". Our egos don't allow us to easily learn from failure - this was the biggest lesson. Yet, through failure, is where I seemed to learn the most. Not that we should strive for failure, but after the initial Fail after 2 months of intense studying late at night (after I put my daughters to sleep), it was a bitter bitter pill to swallow. But, I picked myself up (usually no more than a week after getting the fail). Sure, there were times when I felt like I could jump off my roof and splat right onto the Pulsaki Skyway en route to NYC, and that perhaps all my schooling and teaching and practice was a figment of my imagination - evidence of a life that I maybe I was thinking I lived but didn't. that it was all a big farce. But, I made it through. And if I can do it, anyone can do it.
So, thanks Coach, Mike-SE (R.I.P.), Design_intent, blancovero, archetect, and so many others....This forum was invaluable. Good luck to the rest of you on this journey!