In my freshman year of high school, I joined the wrestling team toward the end of the season and I sucked. I didn't win the two matches I competed in my freshman year. I didn't win for the first half of my sophomore year. One time, I wrestled a round robin tournament on my 15th birthday and I was pinned all five times that day that I wrestled. The Monday after, I showed up to practice, ready to just keep going. My coach told the local paper about that, without using my name, but because he was impressed that I didn't give up. Mid January of that season, I won my first match, in my home gym with my mom in the stands, standing and clapping for me after I got a pin. Went on to have a mediocre career. Senior year, I was 3rd in the city.
In college, I majored in architecture without ever taking a drafting course in high school. My freshman year in the fall semester, I got a 2.3 GPA, and a D+ in Design Studio. I spoke to my advisor at the start of my spring semester, and we went over a backup plan in case architecture didn't work out. I would be an English major since I writing came natural to me but architecture did not. She advised that I go for it in architecture and not give up yet. I got a B- in the spring design studio. Sophomore year, B- and then B. Junior year, B+ and then B. Senior year, A- and A- and was chosen as one of 15 in the class to compete in a national design competition. Graduate school, finally got an A in studio.
I've been taking this exam since 2009 now. I have taken 22 tests. I have taken Structural Systems 7 times.
The first test I passed was Building Systems in 2010, passed it on the first try. That test expired at the end of 2015.
I have 6 out of the 7 tests passed. I just found out I pass Structural Systems yesterday.
So, I've passed every test of this exam, but I've failed both times I retook the Building Systems because I'm pretty sure I messed up on the accent lighting.
Since I started taking this test, I've gotten married, had two children, moved to a new apartment in Queens, then moved the whole family to an apartment in Austin, Texas, and then bought a house and moved into it in Austin. I've went through 4 different employers, and now I work for myself.
I don't know why I wrote this. I never tell anybody my entire story, so I figured I'd confess it here.
Thanks for reading.