Life of A CA Student

CA happens to be one of the toughest and the most complicated courses ever. It is very well known that a CA student sometimes takes ages to clear CA exams, that the subjects are difficult and the criteria for passing are very stringent. What people fail to realize is the tribulations undergone by a CA Student, especially the ones who don’t clear after  multiple attempts.
Long post alert: If you are my friend or relative, my blog has been hacked and someone else wrote this. If you are a CA student, I suppose you could relate to this. A group hug is in order.
WHAT PEOPLE AT HOME THINK I AM DOING
I sit comfortably in my room. No worries, no pains, no work to do. I just have to read a few written words. Anyone in their position wouldn’t understand what it takes, to open books after books full of technical and incomprehensible terminologies and read huge sentences with no punctuation whatsoever (Read ISCA). We have to remember most of it, as it is, if we need some marks. When it is about huge problems that make no sense at all, don’t get me started on them.
While learning theory, I sometimes, use certain words as milestones, to remember sentences. Sometimes, I create stories, sometimes I use mnemonics. Ask any CA student about ISCA and they’ll tell you it is a herculean task. By the time, I am halfway through the answer, I am called. For some work, or I am told something that isn’t urgent at all, I have to buy things or I have to do something else. No exaggeration, I am called at least half a dozen times in two hours. Regaining focus multiple times and getting in sync with the subject becomes very difficult.
After repeated disturbances, I feel defeated on most of the days and I stop studying for the rest of the day. Sometimes, I rant like this. Sometimes, when I recover from this, I pick up my books only to be called again.
And they say, she has been studying all day, while I have been trying to regain my focus half the time.
WHAT MY NON CA FRIENDS THINK I AM DOING
“Hey! What are you upto?”
“Studying!”
“Oh! You are a padipist (slang for a nerd) always with books.”
They have blamed me many times for not attending functions, or for attending functions with books (after classes), for reaching late and so on. All they can see is no contact or no activity from my side most of the times.

Some of them ask me in a mock tone, “Isn’t it over yet? It has been so long!”. I smile though my heart sinks. I believe this is a question one should never ask a CA student. We have been pursuing this for years and we are very well aware, more than anyone else, that it has been long. We don’t even know if we will reach the shore and if we don’t, god forbid, a major part of our youth go wasted with no alternate qualification.
But No! Sympathy isn’t what we look for. We may feel dejected at times, but we are strong knowing that failure is okay. Failure in CA, we wear it like the badge of honor as Cersei Lannister puts it. We are soldiers who fight no matter what. Soldiers don’t need sympathy. They need encouragement.
They think I am the most studious person in this century. The nerd of the group. :/ 😮
WHAT MY RELATIVES THINK I AM DOING
It has always been easy for me to convince my friends. But relatives? Phew!
While my family has been to many places during the last few years, I never accompanied them due to my exams. Attending functions, going for trips etc reduced over the years because of the constant nagging feeling in the back of my head that kept reminding me that I had to study.

• The Complaining Relatives

They keep inviting us to visit their homes outside Kerala. When I say I don’t accompany my parents on any trip, it is implied that I really can’t spare a week to stay with relatives too. I cannot enjoy, knowing that I have exams coming. More often, I am asked to take my books with me. Why would anyone go on a trip & study there? Besides, have you seen a CA student’s room? It is like a book store with books old & new, small & big, we have amendments for every attempt and sometimes, we study one subject using as many as three to four books. Carrying all of them isn’t practical.

Some relatives call me up these days only to express their bitter feelings. They tell me that I’m using CA as an excuse to not visit them, that they are fed up of listening to the same excuse for years (As though I have been enjoying it). When I tell them I have classes, they ask me why can’t I go visit them after classes. They do not understand when I say I have only one month left and that itself isn’t sufficient for my preparation.

• The Relatives Providing Advisory Services

Then comes the relatives who advice me to work. They ask me to stop writing and start working. They call up my mother & grandmother and keep pressurizing, forcing them to stop me from continuing my studies. They do not realize how I feel about the 6 years I have invested for this course. They do not know that I feel hopeful once again. They do not want to know what I want or what I feel.

• The Relatives Who Are Worried About My ‘Future’

Future = Marriage

“This guy is 32 years old. Superb guy.”

“She can study after marriage.”

“They want a CA girl”

“They have no demands. They prefer a CA girl who can take care of the firm.” (Am I supposed to marry the firm?)

“He’ll take her to You Yes Yay!” (Nay!)

“She cleared inter, she’ll get awesome job. She should marry.”

“Marriage.”

“Marry!”

“Twenty – odd years old? Marry ASAP!”

“Send me the Jathakam!”

“Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Africa, London, You Yes YAY!”

The entire world has figured out my life for me.

WHAT I ACTUALLY DO
Make up my mind to study, get called, make up my mind to study, get the door bell, make up my mind to study, listening to relatives’ abuses, get dejected, waste the day, make up my mind to study, resist the temptation to attend a function, study, get called, make up my mind… phew!

A CA student’s challenge isn’t the exams alone. It is the entire society. It is the ignorance about the course that prevails around them. CA not only tests our knowledge. It tests our patience too.
CA STUDENTS AFTER EXAMS

The only ones who will understand this write up of mine and every word here are the CA students themselves. We are unique and we are proud of that.
Wishing all my fellow CA students all the best for the battle in May. 🙂
Read my other CA Related posts here:

1. Even CA could be funny at times – I
2. Another CA Post
3. From the diary of a dishevelled CA student
4. The end of another phase

Image source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6