Relief

I found out last week that my CFA results would be e-mailed out on Monday, the 16th.  I managed to not stress about it until Sunday.  Our pastor's sermon was about God's will, and how to make sense of things going wrong and unanswered prayers.  What?!  My stress level increased throughout the sermon as I thought that this must be God's way of preparing me to handle a big, fat FAIL the following morning.  It doesn't get much more clear than that! 

I managed to get a good night's sleep Sunday night, then started the day off with a 5 mile run (which, I might add, was the best run I have had in a long while because it was actually below 75 degrees at 5:30 am!).  I came to work, feeling more and more on edge, logged in to my computer and within 2 minutes, an e-mail popped up from the CFA Institute.  I'm not one to hem and haw...so I opened it and saw this:

Your June 2010 Level III CFA exam results are below. 46% of June 2010 Level III candidates passed the exam. If you have questions or comments, please contact us.


Level III: PASS


The table below illustrates your subject matter strengths and ....Blah, blah, blah. 

I seem to have radar for the word PASS, because that is the only thing I read.  My heart pounding, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I quickily spread the word, called Aaron and my parents, made an announcement to my only two co-workers around at that point, and shot off an e-mail to my family.  I sat and let it sink in that I am done.  DONE.  No more studying, at least not the kind of studying in which my life is consumed for several months at a time. 

When I talked to my parents, my mom (like any mom!) said, "You're so smart!"  I replied that no, I'm not that smart, I just work hard. 

I have been humbled by this experience.  I know that there are people that passed these exams with 1/4 the amount of studying that I did.  Those are the truly smart people.  The rest of us just realized that to tackle this beast it would take hundreds of hours of studying, diligence and dedication.  Completing the rigorous process is rewarding when you put everything you have into achieving it.  I am certain that many people in my life thought the amount of studying I put in virtually guaranteed a pass, but that just is not the case.  Only 46% of us saw PASS yesterday, and of the remaining 54%, many probably studied just as much as I did and are just as intelligent.  I truly feel for those people.

Was it worth it?  I don't know, and now that it is done, I don't care.  I certainly learned more that I thought possible -- the human brain is pretty amazing!

That said, I am ready to move on to the next challenge.  One thing I have learned about myself is I constantly need something to focus on and work towards.  I truly don't know what is wrong with me!  I will be focusing on planning our upcoming trip to Europe, and in the next couple of weeks, I will begin training for the Pilgrim Pacer Half Marathon in November.  Much more fun that staring at a bunch of books!