The Practice Set Experience

I love my practice set.

I got my practice set for free and in advance, for being a CET Topnotcher. I felt so stupid about myself thinking that the PS was a book, because it costs a lot. It was not a book but a set of books, which is why it is called Practice SET.

Thinking about guidelines, eight books, deposit slips, bank statement and imaginary money made me feel ill, so I stopped reading. I did not answer in advance. I’d rather wait until quarter of the class talk about it, and then we cram altogether. So, the time came when we have to do the ‘game’, as the author said.

My classmates started to ask me, “Jamie, pa’no ’to?” I got tired of answering questions when I still have questions of my own, so I closed the books, put them back in the envelope, and quitted. They followed!

I hated (with D, hateD) the Practice Set. I had real headaches because of it. Long yet easy it seemed, yes, it only ‘seemed’, like when the book required me to make an opening entry when I do not even know how it looks like. Because of boredom on the holiday series, I decided to face it. I wrote how I understood and did not care if it was right or wrong. As long as the debit is equal to the credit, I won’t have a prob.

I kept telling myself that Accounting was hard and algebra is easier, that a one-unit subject requires a lot, that I should have fought for my dream to be an engineer and not an accountant. When I stopped ranting, I woke up realizing I have already done half.

I need not to detail every delight and hardship I encountered, for we all have different stories. The best thing about that Practice Set experience is that I learned to (1) picture things out, (2) prepare for possible problems, and (3) not be afraid to try again.

I am an engineer wanna-be, but since I am a BSA student today, I need to be one. Anyway, my ranting had done something good: I became immuned with the rituals of ‘recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting’. I became a bit amazed of processes in accounting, however a lot ritualized because of the repeated pull-the-books manner.

I thought of all my points and reasons to defend my work if it has to be presented. I know it had errors, but at least I answered to the best I can. After I prepared my points, I thought of other points which could arise. The result, the whole thing became ambiguous. However, I felt I opened doors for improvement of my work and myself.

Before I had my trial balance balanced, I had two TOTAL revisions (revisions mean doing the thing all over like it was the first time, therefore I did it three times).When we came back to the university, I compared my work with other works. We sought and discussed the reasons why we had different answers. We defended ideas and accepted ideas, so we revised and revised until we agreed and had the same understandings (therefore, same answers), and was again ready to entertain questions.

Our Sages told us that it doesn’t matter if the whole class has the same answers. The essence of the PS was to bring the future experience to present, and to let students consume that experience and learn to know all the entrances and exits of the labyrinth. Even if my first work could be accepted, I prefer my latest work better, not because I have “kakampi”, but because that set of reports will be the witness of my corrected concepts and lessened carelessness.

That’s why I love my Practice Set. I sacrificed at least 16 hours of Facebook during the holiday series because of that PS, only to find out that (1) I still have wrong balances, (2) I could even get better, and (3) I am starting to love my course.