At 18, I had no idea of what I wanted to do for living, but I enrolled in university. I chose the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree because it would give me many opportunities, then I specialized in accounting because I liked numbers. I liked numbers, but I had no idea of what the job of an accountant looked like at that time. Today, I’m proud to say that I finally received my Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.

For sure, I’m proud of the knowledge I assimilated, the effort I put in, the work I did and the results I got, but the thing I’m the most proud of is certainly to have realised my inner strength throughout this journey strewn with ordeals.

As I was registering for university, I learned that I had an inflammatory bowel disease. A little unaware of the situation at that time, I didn’t doubt that regular medication would quickly allow me to get back on my feet. However, the disease progressed at a blazing pace. Even it I had no energy, the idea of delaying my entry to university was completely inconceivable! Well, my health decided otherwise; my CPA designation would have to wait!

A semester and an ostomy later, I was back to life. So, I decided to take summer courses to complete my bachelor's degree in 2 and a half years rather than in 3 years. I wanted to finish my degree at the same time as everyone else and I was determined to do it. After two-thirds of my university studies, the path to become a CPA changed: new prerequisites, new courses required and old courses removed from the routing grid. In the end, there was no way I could finish in my established time.

After my bachelor’s degree, I had to go through the university graduate program (27 credits), then the Common Final Examination (CFE). The CFE is an exam held over a three-day period and it can be taken only once a year. You have to put in a lot of work preparing for it, so you really want to pass it. Well, it ended up in failure for me… In addition, it marked the breakup of my long-term relationship.

At that moment, I felt like I was experiencing two big failures at the same time, but I didn’t give up and started again. I went back to school the following year and I slowly allowed myself to meet new people. As a result, I passed my exam and met my current boyfriend.

I finished late compared to others and I finished late compared to my initial objective, but I succeeded and that's all that matters in the end.

I can’t count my love relationship in years anymore, but what counts are the days that represent the present moment.

I learned to accept my ostomy through a long-term relationship, to live alone with it and to trust myself enough to share its secrets with new people.

I realised that it’s important to accept support from loved ones, that resilience is important to move forward and that I’m strong inside even though I’ve a fragile shell.

I learned to fall and start again, I learned that achievements sometimes come with failures and I learned that controlling our life was better than letting life control us.

I began to appreciate the fact that tomorrow wouldn’t be exactly as I thought, that life could be lived day by day and that everyday surprises could be managed in due course.

At 18, I probably imagined myself today with a few years of experience under my belt, a house and children, but even if the reality is quite different, I don’t find it less satisfactory.

We often forget that we have the choice; the choice to be positive or negative, the choice to be happy or unhappy, the choice to bow to what life throws at us or to take advantage of it...

What if we made the choice to see what benefits life’s hardships could bring us?

Andréanne

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