My last (for this current semester) final exam will be on Monday at 6:00pm for "Corporate Taxation".  This will be the last exam for this year, and after that, in four days, I and my husband will be heading to Mexico for a vacation!!  I've been waiting for this vacation since earlier this year.  A lot of things happened during this year with a lot of hard work that I've made.  But my hard work paid off, so I would say that all things happened were good for me. One of the professors said to me that my hard work now begins establishing my career.  Yes, Prof. Hassell, I've just set another goal for me.  School is almost done (one more semester to go!), and I needed another challenge.  A good thing is, when I set a goal, I am almost certain that I accomplish that goal, and I can almost visualize myself achieving my goal and cheering myself.  I know when I can make it, and I know how I will make it. 

I guess I've been this way for a quite long time, both in a good way and a bad way.  It is funny, but sometimes, I can even impress someone else by just being this way.  There was one particular occasion that made me feel so.

I had a job interview while back.  During the interview with the partner in this firm (I talked with five persons this day), a typical job interview question came to me; tell me about yourself.  So I told my quick history starting from how I've come to US in 2001, why I decided going back to school (undergrad) while working, why I chose to work for an insurance company as an insurance agent for a while after graduating, why going back to school once again and switching my field from finance to accounting, and how I came to choose my career in the assurance field.  When I finished talking, he looked like he was in a deep thought, trying to choose his words very scholastically and carefully to make a comment.  And finally, without looking at me, he started; "hmm....(silence)... Very, well planned..... (silence)".  I didn't know how to respond, and finally, I said "thank you", thinking it was a compliment to me.  It was somewhat an impressive moment for me, and I frequently recall this moment since then.  I don't know why, but something in his look and the way he made a comment about my short speech made me feel so.  I must have impressed him someway (hoping it was a good one).  After the interview, he made a comment about me to the other interviewer.  I heard him describing me as a "very determined" person.  Another person I had interview with this day also described me "very determined" coincidentally, so I guess I must be a very determined person.  It was nice to know myself objectively, because until then, I have not particularly thought that I am a determined person.  I knew I do planning a lot, and try to follow what I've planned.  I just didn't see being this way as being determined. 

Life is a full of learning opportunities.  Learning who I am is certainly one of the things I learn through my life.  Cheers!!