The start of February has marked a milestone for me. I finally passed my licensure exam. I haven’t felt this sense of relief and belongingness in so long. Not when I graduated from university nor when I clinched my projects last year. The whole process that I had gone through for my licensure exam from the review sessions to the exam itself was made more memorable and satisfying because I was doing it with my batchmates from college. Albeit it was online, knowing that I am going through the same struggles, frustrations, excitement, nervousness, and happiness with them at the same time sparked a renewed sense of joy in me. The acceptance and belonging among this circle of people within the field of Architecture, where I am devoting so much of my life — I could get used to that, I want that.
For the longest time, I thought I could never climb up and out of the deep dark pit I have dug for myself trying to hide from life and never wanting to face it out of fear. I didn’t expect that passing the licensure exam would bring me much more than a title as a registered architect. But, it did. It had thrown a rope at me that made my final escape from that shithole possible. At 25, I can finally say I am out again in this world — accepting of who I really am and working to become the person I know I can be.
