This was it. Today was the day for my first-ever certification exam.

I spent the early morning reviewing because I honestly didn't feel confident enough to know everything yet, this was despite completing the AWS fundamentals course yesterday. I had to go to the other learning platform to get a better grasp of topics that were not discussed. I was stressed to high hell and I wasn't sure if I was gonna pass. I reviewed for a bit, but then got sidetracked for 1 hour (which should've never happened), but then I ate lunch with my sister. My heart rate was around 122 bpm at that point, way above normal.

I passed by the last hour just reviewing on both the official AWS learning platform and another, while also reading through my notes. When it was time for me to start the exam, getting the requirements done was a painful chore, and I had to unplug my monitor from my power socket, but all was well as the exam was released to me and I began testing.

Some questions threw me off guard. There were gaps in my knowledge. There were some terms that didn't exist in the learning material I've used, and for some I just had to guess. My confidence was waning and I tried, to the best of my ability, to provide the right answers. Still, I wanted to be done quickly. I didn't even review my answers, I didn't go back to check if they were correct. I still had 60 minutes on my clock and I had completed all of the questions.

When all was said and done, I submitted my exam and the result was printed on the screen.

PASSED

Holy fucking shit. Imagine the wave of relief that came over me and the sigh I breathed. I immediately told my sister and she congratulated me. God, I can't believe it. I passed on the first try, and this was despite failing the practice exam given to me. I was prepared to just be sad, accept it, and pay 5,000 Pesos again to re-take the exam, but damn, I was on the timeline that had the best outcome for once.

I took a nap for a bit, and then eventually went out to celebrate this surprising win. On my way to Bonifacio High Street, I needed a hype song and Wavin' Flag was the one. The opening lines made me tear up a little because I actually did give myself fire and a reason to take myself higher. I've been stagnating at work and in life for so long and I got a taste of what it's like to excel for once.

I was also going to get my replacement card because I gave my gold Powercard to Kai, but the card printing machine at Bonifacio High Street didn't work. So I had to go to Timezone Market Market, they didn't have it. They told me to go to Timezone Glorietta, so I had to commute to Makati for this. Then Timezone Glorietta tells me they can print my card in a few hours, and it'll only be a swipe version. This won't work on the tap-to-pay terminals at my main arcade place, Timezone BHS. So they directed me to Timezone Greenbelt 3, only I mistook Greenbelt 3 for 5 and visited the Timezone there, to which they directed me to the right Timezone.

It looked pretty big, it even had several bowling lanes. The best part was that it was playing Stamp On It and other K-Pop songs. They even played Drama from aespa! Instantly made me happy. They told me that they could replace my card but I had to wait for an hour. I got dinner at Marugame Udon and talked to a few of my friends, they congratulated me on passing my AWS certification. After eating, I went back to the Timezone to claim my shiny new gold Powercard and played a round of bowling and gambling games. There were some dudes at the Wangan arcades and all four of them played throughout my stay, which mildly surprised me. I got a lot of tickets, though.

After all that was done, I went home to just relax and take in the day. This was unexpected, but I'm really glad and relieved.