ABOUT ME

rohaina’s blog

Rohaina’s Blog is about figures and letters. In other words, it is about the art of accounting and the art of storytelling. It started as a school project, revived without intention for monetization.

This blog is a museum and an archive of my tales or works of art as a past Accountancy student and student journalist. Instead of letting them succumb to air, I choose to preserve them in this blog.

Some of these tales in the forms of articles, poetry, and stories are my published works during my senior high and college years.

My works appeared in different publications such as Banwag, Bedlisiw, The Worksheet, Mindanao Varsitarian, The Disclosure, Bangsamoro Literary Review, and "What's Next?" (Printed Anthology Book).

As a Writer

People who know me often call me a writer, but little do they know that I wasn't born a writer. I didn't find writing. Writing found me. It was an unexpected interest, and a pursued interest is developed through time and practice.

I once championed a division-level essay writing competition in Grade 6. Then I forgot writing for four years when I step to junior high as my school is a private school that doesn't participate in interschool or external competitions. That's why it was only in senior high school that I rediscovered writing.

It was a random afternoon. The class dismissal was still 3PM due to the Marawi siege. Instead of going home, I asked some of my Grade 11- STEM classmates where they were heading. If I hadn't followed them to audition for the DSPC, the writer in me would not have ignited.

I entered the room with unfamiliar faces who were mostly our seniors in Grade 12. I was asked what field I would audition for. I just randomly said Feature Writing since it was familiar to me when I was in Grade 6. I think my neat penmanship has played a huge role in why I was given a chance.

Fast forward. I became part of the publication for two years in senior high and joined the annual DSPC. I tried DSPC in 6th grade, but I was passive and not serious because no one trained me. For a novice who just rediscovered writing, I was fortunate to garner 6th place in Science and Health Writing.

I was even originally supposed to compete under Feature Writing, but my coach changed my category. Then comes in Grade 12. I finally garnered 1st place in Feature Writing and represented Iligan City in the regional level held at Tangub City. It was the same feeling when my name was called as the champion way back in Grade 6.

My interest in writing continued in my college years when I joined my university’s official student publication. I also joined several writing competitions online and offline during pandemic to progress my skills. Some of my works were also published in an online magazine and a printed anthology book. My interest in writing also led me to become an international freelance SEO content writer.

As an Accrued CPA

Nearly one year before pandemic, I was in the queue at the admission office of MSU-IIT, ready to enroll as I held my documents. When it was my turn, I asked for the last time if there was still a slot for their BSA program, and as I expected, there were no slots in the first place. Before that day, I knew there was a slim chance of winning their BSA. I began thinking about options I could choose from and just shift to BSA later. The staff mentioned economics and marketing for business-related courses. She also mentioned non-business courses. I almost chose economics, but I once heard that shiftees are hardly accepted in the BSA program. I excused the admission office that I would call outside to consult my parents first. But little did she know that I didn't plan to come back anymore.

It was at that time that I entertained the idea of MSU-Main because of my two friends who were adamant about chasing their BSA dream. The local siege was still fresh back then, and to be honest, I never considered studying at MSU until it happened. MSU was a strange place to me. I still remember when the three of us, my friends, first stepped into the campus, and we didn't know where to find the accountancy department. When we inquired, to our dismay, the slots were full. However, we were told to come back next month for the possibility of opening new slots. They opened additional slots, and everyone was given the chance to enroll in their bridging program before the qualifying exam. Fast forward, we passed the qualifying exam and got into the program.

Why was MSU used to be a strange place to me? It was my first time having batchmates and professors who were dominated by Maranaos. By engaging with them, I can observe the differences from my previous schools. In my very first semester, I could already feel the difficulty of the course. There are no holidays and no weekends. We were full load on units from the first year until the fourth year, including summers. Sometimes, my batchmates and I just brushed off our calvary with laughter whenever we stayed overnight just for a quiz and still failed. However, during the second semester of our freshman year, we were all clueless about what was about to happen. COVID came, and it killed the student in me on top of stealing years of my youth.

Choosing this course humbled me beyond what I could imagine. The silence was always an understatement of my undergraduate years. Long story short - I survived the program. When you studied at MSU and came out alive, believe that it's not a myth when people say you are a survivor because there are a lot of factors that will test your sanity and resilience, in my case: handling difficult people, the mean students and professors, the flawed system, the queues, the boarding house routine, etc. Perhaps what made me not regret MSU was the local scenery, the local vendors, the cost of living, the kind people and their smiles, and the nostalgic experiences MSU gave me.

If Allah wills, I always look forward to becoming a Certified Public Accountant with a purpose and responsibility. After all, dreams have no deadlines.