Whoever said I wasn’t masochistic was wrong.

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And I’m also thrifty. People said 4th edition was better than 5th, but the $40 dollar discount was what really convinced me. So here’s why I’m adding more to my load.

• I procrastinate a lot by watching anime or idling on the internet. During those times, anything is better than homework, and I might as well learn a few things while I’m in that state.
• I feel as if I’m missing out if I don’t take Stuyvesant’s Cisco Networking Academy course. It’s got the word Cisco in it, which not only means it’s a course that’s being watched over by Cisco for prospective employees, but it’s easily recognizable when on a transcript or a college essay. However, I dropped out of the precursor to Cisco, Computer Technology, because funds were getting low, the teacher wasn’t teaching, and we didn’t have a book to learn from. Hence, I no longer have ready access to the knowledge I need for the Cisco course, nor the recommendation from a teacher. I’m harboring the shaky assumption that if I got A+ certification, they would let me into the course with nary another word.
• A+ certification is damn cool. Like Kate said, it’s got A and it’s got a +, which beats all other things except for the occasional Japanese game where an S is the best. If I can’t get into the Cisco course because of the certification, or I can’t get the certification on time, the A+ certification in itself is enough of a shocker to give me an edge on my application.
• I feel as if I’m wasting my time and letting my list of personal achievements stagnate. I’m taking one AP whereas other people have four or five, I have few extracurriculars to speak of, and my grades aren’t that high.

This is something that not only would help me, but something that I want. I really really want. Usually, I’d just “like” to have something. I’d “like” to get a good grade, or to pass the test, or to get a game. It’s rare that I truly want something, and when that motivation comes, I have to seize it and act upon it, because I don’t know when it’ll come by again.

So I’m making another firm New Year’s resolution. I’m going to pass the A+ exams before the end of next year. I don’t care that I only have user-level knowledge right now, that the test is meant to pass people that have six months of hands-on, full-time experience, and that the book estimates 200 hours of studying for a total novice to pass. I’m getting that certification.