Fear, $100, and the Excel Boss Fight
Phase 2 felt like a strange psychological battle between fear, confidence, and stubbornness. Most of the time I kept asking myself the same question. Am I actually ready for the Excel certification exam, or am I just pretending to be ready because the clock is ticking?
At some point the decision stopped being purely academic. My dad told me something very simple. Either I take the exam, or I pay him $100.
Suddenly the problem became very clear. I had to decide which fear was bigger, the fear of failing the exam, or the fear of losing $100. I really hate losing money, so the answer became obvious. The fear of losing money outweighed the fear of taking the exam. So I scheduled the test and went for it.
Looking back, I think I rushed the Excel exam a little because I was trying to balance that fear with everything else happening in my schedule.
On paper that is a very good score. It is technically a success and it means I passed the certification. But if I am being honest with myself, part of me knows I could have done better. During the exam there were moments where I realized that a little more practice or a little more patience would have helped.
At the same time, the exam is finished. The score is recorded. There is no rewind button.
That is honestly how the moment felt. I passed, which is good. But I also know there was room to improve. Instead of getting stuck thinking about it, the only productive thing to do is move forward and focus on the next step.
What A6 Taught Me
One assignment that really stood out during this phase was A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer. That assignment forced me to slow down and think differently about spreadsheets.
Before this class, I mostly thought of spreadsheets as places where formulas live. If a formula worked, then the spreadsheet must be correct. But A6 showed me that spreadsheets are really about understanding the story inside the numbers.
A spreadsheet can look correct on the surface while still telling the wrong story if the references or assumptions are wrong. A single incorrect reference can quietly change the entire meaning of the data. That assignment forced me to step back and read the spreadsheet more like a puzzle rather than just inserting functions automatically.
It made me realize that Excel is not just about technical skills. It is about thinking carefully about what the data actually means.
URLs, Social Engineering, and Human Nature
Another lesson from Phase 2 that stuck with me was learning about URL components and social engineering.
Before this class I mostly thought about cybersecurity as technical hacking. I imagined people breaking into systems through code or software vulnerabilities. But now I understand that many attacks are actually much simpler and more dangerous because they rely on human behavior.
Social engineering works because people trust too easily, react to urgency, or click things without thinking. A fake email, a slightly modified website link, or a message that creates panic can trick people into revealing information without realizing it.
Understanding how URLs are structured and how attackers manipulate them makes me much more cautious when I receive emails or suspicious links online. That awareness alone is something I will carry with me outside of this class.
Chapter 5.10.3, Advanced PivotTables
One thing from Chapter 5.10.3 Advanced PivotTables that stood out to me is how Excel can take a large messy dataset and turn it into something that actually makes sense. Before this class, if someone showed me a spreadsheet with hundreds of rows, my brain would basically shut down. I would scroll up and down trying to understand it, but it would mostly look like a giant wall of numbers.A PivotTable solves that problem by summarizing the data automatically. Instead of manually calculating totals or writing a lot of formulas, you can move fields around and Excel will instantly group the information. It can show totals, counts, averages, and different categories depending on what you want to analyze.
The real value of Advanced PivotTables is that they help you see patterns in the data. Instead of staring at raw numbers, the PivotTable organizes the information so you can quickly understand what is happening. For example, if a company had hundreds of sales transactions, a PivotTable could quickly show which product sold the most or which month had the highest revenue.
For someone studying accounting, this kind of tool is extremely useful. Businesses generate large amounts of data, and nobody wants to manually analyze thousands of rows. PivotTables basically turn chaos into something readable.
In other words, instead of fighting the spreadsheet, Excel starts doing the heavy lifting.
Outside of IS101
These lessons are not limited to IS101. In accounting, spreadsheets are everywhere. Financial analysis, budgeting, reporting, and forecasting all depend heavily on organized data and spreadsheet tools.
I also work in a healthcare related environment where documentation, reports, and operational tracking are common. Many of those tasks rely on structured data and spreadsheets, so understanding formulas, organization, and spreadsheet logic will definitely help in real world situations.
Excel is not just a classroom skill. It is a practical tool that appears in many different fields.
Looking Ahead to Phase 3
Looking ahead, my biggest challenge is honestly my schedule. Right now it feels slightly out of control because several of the extracurricular certifications are time limited.
That is why I decided to take some exams earlier than planned. My goal was to clear some of the major exams now so I would have more time later to prepare for the expert level certifications. In hindsight, I probably should have slowed down and focused more deeply on Excel before moving forward. I think I slightly overestimated myself.
But there is still a positive way to look at it.
Even if the score was not perfect, I already defeated Excel once.
For weeks Excel felt like a giant boss fight sitting in front of me. Formulas, tables, formatting, and analysis all stacked together into one big green monster. When the exam ended, it felt less like finishing a test and more like finally defeating something that had been blocking the path forward.
Phase 3 is supposed to focus on creativity and actualizing ideas. That means shifting my mindset from just completing assignments to actually building something meaningful with the skills we learned.
Instead of asking what the minimum requirement is, the better question might be what I can actually create with these tools.
For now, the neurotic hedgehog in me is still a little nervous about everything ahead.
But at least one major battle is already won.Excel did not defeat me. 🦔⚔️
