This picture captures the moment I received my final exam result for ECE 637 (Digital Circuit Design). After weeks of worrying about failing—and yes, even crying—this was taken right after I confirmed I had passed with a decent mark. :)
This was the first semester of my Master’s journey at the University of Waterloo. I enrolled hoping to learn something new, and a hardware course seemed perfect. However, I didn’t check the outline properly at the start and failed to notice there were three prerequisite courses, none of which were in my background. By the time I realized this, it was too late to drop it.
I had no choice but to push through. I borrowed textbooks and tried to catch up. I found that a knowledge gap is easy to fill, but lack of familiarity is not. I had to spend time recognizing even the simplest concepts, like the different functionalities of NMOS and PMOS—intuition that students in a graduate-level circuit design course usually already have.
The end of the semester was chaotic. My project for this course was due December 3rd, leaving me almost no time to review before my exams on the 5th and 7th. I had technically given up on this course, only turning my attention to it after finishing my other exam.
To make matters worse, the exam was on a Sunday. The library was closed, but I needed to print my crib sheet. I went to a building where I knew there was a printer, but it was broken. I had to run across campus to find a working one, making me 10 minutes late for the exam.
During the test, I made a risky move. Near the end, I realized I might have made a mistake on an "easy" question. I made a last-minute modification without time to double-check it. I spent the next few days in pure anxiety.
But luck was on my side. The modification turned out to be correct. I felt a huge wave of relief when the professor told me I passed with a 79. It wasn't my highest mark—I got 91 and 94 in my other courses—but this 79 is definitely the most memorable.
- DeviceXiaomi 14 Ultra
