After several weeks of waiting, the day I had been both eagerly anticipating and dreading finally arrived: the release of the master’s entrance exam results from the University of Tsukuba. In the previous post, I already wrote about the entrance exam process and the program I applied for. Today’s post is the continuation—the final outcome of all my preparation, effort, and anxiety.

During the waiting period, worry kept lingering in the back of my mind. I wasn’t very confident about my exam performance, especially in two sections: mathematics and electromagnetics. Both of those subjects felt really difficult, and I knew I hadn’t prepared as thoroughly as I should have. Even though I spent two full months studying, I still couldn’t shake the fear that it might not be enough.

Then the announcement day finally came. From the moment I woke up, my emotions were all over the place—part of me wanted to check the results right away, but another part wanted to avoid them out of fear of being disappointed. When the list was uploaded, I carefully scanned through the exam numbers one by one.

Fortunately, my exam number was on the “passed” list.

For a moment, I just stared at the screen, making sure the exam number matched. A wave of relief washed over me, mixed with overwhelming happiness. I could hardly believe it—I actually got accepted to study in Japan.

But the happiness didn’t completely erase the worries. Although I passed the master’s entrance exam, the NIMS-GRA (NIMS Graduate Research Assistantship) result hadn’t been announced yet. That scholarship was extremely important, because without it, I wasn’t sure if I could afford the tuition and living expenses on my own. So even though I was happy, part of me was still anxious.

Despite all the worries, I was proud of myself. I worked hard, prepared for the English test, and spent two months studying for the entrance exam. And in the end, the effort paid off.

This whole experience made me realize that the journey isn’t just about passing an exam. It’s about proving to myself that I’m capable of going further than I thought. I learned that fear doesn’t always mean we’re going to fail—it often means that what we’re aiming for really matters to us.

For anyone out there who is waiting for results or fighting for a goal, remember this: Effort does not betray results—even if the result comes in a form we don’t expect. The path may be long and exhausting, but every small step brings you closer to where you want to be.

For now, I wait for the next step—whether it’s the NIMS-GRA result or the next challenge—feeling more optimistic. Because if I’ve come this far, I know I can go even further.