Nearly a year since I went through the Bar Exam madness…

I recall 1L, first class, first night of it all; during the short break in Criminal Law lecture, one of the more senior students of the school responded to some of the 1L’s groaning with, “Don’t worry! There is life after Mr X”–referring to the professor who had a particular reputation for being tough.

There was indeed life after Mr. X. I aced that class, the professor was a great teacher, 1L breezed by, and I can still recite the precise definition of “larceny” with ease. Of course 1L’s population was cut by half mid-year; by the time we graduated about one third of those who started with me were left standing to receive their JD papers. It came down to believing you have what it takes, and doing what it takes.

Tell yourself you can do it, and you will. Believe in yourself and do the work. There is plenty of life after the Bar exam.

Bar Exam is gone for me…lasting memories of all sorts and shape…but gone. I am an attorney and my particular Bar exam is nearly a year old. Yours will come and go too. Hang in there. If you have what it takes, and more importantly, if you do the work it requires, some day soon you will look back and a year will have gone from the Bar exam you passed; the one that made you an attorney-at-law. No one will ever take that away from you, and no feeling in the world is like it; so keep going till you get there.

Apples and Oranges! The difference a year can make!