The Summer of the Bar: Part 1

First allow me to state the obvious: It has been a while. Please accept my apologies, dear readers, as I was otherwise engaged over the summer…..graduating and living in hell studying for the MA Bar Exam.

In my next series of posts, I hope to take you through some of my experiences over the summer.  Clearly I did not have any time to write then; I barely had time to blow my nose. As such, I will be writing from memory and from “feel” about my experiences over the summer, telling my stories by revisiting the nightmare of the summer that was the summer of the bar. These peeks into my experience will most likely be completely out of sequence.

I want to start this lovely trip down memory lane off by stating two things.

1. If I had known how horrible this bar exam experience would be, I may not have gone to law school. Actually, I probably would not have believed anyone who told me about it or understood the magnitude of disgust they were trying to convey, so I would have gone to school anyway….But, I am so so so so happy that no one ever told me about this horrendous hazing process. My advice to those considering law school or currently in law school is to keep your mouth shut and not ask any questions about what it’s like or if you’ll pass the first time or how many women have been known to go into labor while taking the exam who then proceeded to the hospital afterwards to give birth exactly two hours after finishing the essay day and passed the damn thing on the first try. Just stay dumb naïve until you need to know these things, which doesn’t really happen until the spring of your last year. Keep it need-to-know and you’ll be golden.

2. Don’t try to understand the emotional roller coaster that you will no doubt be riding. Just try to ride the wave. At one point (if not many, or throughout the entire process) you will most likely begin to hate all of humanity, yourself, your plants, your toothbrush. Everything and everyone will make you want to punch them in the face and stick a fork in their eyes (and in your own eyes). That’s totally normal!!! To be clear, I am not condoning or encouraging or advising or suggesting that you go and punch people or things in the face and/or stab people or things in the eyes with a fork. Just know that you will want to, and accept it. And feeling that way is OK. AND YOU ARE NOT ALONE!