The Fear Factors: Fifteen Reasons Why Applicants Fail the Bar Exam
Do not purposefully entangle yourself, excessively, in another's life during your bar studies. Purposeful, excessive entanglement are words used to describe the test for The Establishment Clause under the First Amendment (where the gvpt. has excessively entangled itself in religious matters [purposefully]). What can ruin your chances to pass the bar examination? Spending too much time with other people, because you feel guilty about not being there for "them" during a 10 week period when you have already been there for them during the last 10 years. At the end of the day, you will only have yourself to blame for not putting in all the time necessary to pass the bar examination.
During the bar exam period, which officially begins the first day after graduation, graduates are bombarded with invitations to do things. People want to celebrate what is going on in your life, and what is going on theirs, too. Life, as we all know, goes on, even though some of us are seeking to attach the words, "licensed to practice law," to the word, lawyer. Many others outside of our world are generally having some kind of summer fun.
Fun includes: food, song, dance, and drink. Fun comes in the form of weddings (and the various activities surrounding that event), bar-be-que's, picnics, evening and nighttime parties, and the old-time favorite, clubbing. It is also time for the birthday parties, various anniversaries, and different religious or culturally significant events. Even others are graduating, too (college, high school, even kindergarten). Then we have celebrations for our best friends' and their friends, and their friends, friends. Finally, we have mom and dad, spouse, children, boyfriend, and girlfriend that we have to provide attention to, as well.
Be careful. People have a tendency to try and snatch you out of the bar exam world and into their world for no good reason. Just because. Because you are not giving them all the attention they need. Because they are used to receiving attention from you. Because you never give them any attention at all. Boyfriends become ogres. Girlfriends become pouty. Some parents act like they "just don't understand." Good friends don't like it, maybe, because you have completed your studies in professional school and they think you are pulling away from them, or that you might leave, or that you don't want to deal with them anymore. All (or, none) of this may be true. When they pull you away, most of the time it is done sweetly, with a little gentle prodding, but it is a pull from your work, nevertheless.
Ten weeks. You must focus on that number and stay on it until the last Wednesday in July has come and gone. It is a very short time period, particularly when you are trying to learn what seems like a zillion subjects at one time. Certainly, you should feel that you can take a break when you want to ... from time-to-time. But you have to closely monitor yourself and your time. Don't let it get away from you.
You won't be able to make most of the events to which you are invited because your mind should be too exhausted from preparing outlines - from testing - from memorizing - from reviewing the answers. Yes, you get some time off here and there. Of course, you can attend the wedding. But do you really have time to attend a five-hour reception. Yes, the church fair is this weekend. You can go - when it opens you bring your donation with you, shake the officiant's hand and take a few pictures, but then you have to roll out to the library.
Sports: basketball and softball, golf and tennis, football and video games. They are all good. Very good, mind you. Just in very small doses. Physical play is exhausting. It takes a real man to play two, 3 on 3, full-court, basketball games, shower, change, breathe, then pack, either take a bus or drive a car to a venue to study, and NOT FALL RIGHT OFF TO SLEEP in the library. That is, really, a brother from another planet. You will be exhausted, and eventually fall out on the desk on MBE question 5. And as Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working for you? Now, it is okay to mess it up once, maybe two times. It is okay to kick yourself and realize that, gee, that did not work out for me. It is not okay to keep doing it and to take unnecessary chances for 2.5 months.
This is your life. Your bar experience. Guess what - you get to call ALL of the shots. I need you to follow through on that notion, and to not ever forget it. Otherwise, you will blame other people for anything less than passing. I cannot have you doing that. I want you to look into the future. Look to October or November 2010, right before the heavy holidays get started. Think about leaves falling and frost forming. I want you to lock in on these three (3) dates: October 29, November 5, and November 12, 2010.
Many bar exam results are published at or around these dates. I want you to know that these are the dates in which the real party begins. There will be a party going on in your town, on that Friday, and you want to be at the party. That Friday, whichever date it is for you, is going to be one of the most celebrated Fridays of your life. The party where you leave your house after you have checked your seat number or opened up the mail and you've read the word, pass. The party that starts that Friday, and depending on your energy level, can go on for a full seven (7) to ten (10) days ('cause after that you are an attorney, and no one is excited anymore).
And you will never forget it. I remember my Friday like it was yesterday. I can tell you exactly what I did, with whom I did it with and where I went. Mostly, I was walking around in state of every happy emotion possible.
But you don't party when you don't pass. No one is ringing your phone when you don't pass. Your friends (that passed) want to comfort you, but they are itching to hang up with you and get to the party, because the party is about to burst right out of them. There is nothing like partying with people that have sweat the same blood as you. Oh, your friends that passed. They love you; yes, they do. But if you don't pass, then on that Friday, you are not on equal party footing. And you shouldn't expect them to be.
And remember all of those people that tried to pull you away from your bar studies. They want to know if you passed, too. They are really interested in talking to you. And they sure seem sympathetic to your plight if you don't pass. Their sorrowful eyes express how sad they are as they place their arms around you. Then they look into your eyes - - isn't it interesting how you notice a glint in their eyes that you had not seen there before. Or, maybe it's their walk -- when they walk away, there is just a little more "hop" in their step, than there was before.
Don't give anyone the pleasure. No excessive entanglement. Only purposeful engagement. On Your Bar Examination.
During the bar exam period, which officially begins the first day after graduation, graduates are bombarded with invitations to do things. People want to celebrate what is going on in your life, and what is going on theirs, too. Life, as we all know, goes on, even though some of us are seeking to attach the words, "licensed to practice law," to the word, lawyer. Many others outside of our world are generally having some kind of summer fun.
Fun includes: food, song, dance, and drink. Fun comes in the form of weddings (and the various activities surrounding that event), bar-be-que's, picnics, evening and nighttime parties, and the old-time favorite, clubbing. It is also time for the birthday parties, various anniversaries, and different religious or culturally significant events. Even others are graduating, too (college, high school, even kindergarten). Then we have celebrations for our best friends' and their friends, and their friends, friends. Finally, we have mom and dad, spouse, children, boyfriend, and girlfriend that we have to provide attention to, as well.
Be careful. People have a tendency to try and snatch you out of the bar exam world and into their world for no good reason. Just because. Because you are not giving them all the attention they need. Because they are used to receiving attention from you. Because you never give them any attention at all. Boyfriends become ogres. Girlfriends become pouty. Some parents act like they "just don't understand." Good friends don't like it, maybe, because you have completed your studies in professional school and they think you are pulling away from them, or that you might leave, or that you don't want to deal with them anymore. All (or, none) of this may be true. When they pull you away, most of the time it is done sweetly, with a little gentle prodding, but it is a pull from your work, nevertheless.
Ten weeks. You must focus on that number and stay on it until the last Wednesday in July has come and gone. It is a very short time period, particularly when you are trying to learn what seems like a zillion subjects at one time. Certainly, you should feel that you can take a break when you want to ... from time-to-time. But you have to closely monitor yourself and your time. Don't let it get away from you.
You won't be able to make most of the events to which you are invited because your mind should be too exhausted from preparing outlines - from testing - from memorizing - from reviewing the answers. Yes, you get some time off here and there. Of course, you can attend the wedding. But do you really have time to attend a five-hour reception. Yes, the church fair is this weekend. You can go - when it opens you bring your donation with you, shake the officiant's hand and take a few pictures, but then you have to roll out to the library.
Sports: basketball and softball, golf and tennis, football and video games. They are all good. Very good, mind you. Just in very small doses. Physical play is exhausting. It takes a real man to play two, 3 on 3, full-court, basketball games, shower, change, breathe, then pack, either take a bus or drive a car to a venue to study, and NOT FALL RIGHT OFF TO SLEEP in the library. That is, really, a brother from another planet. You will be exhausted, and eventually fall out on the desk on MBE question 5. And as Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working for you? Now, it is okay to mess it up once, maybe two times. It is okay to kick yourself and realize that, gee, that did not work out for me. It is not okay to keep doing it and to take unnecessary chances for 2.5 months.
This is your life. Your bar experience. Guess what - you get to call ALL of the shots. I need you to follow through on that notion, and to not ever forget it. Otherwise, you will blame other people for anything less than passing. I cannot have you doing that. I want you to look into the future. Look to October or November 2010, right before the heavy holidays get started. Think about leaves falling and frost forming. I want you to lock in on these three (3) dates: October 29, November 5, and November 12, 2010.
Many bar exam results are published at or around these dates. I want you to know that these are the dates in which the real party begins. There will be a party going on in your town, on that Friday, and you want to be at the party. That Friday, whichever date it is for you, is going to be one of the most celebrated Fridays of your life. The party where you leave your house after you have checked your seat number or opened up the mail and you've read the word, pass. The party that starts that Friday, and depending on your energy level, can go on for a full seven (7) to ten (10) days ('cause after that you are an attorney, and no one is excited anymore).
And you will never forget it. I remember my Friday like it was yesterday. I can tell you exactly what I did, with whom I did it with and where I went. Mostly, I was walking around in state of every happy emotion possible.
But you don't party when you don't pass. No one is ringing your phone when you don't pass. Your friends (that passed) want to comfort you, but they are itching to hang up with you and get to the party, because the party is about to burst right out of them. There is nothing like partying with people that have sweat the same blood as you. Oh, your friends that passed. They love you; yes, they do. But if you don't pass, then on that Friday, you are not on equal party footing. And you shouldn't expect them to be.
And remember all of those people that tried to pull you away from your bar studies. They want to know if you passed, too. They are really interested in talking to you. And they sure seem sympathetic to your plight if you don't pass. Their sorrowful eyes express how sad they are as they place their arms around you. Then they look into your eyes - - isn't it interesting how you notice a glint in their eyes that you had not seen there before. Or, maybe it's their walk -- when they walk away, there is just a little more "hop" in their step, than there was before.
Don't give anyone the pleasure. No excessive entanglement. Only purposeful engagement. On Your Bar Examination.
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