If at first you don't succeed, try, try again? Uh, only if you're JFK, Jr. I mean no disrespect. But, let's be honest, NO ONE wants to try, try again at the bar exam. Once is enough, thank you very much.
All of that time and energy spent in bar review class, followed by outlines and outlines and more outlines, followed by practice tests and multiple choice question after multiple choice question. And, when everyone else was spending the 4th of July with beers and barbecues, you spent it with a binder full of outlines and color coded tabs.
In the months leading up to the exam, you probably got really fat or really skinny. Your relationships and friendships certainly suffered, if not collapsed under the stress and time apart. And, well, at least you've got your fellow future lawyers to commiserate with....unless they pass and you fail, in which case, you always thought they were insufferable and boring.
Then, exam day came. Uh, rather, exam days. And the marathon began. But, when you crossed the finish line, you were probably too tired to celebrate.
So, when your doctor friends and the CPAs and the CFAs ask what the big deal is, don't be shy about relaying all the above AND to top it all off, you have to check your results on the internet, usually at midnight, for all the world to see. Talk about merciless! No, dear CFA friends, we don't have a username and password to get our results like some people. We find out if we passed by looking for our name on the WORLD wide web. Yes, that's right, for all the WORLD to see!
Now, before you crack from the stress of the wait, and I know what it's like (Been there. New York Bar Exam. New Jersey Bar Exam. 2002. And all I got with this crappy t-shirt), here is how to cope with the wait for bar exam results. 7 things you absolutely MUST do in the 24 hours leading up to R-Day (Results Day) ...
Coping with the wait for bar exam results: 7 things you MUST do
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1. You MUST get sleep. Easier said than done, I know, but at least try to get a good night's sleep. Do whatever you have to do to ensure that you're not wide awake at 3AM imagining the horror of failing when all of the other first years in your office pass. That's just sadist. Get those thoughts out of your head and have sweet dreams. Drink some warm milk. Count sheep (Do NOT contemplate a contract, a tort or a crime involving said sheep or even consider how the sheep are property of the sheep herder! Just count!). And, don't take sleeping pills. The only thing worse than being a lawyer is being a lawyer addicted to sleeping pills.
2. You MUST avoid caffeine. Again, easier said than done, but your nerves are enough to keep you alert at this point. You don't need anything else coursing through your veins.
3. You MUST go to the gym. It can only help. Run. Lift weights. Box. Rock climb. There's a certain degree of enlightenment that comes from being drenched in your own sweat. It seems when you wipe your wet forehead with the back of your hand, you just know everything's going to be OK.
4. You MUST surround yourself with non-lawyer, creative types. At the office, pretend you have a migraine from the stress and need peace and quiet. Have dinner with your best friend from college who is now a graphic designer and knows absolutely nothing about the bar exam or the law. Preferably, you should have dinner with your funniest non-lawyer friend. Laugh as much as possible. AVOID lawyers who will inevitably share stories of how they found out their results and who in their class/office/family failed. AVOID other exam takers also waiting for results (talk about a feeding frenzy of nerves. NOT what you need).
5. Pray.
6. You MUST check your results on a desktop. Laptops are too slow. They can't handle the traffic to the site. Need I say more?
7. When you see your name, you MUST scream. Really loudly. Jump up and down. Cry tears of joy. Let it out!!! You passed. Go have a cocktail, counselor! And, by "A cocktail" I mean several. Tell the bartender you always had a crush on him/her. You're a lawyer now!! No one expects you to have a filter.
And, congratulations!
p.s. In the UNLIKELY event that you don't pass (and, think about it, it's a small percentage that actually fail. Ultimately, the powers that be WANT you to pass so that they can charge you for annual registration fees, mandatory CLE, etc.), remember the following:
-Determination, patience and courage are the only things needed to improve any situation. (author unknown)
-Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit. (Napoleon Hill)
- When life gives you lemons, cut them into wedges and put them in your cocktail. (Bar-tender)
- This too shall pass. (author unknown)
Follow me on Twitter at jenfernicola.
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