So It Begins

I don't think people appreciate the misery of the bar exam. Even if the actual study schedule is reasonably manageable, as mine was, the anxiety and the perception that you're hugely far behind, that you'll never get it all into your head and that you'll space out or be unable to parse what's in your head into the specific answer format they want, that nagging doubt is always with you. It was relatively mild in me; I know I'm smart, I know I remember things really well, I know I'm good at tests, so far I've never been in the bottom 40% of any test I cared about. By contrast some of my classmates were hugely affected by the process; they became stressed out robots who could only talk about or do one thing: study. But even for me, with a degree of confidence and a commitment to sailing and seeing friends and enjoying life it was quite unpleasant, and something I hope never to do again.

I think what's really going to be tested over the next couple of months more than anything else, is one's self-confidence. I'm trying to start with the attitude that I will cram enough into my head and that I will learn to answer in a format that is passable. We'll see how long that lasts.

Good luck to all studying for the bar exam.