Results are in.....

I found out yesterday that I passed the bar exam! Results were posted online at 4:30 p.m. yesterday, and I was pretty anxious all of last week. As results day approached, my confidence level plummeted. I was sure I'd failed. In my head, I started making pros and cons lists of re-taking the exam in February versus in July. I was tempted to get out my study materials and start doing practice questions again. I was so nervous yesterday, that I made Joe leave the apartment at about 1 p.m. so that I could be alone when I saw what was sure to be a big "Fail" next to my seat number. I ate a bagel for breakfast, but aside from that, I was too nervous to eat anything. I played some video games in the afternoon, and around 2 p.m., I had a glass of wine to try and relax. I watched some t.v. online, checked my e-mail, played some text-twist on Yahoo games, and then re-filled my wine glass (I didn't completely finish the first glass). After the wine on a fairly empty stomach, I was feeling a lot less nervous about the results. As it neared 4:30, I tried to figure out exactly where I wanted to be when I found out whether I was a lawyer or not. I brought my laptop into my bedroom, and sat next to my law degree. That way, if I failed, I'd at least remember that I'd still at least accomplished something pretty big by just finishing law school. I also put on my lawyer necklace (pearls, of course), figuring that maybe if I looked the part, I'd be more likely to pass. Silly, yes, but I'm blaming it on the wine (and I passed, so obviously it totally worked).

At exactly 4:30, I hit the refresh button on my computer at the Maryland board of law examiners' website, and the results popped up. I scrolled down the list to my seat number, and before I could really think about whether or not I was prepared to find out the results, I saw that I passed! I immediately shouted, "oh my God, I passed!," and then called my parents, who seemed to be waiting by the phone, and then called my exiled boyfriend to let him know it was safe to come home. While I waited for him to come home, I called and e-mailed all of my friends and former employers who were so kind to fill out all of those reference forms required by the character committee. We went out to dinner with some friends to celebrate, and then tried to go to a few bars, but everything was very crowded and loud. I was also pretty tired from being so nervous for the last week, so I was pretty happy to come home and just go to bed.

Much to my parents' dismay though, I'm still not really a lawyer, because I can't go to the official swearing in until sometime in June. I also have to take a one day professional responsibility class prior to swearing in, but unfortunately, the one offered in December conflicts with my final exams this semester.

Since I never went on a proper post-bar exam vacation, I'm trying to figure out something nice to do for myself to celebrate the three years of hard work and the not-so-fun summer. There's the possibility of a trip to Ireland with the boyfriend's family this May, which will be wonderful, but I'm also thinking about splurging on a nice digital SLR camera. That way, I can take nice photos on all the future sweet vacations that this lawyer-gig is sure to bring me (you know, once I've paid back the small mortgage I've taken out on my brain).

Thanks for reading!