For most the free world, the last (consecutive) Tuesday in July bears no real significance. Its just that, a Tuesday near the end of the month. Soon it will be August- with August comes back to school sales, back to school itself, the impending finality of summer.
For the legal community the last Tuesday in July (on a Tuesday of a year that the following Wednesday is still in the month of July) it means one thing: the bar exam, day one. (Unless you live in a 3-day-bar-exam state and then, well, Tuesday could be your first day off, and in that instance I’m looking at you Louisiana.)
Day one of the bar exam is probably the most nerve wracking. By the Wednesday (which should be your last day unless you are doing that horrible NY-NJ dual test in the same year nonsense or you live in a 3-day-state) you are just ready to be done with it. You already love or hate your procter, you might have found out the hard way that flip flops are verbotten & you know your exam number by heart. You’ve figured out if your table wobbles, if someone in your room has an annoying tic & you’ve managed to survive at least one day without your cell phone ringing.
There is no helpful advice I can give at this point other than pack lightly tomorrow because as soon as it is done you want to go out and “going out” should never, ever be done with a Bar/Bri book or a baggie full of pencil grips.
Don’t go home & check your answers tonight or re-hash anything with your friends. Just get in the zone, have (one) glass of wine, eat a good meal, go to bed. The second day will pass in a bubble-filling blur (your hand won’t get nearly as tired as it did during the essays) and before you know it you will emerge from the haze that has been your life, blinking and realizing oh crap I don’t have a job, oh crap I have to start work soon, oh crap I didn’t do laundry for two months, hmm it appears I also forgot to pay some bills for a few months, oh hey look, my family is still here, and perhaps even a little bit of realization that you made it to the other side. Now all you have to do is wait. And wait some more. If you thought this morning was bad, you have no idea what “results” day is like. Trust me. And sharpen your pencil again.
And don’t lose your anoymous exam number, or you’ll be stuck waaiting to find out about whether you passed for the results to come in the mail. That’s what I did. Because I am an idiot.
And don’t forget, Daisy, that if you DO go out that you do not go to sketchy bars. AND, if you DO go to sketchy bars, keep careful watch over your purse or wallet because nothing is worse than having to call credit card companies at 1 AM the night after the bar.
Right?