This morning, as I was waking up and getting ready to start my day, my thoughts turned to Harry Potter, and I mused internally that I’m looking forward to re-reading Deathly Hallows more slowly than I did on Saturday, taking time to appreciate its subtleties rather than rushing through it to get to the ending (and return to bar prep) as quickly as possible. But then, reflexively, a subconscious thought popped into my head, along the lines of, “But I can’t do that yet, I have to study.”
When my conscious brain promptly smacked that thought down, the resulting mental sigh of relief was enormous, and probably constituted the first time it had really begun to “sink in” that I’m actually, really and truly, done.
Well. Unless and until I end up having to take another state’s bar exam, or if I failed this one. But done for at least for the next year or so, if not longer.
Well, of course. But I wasn’t suggesting that I’ll never have to work hard again in my life. :) I was just saying I’m done with tests, at least for the moment.
From what I’ve heard, Brenners, that feeling of apprehension over what you should be studying, from law school and the bar, doesn’t really go away. When you get a real job, you might come home after a long day and feel like you should be doing something law-related, when of course, you no longer need to bring your work home with you.
I still have nightmares about boards about once a year. I think about the Kreb’s Cycle and my mean Egyptian, barely-understandable biochem teacher and I break out into a cold sweat.
Congratulations on being done! Wishing the best of luck on the exam’s outcome.
And while Nadine has a point about preparing for a judge, it’s not quite the same. The stress of a test to enter your livelihood, your dream, all your hard work, etc. can all be undone with one exam. Life isn’t quite so unforgiving and you have an idea what you’re facing.
Anyway, congrats on being done and congrats about the baby.
Was that comment meant in jest? Unless Brendan edited his post and it earlier said something like “I will never need to work again,” then what is unreasonable about his reaction? As Melissa put it, it is an exam that determines your entrance to the profession.
You can be relieved at finishing the bar and still realize that many challenges lie ahead. He is not a 12-year-old burning his books after the last day of classes. Were you not relieved after finishing the bar exam(I’m guessing from your comment that you are a lawyer)? Most practicing lawyers seem pretty sympathetic to those taking the bar.
I’ve taken several licensing examinations and have found that actual trial preparation is much more stressful. Trial briefs or business briefs have the added fun that they can be associated with adversarial cases. So I contend that it can be enormously stressful because people’s lives are going to affected by your research and presentation. I’m assuming here non-jury trial or negotiations.
I’ve always felt that preparing for the bar or a school test was straight forward and covered a well defined set of information. In the area I work in of Intellectual Property, things can get complex/messy/strange in an instant and I have to be prepared for ALL of that!
Also, on any given day I can walk into the office and have to do the equivalent of full scale exam about something that the day before I didn’t know anything about.
Of course all of that is true. Where did Brendan say that he never had to work hard again? Did he say that practice is a joke compared to the bar? You’ve explained why you think practice is much more stressful than the bar, but this does not explain what provoked your comment. His comment was that he is done with exams for now, and it was pretty clear that he meant formal exams such as law school exams and the bar.
I would think that most would either congratulate him on finishing the exam that determines the ability to make any use of three years of education (at $40,000/year) or wait a few days before delivering stern lectures.
All of this is just to say, give the guy a break. He just finished the bar.
By the way, Nadine, I did not mean to diminish the difficulty of your practice. I can imagine that it’s enormously stressful and did not mean to suggest otherwise. I just think that Brendan’s reaction was quite natural and reasonable.
Whoa, anon. Lay off Nadine. She meant no harm, nor to diminish the accomplishments of Little Red. She is, in fact, probably the greatest anonymous admirer of Brenners. It’s a little weird, actually.
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July 27th, 2007 at 1:06:53 am
And what exactly do you think it’s like to prepare a trial brief for a judge? Yes, it’s MORE than getting ready for an exam.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:20:02 am
Well, of course. But I wasn’t suggesting that I’ll never have to work hard again in my life. :) I was just saying I’m done with tests, at least for the moment.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:43:12 am
From what I’ve heard, Brenners, that feeling of apprehension over what you should be studying, from law school and the bar, doesn’t really go away. When you get a real job, you might come home after a long day and feel like you should be doing something law-related, when of course, you no longer need to bring your work home with you.
Congrats on finishing the bar.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:32:33 am
I just finished re-reading Hallows.
It really is a fantastic book.
And congrats on the bar!
July 27th, 2007 at 2:46:59 pm
Brendan,
I still have nightmares about boards about once a year. I think about the Kreb’s Cycle and my mean Egyptian, barely-understandable biochem teacher and I break out into a cold sweat.
Congratulations on being done! Wishing the best of luck on the exam’s outcome.
And while Nadine has a point about preparing for a judge, it’s not quite the same. The stress of a test to enter your livelihood, your dream, all your hard work, etc. can all be undone with one exam. Life isn’t quite so unforgiving and you have an idea what you’re facing.
Anyway, congrats on being done and congrats about the baby.
July 27th, 2007 at 5:36:04 pm
it is definitely worth rereading, especially to get the gist of the hallows themselves. Hermione also looks much more admirable on a second reading.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:13:52 pm
Nadine,
Was that comment meant in jest? Unless Brendan edited his post and it earlier said something like “I will never need to work again,” then what is unreasonable about his reaction? As Melissa put it, it is an exam that determines your entrance to the profession.
You can be relieved at finishing the bar and still realize that many challenges lie ahead. He is not a 12-year-old burning his books after the last day of classes. Were you not relieved after finishing the bar exam(I’m guessing from your comment that you are a lawyer)? Most practicing lawyers seem pretty sympathetic to those taking the bar.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:33:59 pm
I’ve taken several licensing examinations and have found that actual trial preparation is much more stressful. Trial briefs or business briefs have the added fun that they can be associated with adversarial cases. So I contend that it can be enormously stressful because people’s lives are going to affected by your research and presentation. I’m assuming here non-jury trial or negotiations.
I’ve always felt that preparing for the bar or a school test was straight forward and covered a well defined set of information. In the area I work in of Intellectual Property, things can get complex/messy/strange in an instant and I have to be prepared for ALL of that!
Also, on any given day I can walk into the office and have to do the equivalent of full scale exam about something that the day before I didn’t know anything about.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:52:56 pm
Of course all of that is true. Where did Brendan say that he never had to work hard again? Did he say that practice is a joke compared to the bar? You’ve explained why you think practice is much more stressful than the bar, but this does not explain what provoked your comment. His comment was that he is done with exams for now, and it was pretty clear that he meant formal exams such as law school exams and the bar.
I would think that most would either congratulate him on finishing the exam that determines the ability to make any use of three years of education (at $40,000/year) or wait a few days before delivering stern lectures.
All of this is just to say, give the guy a break. He just finished the bar.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:56:19 pm
By the way, Nadine, I did not mean to diminish the difficulty of your practice. I can imagine that it’s enormously stressful and did not mean to suggest otherwise. I just think that Brendan’s reaction was quite natural and reasonable.
July 28th, 2007 at 3:01:54 am
Whoa, anon. Lay off Nadine. She meant no harm, nor to diminish the accomplishments of Little Red. She is, in fact, probably the greatest anonymous admirer of Brenners. It’s a little weird, actually.