Graduation and Study for the Bar

I graduated.  It was stressful to manage the family politics, but in this event, everyone came together and didn't cause WW III or another Cold War.  Keep in mind, my guests were from North Korea, Japan, Russia, Denmark, the USA, and Taiwan and South Korea.  No Germans that represented.  :(

The combination could've made for a difficult political situation, but in this case people behaved, especially my family.  That was certainly a relief.

Graduation for me was just eh and blah, except for the fact that I have very caring and loving people in my life that came to celebrate it with me.  It was more for them than it was for me.  The funniest part of it all was that people had brought in alcohol inside the room where we prepared for graduation ceremony.  It was early in the afternoon, and I thought to myself, why didn't I think of that.  Why is there a hint of negativity in all of it?

Well, because graduation marks an end, right?  Well, not for 95%+ of law graduates of 2012 across the country and me.  After just one week of rest, we have to start studying for the BAR - which is perhaps the final of all finals.

I only had one week off between my last year of school and the bar. and then the studying started.  It's the final of all finals, as it spans 3 days, and covers 12 subjects of law, which if one took each of those subjects consecutively as classes, it would take two years to complete.  The BAR is divided into 3 parts: the multiple choice (one full day), 6 essays and a performance examination (2 days).

Studying goes something like this.  8-10 hours a day, everyday for 6 weeks.  Half a day on Saturdays.  Then in the last month, 12 hours everyday (no more breaks.)  =(  As the Koreans say, "Starting is half the battle."  I definitely was not enjoying the self-discipline to re-start classes I had to refresh from three years ago.  I kept reminding myself , why didn't you use your week to take a holiday in Cancun?  No point in crying over spilled milk.  I didn't have the miles to afford to travel this time, and I decided to spend my free time with my family and friends just hanging out.

So - do I have any wisdom or magical advice about going through a marathon like this?  It's nothing you don't already know.  I'll state my principles nonetheless.  Work hard, stay focused, and success comes in the day-to-day small activities.  Do them well.  And during times that require endurance, remember: happiness is surely overrated.