Waiting (and waiting) for April 12

This is my last post about the bar exam. Mainly because I was simply waiting for the results to be published for six weeks, so there's not really much I can say I did other than work and wonder if I did well enough to pass. Here's a breakdown of the passing weeks:

Week One
Over the past week, I've been tempted to look back at my law school and bar exam notes to see if I fully/correctly answered everything I was asked. I've been able to resist this. I believe it would do more damage to me mentally to assess what I didn't do. A wise bar-exam instructor advised against doing so, referring to doing so as "post-mortum-ing" the bar.

It took a few days for me to calm down, but I'm finally at peace with not having anything to do. Sometimes this is difficult for people to understand, but law students have been going 100MPH for 3-4 years and suddenly there's nothing to do but wait around. It's strange to adjust back to a normal life.

Week Two
By now I have answered inquiries from friends and family concerning the bar a hundred times over. How do you think you did?-Usually this is followed up with the courtesy "I know you did fine"
When do you find out results?-April 12, don't worry I have this date circled in red.
When can you handle _____ for me?-Um, not interested. Just kidding. Partially.

Week Four
Taking the bar exam now seems a thing of many moons past. I've officially stopped analyzing my essay responses in my mind, a much-welcome calm.

Late last week I was contacted by the attorney who will conduct my face-to-face character and fitness interview. There are several existing theories surrounding this interview and whether or not you've passed the bar. Some people claim getting an interview means you have at least passed the multiple choice portion of the bar. It's a slim sliver of hope for some. However, until I see my name on the successful list on April 12, I won't hold my breath on such theories.

We're sixteen days away from bar results being released. Or 384 hours. Or 24,040 minutes. Not that I'm counting...

April 12
In one of the most cruel and unusual forms of punishment, the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners posted a simple message on their website that results would be posted "By 2pm on April 12". Since we're practically lawyers, the word "by" is open to infinite interpretation. What it resulted in was 400+ people hitting refresh at every waking opportunity starting at 12:00 a.m. on April 12. I was no exception. I woke up in a fit of anxiety at 3am that morning, checking on my phone. No results yet.

9am. 10am. 11am. 12pm. No results yet. Fortunately it was a busy day in the office but the fact that I would know whether I passed was like a clanging gong all morning. Finally at 12:30 I had enough. We had some documents that needed to be filed in court so I gladly volunteered. I left my cell phone at the office so I could'nt be bothered. After going to court I took a prolonged stroll around downtown Nashville.

Right before 1pm my wife called and told me not to check the results until I had her on the phone. We endured 4 years of law school and 2 months of bar review together (she graciously taking care of our daughter, allowing me to get this far), so we would endure the results together.

A friend notified me at 1pm that results had been posted. I called my wife. I was shaking as I pulled up the webpage and scrolled down to the W's. Click HERE  here to see the results.

I HAD PASSED! Needless to say working the rest of the day was out of the question. My boss and I celebrated, everyone in our law office offered congratulations.

My parents, Heather's parents and I went out to dinner that evening. My mentor and close friend Tim generously offered to take me out to celebrate after dinner.

The reality set in the next day. I was finally done. There were no more tests, books, or cases to brief (at least in the earning a degree or license sense). The following weekend was a huge relief filled with encouraging and loving support from friends and family.