I apologize in advance for the short and overly self-absorbed diary. Feel free to haul me off to diary jail.
I just found out that I passed the New York State Bar Exam. This was my first try. I feel relieved and elated, but mostly just glad.
This really is the "end" of my formal education. No more classes, no more exams, no more law school. It is done.
I went to a "second tier" law school where no one really ventures out of the state after graduation, because no one "knows" anyone out there. After my dubiously underwhelming undergraduate years though, it was the best school I got into. I got decent grades in law school. Not great. I worked for the public defender, where I handled a lot of cases that were very sad. The work was difficult but rewarding.
When graduation came, I packed everything up and moved to New York City. No job. No prospects for a job. Very little money. I studied my ass off (couldn't afford the bar review class) all summer, and then sat for the exam on July 29 and 30.
I found some interesting work with a PR firm that is paying the bills, but I still want to be a lawyer when I grow up. That's a tall order in this town when you don't know anyone, and didn't go to the "right" school, but at this point I feel like I can do anything. Who knows?
Anyway, this combined with the election, this has turned out to be a pretty good couple of weeks.
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Update: Thanks, everyone. I'm gonna knock off a couple hours early and go drink in Brooklyn. Seriously though, if anybody is hiring, I'm your man. Heh.