tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post3771028815391154386..comments2023-07-23T11:53:16.145-04:00Comments on This Heart of Mine: Bar Exam BrainSamantha Brinn Merelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-46307432393488796002012-10-01T21:25:36.364-04:002012-10-01T21:25:36.364-04:00That's so hard. The harder you try to remember...That's so hard. The harder you try to remember, the farther away the knowledge seems. I'm so glad you remembered. I'm so glad you passed.Jester Queenhttp://jesterqueen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-91566982045921418702012-09-29T20:59:46.931-04:002012-09-29T20:59:46.931-04:00Love it. Actually broke out in a cold sweat readin...Love it. Actually broke out in a cold sweat reading this... Standardized tests are designed to scare the bejesus out of us, I'm sure of it. When I Blinkhttp://imissyouwheniblink.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-20344528511214325422012-09-27T17:14:44.123-04:002012-09-27T17:14:44.123-04:00Thanks so much, that is actually my favorite line ...Thanks so much, that is actually my favorite line too, because it was so true, and so indicative of the complete and utter freak out that I was enduring. I think this kind of anxiety is pretty mainstream, everyone feels it at some point in time.Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-52288024580979439182012-09-27T17:13:36.543-04:002012-09-27T17:13:36.543-04:00Isn't it funny how stress manifests itself in ...Isn't it funny how stress manifests itself in dreams? Ironically enough, I never dream about this. I think about it a lot, but it never shows up, even in my worst anxiety dreams.Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-4071178919592243952012-09-27T17:12:38.900-04:002012-09-27T17:12:38.900-04:00The test is given all over the country during the ...The test is given all over the country during the last week in July, and when results are released varies by state. The essays are hand graded, so the more people who take the test in a state, the longer it takes for the scores to come out. In NY, they usually don't come out until the first half of November. It's basically torture.Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-35619237572827420072012-09-27T17:10:53.949-04:002012-09-27T17:10:53.949-04:00You are so right. Not only memory slips...There we...You are so right. Not only memory slips...There were people throwing up, passing out, and assorted other yucky things throughout the two days. Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-83817661016974097242012-09-27T17:10:08.037-04:002012-09-27T17:10:08.037-04:00Why do they make bar exams so damn intimidating? I...Why do they make bar exams so damn intimidating? I wish I had taken it in a regular classroom with 20 other people, instead of in the cavernous ground floor of the Jacob Javitz convention center in NYC with 12,000 other people. The place was so high strung it practically vibrated.Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-87753488298996845062012-09-27T17:08:54.743-04:002012-09-27T17:08:54.743-04:00Thanks so much! I don't remember ever having a...Thanks so much! I don't remember ever having an inner monologue as loud as it was that day!Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-64914423337724385192012-09-27T14:16:19.801-04:002012-09-27T14:16:19.801-04:00I enjoyed reading this piece and especially admire...I enjoyed reading this piece and especially admired the pacing and your descriptive inner monologue/obsessing. I felt your anxiety and could relate to every drop of fear and panic! Well done!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-21127232029247212152012-09-27T13:11:43.294-04:002012-09-27T13:11:43.294-04:00Surprisingly not. My recurring anxiety dream, stra...Surprisingly not. My recurring anxiety dream, strangely enough, is that I am going on a trip somewhere and forgot to pack. Weird how our brains translate stress isn't it?Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-22544812219256085982012-09-27T13:10:02.888-04:002012-09-27T13:10:02.888-04:00Thanks Angela, and welcome to blogging and Yeah Wr...Thanks Angela, and welcome to blogging and Yeah Write! Glad you joined in on the fun. Hold on tight, and enjoy the ride. Looking forward to reading what you write. Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-51275506598522982532012-09-27T13:07:28.797-04:002012-09-27T13:07:28.797-04:00Um, yes. That second day was complete torture, and...Um, yes. That second day was complete torture, and utterly unnecessary. I think they just use it as an endurance exam. Like to see who can sit through two full days of answering inane legal questions without cracking up, passing out, or doing something else equally abhorrent. And thank you, thank you for the writing complement. Yeah Write has helped me find my voice in a major way.Samantha Brinn Merelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15109435460094526642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-49459563052035500122012-09-27T10:46:16.284-04:002012-09-27T10:46:16.284-04:00I wish that my social security number was the only...I wish that my social security number was the only thing that I forgot these days. Has forgetting your social security number turned into a recurring dream when you're under pressure?Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02865863984001684338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-35244456889185496952012-09-26T22:40:43.300-04:002012-09-26T22:40:43.300-04:00Oh that gut wrenching self doubt!
I have so been ...Oh that gut wrenching self doubt! <br />I have so been there, although with different details. I am glad it worked out for you... that must have been one serious sigh of relief you let out! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09022540233075643448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-51470491086301718182012-09-26T20:19:18.690-04:002012-09-26T20:19:18.690-04:00I am just copying and pasting this first part. So...I am just copying and pasting this first part. Sorry ... I promise you will only have to endure it once. I'm Angela -- new to blogging and new to yeah write. But, not new to writing. Until becoming unemployed this June (effin’ Scott Walker ... oops!), I taught high school English and Creative Writing was one of those courses. So, long story short: I will always have lots to say. Feel free to curse at me if you don't want to hear all my feedback. If you want more, let me know that too. I will glady offer even further feedback, but I’m not interested in pissing anyone off my first time on the grid. Now, on to your post ...<br />What an awful experience! - But you took that experience and wrote about it very well. You are able to make your readers feel a sense of anxiety too. I like how you went straight to "maybe I shouldn't even be a lawyer." I think a lot of us (especially writers, for some strange reason) go to blaming ourselves and belittling ourselves to the utmost degree in zero to sixty. All the time, I find myself sobbing "I'm a horrible mom" over the smallest slips. Good job hitting on universal experience here. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05393708147017569061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-77727947630639131002012-09-26T16:54:35.553-04:002012-09-26T16:54:35.553-04:00Oh, I hate when our brains try to thwart us. And t...Oh, I hate when our brains try to thwart us. And the harder you try to remember the worse it gets. So glad that you remembered the number in time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-10359036698945270602012-09-26T16:20:35.603-04:002012-09-26T16:20:35.603-04:00There is nothing worse than not being able to reme...There is nothing worse than not being able to remember critical things at critical times. You have to wait months for the result? Oh the suspense!!Michelle Longohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15437193620480920753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-49162889039224121482012-09-26T12:02:59.637-04:002012-09-26T12:02:59.637-04:00ack SO glad you got the right numbers down! :)
gre...ack SO glad you got the right numbers down! :)<br />great job conveying how stress can freak us the F out. ;)christinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02983259980848913151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-34647959186671006002012-09-26T08:29:17.833-04:002012-09-26T08:29:17.833-04:00What a mortifying experience! All those facts swim...What a mortifying experience! All those facts swimming around in your brain and you couldn't remember a nine-number sequence. Talk about total terror!<br /><br />I'm so glad your memory finally cooperated. Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01039782718270899670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-31649949578129195522012-09-26T02:52:58.196-04:002012-09-26T02:52:58.196-04:00I'm fairly certain i will now have a dream of ...I'm fairly certain i will now have a dream of forgetting my locker combo or of forgetting where my classes are as I read this right before bed. Very well written! Carrie @Tempo Life Coachinghttp://www.tempolifecoaching.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-39832477663432136712012-09-25T21:36:13.742-04:002012-09-25T21:36:13.742-04:00"God, I couldn't even remember how many n..."God, I couldn't even remember how many numbers I needed to remember."<br /><br />That part made me laugh outloud. So relatable. I am not a lawyer and have never taken the bar exam, but still. Good job this week!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-1331105084240437572012-09-25T21:35:23.902-04:002012-09-25T21:35:23.902-04:00OMG I can only imagine how panicky that feels. UGH...OMG I can only imagine how panicky that feels. UGHHH. Good thing your brain didn't let you down.Giahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10026292498250130247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-34408480549135039572012-09-25T18:47:40.052-04:002012-09-25T18:47:40.052-04:00Great job of sucking me in and making me all worri...Great job of sucking me in and making me all worried and stuff! I felt so anxious for you and am so happy it worked out!Stacie @ Snaps and Bitshttp://www.snapsandbits.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-36801981249807459172012-09-25T17:43:24.140-04:002012-09-25T17:43:24.140-04:00I got all worried for you while reading this post ...I got all worried for you while reading this post and felt so happy at the end when you passed. . .which means you did a great job. Louise Ducotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01390647405858661686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5118261797831917447.post-72929650818726248522012-09-25T12:07:40.711-04:002012-09-25T12:07:40.711-04:00How insane and painful was that second day of the ...How insane and painful was that second day of the bar exam. TORTURE. I kept obsessing that my cell phone was still on and I would be disqualified. INSANE. I love your writing....it's so strong without calling attention to itself. And I love a law post. christie tatehttp://www.outlawmama.comnoreply@blogger.com