I Passed the Hawaii Bar Exam!
Chris and I were sitting on the lanai during a break from work. I was playing on my phone and he was “resting his eyes.” I noticed I got a new email, so I pulled it up and saw it was from the Hawaii State Bar. It was an automated message telling me that a new document had been posted in my account. This happens regularly and results weren’t supposed to be back until the end of October, so I didn’t think anything about it.
But then I noticed that the title of the document that had been posted was “Notice of Passing.” I sat straight up and gasped. Chris looked at me.
“I think I passed the Bar,” I said.
“What?? What do you mean ‘you think’?”
“I don’t know. It says ‘Notice of Passing’ but I’m not sure what that means.”
We both jumped up and I rushed over to my computer to pull up my account. I heard Chris in the kitchen, but I wasn’t sure what he was doing. It took a minute for me to log in and pull up the document.
“Babe, what else could that mean? It has to mean you passed,” Chris very rationally pointed out.
“I know, but it’s really early!”
Finally I got the document pulled up.
“This letter is to notify you that you have passed the July 2021 Hawai’i Bar Exam…”
“I passed,” I whispered.
Chris popped the champagne bottle that he had gotten out of the fridge. He poured us glasses and we toasted. Before I could even take a sip of the champagne, I burst into tears. Chris is used to this, so he just started laughing. As my tears turned into full on sobbing, he came around the counter and wrapped me in a hug.
The next few hours were a blur as I drank champagne, called friends and family, and tried to wrap my head around the fact that I PASSED. No more waiting and wondering and worrying. It was done.
So many people said, “I knew you would pass.” And here’s the truth. I thought I would. After I took the Bar, I thought I probably passed. But there was always that tiny voice in the back of my head that said, “but what if you didn’t?” And that voice DROVE ME CRAZY and fueled my worrying and anxiety.
I still have one more step before I can actually get licensed in Hawai’i. I have to take the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam), but I have passed the Bar and passed the character exam (somehow!), so the big hurdles are done. I take the MPRE on November 4th and get the results right away. I shouldn’t have any trouble with it.
As I finished crying on Chris’ shirt (he’s 6’9”; I don’t come anywhere near his shoulder), I pointed my finger in his face and said, “I am NEVER doing that again.” I also said that last time, so he just laughed and said, “sure, sure.”
I have more to share on taking my 2nd Bar Exam, but I’ll save that for later (when I don’t have a headache from celebrating a bit too much), but I couldn’t wait to share with all of you.
Now just to figure out this whole job thing.
***This post seemed like the perfect opportunity to share some of these new photos that my sister, Lillie Elliot, took of us. They might actually be my favorite photos of us that anyone has ever taken. She is stupid talented, guys. And no, those aren’t backdrops. These are just scenes from around Hawaii, WHERE WE LIVE.