The Results

Well the wait is over.  I found out early this morning (central time) that I passed the Illinois bar exam.  Phew! I was unsure when the results would be posted.  I knew that they could be posted as early as October 1, but as late as October 15.  I thought I would just check to see if they were posted at 12:01 am central time.  They were not.  There was no announcement on the Illinois Bar Admission web page.  About 15 minutes later I check again while I was on the phone with Tim (my boyfriend of 5 years).  I gasped in nervous anticipation.  I felt sick.  He asked what was wrong, and I quickly replied nothing because I was terrified of finding out the results.  I did not want him to know they were posted.  He of course knew right away what I was gasping about.

I told him to check for me, and then call me back.  I did not want to hear his reaction.  This way if I failed, it would give him a moment to think about how to break it to me and what to say.  This is the way I checked some of my law school grades also.  I use Tim as my filter.  I just get so nervous!

We hung up and I waited for him to call me back.  He didn't call me for a few minutes and I started panicking thinking that I had failed and he was trying to think of the right way to break it to me.  I called him and asked what he was doing. Neither one of us could find my results on my user page.  Illinois had jumped the gun with its announcement that all results had been released and posted.  I checked obsessively for the next hour.  I then decided to give it a rest, take some sleeping pills, and go to bed.  Before going to sleep, I checked one more time.  I had a message! I called Tim back and told him I was too afraid to check.  He checked for me and blurted out that I had passed and read me the letter.  I did not believe him at first, but it is true!

It seems a little anti-climatic.  I am not really a shouter or screamer.  Very rarely do I yell about anything. I did not scream in excitement.  I did not jump up and down.  Perhaps I was subdued by the sleeping pills already. But I did shed a few tears of relief and happiness.  It has been a long road.  I first started applying to take the LSAT (law school admission test) in 2007.  Four years later I am finally a licensed attorney.

The swearing-in ceremony is on November 10 in Chicago.  I think it will finally hit me that I passed at this time.  My parents and sister are coming and Tim will be there.  I am more excited about that than passing! We will all celebrate together, I cannot wait!

I know many of you prayed for me and thought about me the week of my exam and I appreciate it!


"The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for to-morrow which can be done to-day."
Abraham Lincoln