I have good news to share too. :)
 

I finally passed the California Bar Exam and is officially a lawyer at the age of 28. I would never accomplish this if I did not leave my heroin addict ex. The lesson is when you focus on yourself and your dreams, you can achieve great things.

I thought I would include the statistics to share how extremely difficult this bar is, the most difficult bar in the country with the lowest average pass rate compared to the other states.



SAN FRANCISCO, May 17, 2013, 6 p.m. – The State Bar of California's Committee of Bar Examiners reported today that 41 percent of the applicants passed the February 2013 General Bar Examination (GBX). If the 1,810 people who passed the February 2013 exam satisfy other requirements for admission, they will become members of the State Bar.

Preliminary statistical analyses show that of the 4,419 applicants who took the GBX, 31 percent were first-time takers. The passing rate for 1,371 first-time applicants was 52 percent overall. The passing rate for the 3,048 applicants repeating the examination was 36 percent overall.

Preliminary statistical analyses show the first-time and repeater percent passing the GBX (rounded to whole numbers) by law school type as follows:
School Type First-Timers Repeaters
California ABA 60% 50%
Out-of-State ABA 49% 39%
California Accredited (but not ABA) 25% 17%
Unaccredited: Fixed-Facility 14% 12%
Unaccredited: Correspondence 42% 16%
Unaccredited Distance Learning 29% 9%

The applicants not included in the above totals either were attorneys admitted in other states who either chose or were required to take the GBX, attorneys admitted in foreign jurisdictions, law students in the Law Office/Judge’s Chambers Study Program or law students who qualified to take the GBX through four years of law study. More detailed statistics, including passing rates by individual law schools, will be made available in approximately four to six weeks and published on the State Bar’s website at Future Lawyers.

The three-day General Bar Examination is given twice a year, in February and July. The exam consists of three sections: a multiple-choice Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), six essay questions and two performance tests that are designed to assess an applicant's ability to apply general legal knowledge to practical tasks. The mean scaled MBE score in California was 1411 compared with the national average of 1380.

In addition, the Committee announced that 230 (50.0 percent) of the 460 lawyers who took the Attorneys' Examination passed. Out of the total taking the Attorneys’ Examination, 20 were disciplined lawyers who took the examination as a condition of reinstatement; 3 disciplined lawyers passed.

Oooopps: Congratulations! You are so right about how you could not have done this if you had not removed active addiction from your daily life. Having said that, the ripples of that experience with active addiction will give you wisdom as you move forward in this new vocation that you could not have gotten otherwise, and many people will be blessed because of it.

Gosh, I am so proud of you! (((Hugs))) !!!

Sojourner

Now...how cool it that?!?!!!!!!!! Congratulations on a wonderful accomplishment! I'm so glad that you posted! There are so many here who are forfeiting their lives and future to addiction by proxy. You've demonstrated what can be accomplished when you take control of what you can.....you.

Wonderful news! Thanks for sharing!!!!

Keep taking care of you.

gentle hugs
ke

Congratulations!!!!!!::bday7

What an accomplishment at such a young age. Thank you for sharing what one can accomplish when they focus on themself instead of trying to fix someone else...

Best of luck to you in the future.:You_Rock_

AWESOME!!!

Very, very nice work. Congrats!!!

Now that is GREAT news!!!!! I know how hard the Bar exam is in your state as I have a friend that took it several years ago and passed on her first try, but boy she came home from that, so totally exhausted and spent, that I believe she slept for 12 hours straight.

That is quite an accomplishment. And, as said above I agree that you probably could not have done it still being with an active addict. I also agree, that your experience of having lived with an active addict will help you a lot in life and possibly in your law practice, depending on what area you plan on practicing in.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

Love and hugs,

Congratulations!!

What an amazing accomplishment! I was just commenting to my fiance last night how sometimes I regret not following that particular dream of getting a law degree and practicing law. I had too many dreams and not enough lifetimes to try them all, but I sometimes wonder if it really is, as they say, "never too late."

You are an amazing example for all of us on here!

:You_Rock_

Dear Sojourner, thank you so much for your kind words. I agree with you. Coming out of my 3 year relationship with the addict and healing from the whole experience has made me a whole different person. I've learned to think with my brain more and not my emotions. I like to think I'm much more rational now than I was a few years ago and I can recognize abusive behaviors and not doubt them for what they are.


Kindeyes, thank you so much. I indeed forfeited my life when I was involved with the addict. It took a lot of tears and pain to get to where I am today. I am thankful for the wisdom that I've accumulated from this journey. Thank you friend.


Broken 101, thank you so much for sharing my happiness!

Zoso, thank you! Congrats on your Masters in such a hard subject also.

Laurie6781, thank you so much. It is indeed one hell of an exam. It's 3 days long and 18 hours of testing. Not to mention the months leading up to it is extremely stressful. After the exam, you have to wait 3 months to find out your fate. CA and NY are the 2 hardest bar to pass in the country. If I did not remove myself from a bad environment and re-focus on my own path, this day would have never come. I am very grateful and thankful that I met many kind people along the way.

Interrupted, thank you so much dear. Perseverance and hard work really does pay off. Never give up on your dreams!

You are one awesome person to overcome enormous obstacles and achieve your dream!! I am so proud of you I could burst!! :hug:

I believe there is a strangely wrapped gift in all blessings, and perhaps yours is that in the field of law you will have more understanding and compassion than all others who have not walked where you walked such a short time ago.

Wow, just wow, this is wonderful news.

Hugs

Dear Ann, something about your writing always touches me. You just have such a gentle spirit and kindness to you. I thank you for being one of the very first folks to reach out to me in the beginning when I was struggling and sitting in a dark place. Thank you so much. :wave: :thanks

I'm so happy for you-- I hope to be in your spot one day, with a degree in one hand and a healthy future ahead of me, without addiction nipping at my heels!

Congrats!!

Congratulations! What awesome news!! Woo hooooooooooo!!!

Very impressive! Mucho congratulations!

oooopps!

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:You_Rock_

Lily thank you! It starts with a decision and commitment to yourself. I wish you a bright and happy future! :hug:

Wow! And after reading those stats, double Wow!

may I ask where you got your quote signature?

Thank you, another fan in awe of what happens when you let addiction go,

Beth

Wicked Thank you! I am happy to share that information. I am a reader of this blog call Marc and Angel Hack Life. They publish inspiring blog posts on ways to improve one's life. My signature in particular is from the following article, #14. I remember feeling very empowered by that statement when I read it.

40 Lessons for Finding Strength in Hard Times

(((((interrupted))))) it is NEVER too late!

I went back to college at age 43, was told it would take me at least 2 years doing 3 semesters each year to get my degree. Well, I fooled them, not only did it take me only 3 semesters total, I was working also at the time, at a minimum wage job, doing home care for the incapacitated. Got a lot of night work that way and with client sleeping I could study.

Yep I graduated, took my nursing licensing test and started my own business doing private home care of the terminal and/or totally incapacitated. Business grew rapidly.

So yep, it is never too late!!!

Go for it!

(((((oooopps))))) my heart is smiling very broadly your news is just so GREAT!!!!

You have opened up a whole new world for yourself. I know you will be an excelling lawyer, a very thorough lawyer. Your recover shows that!!!!!

Love and hugs,

Yes, I love Marc and Angel Hack Life!
I am going to read 40 Lessons for finding Strength in Hard Times.
I have only been reading for about a year.
What a great blog it is, and I have it going to my email!

Beth

Congrats to you!!!