New Beginnings

The Bar examinations began and were done in two days with only a day apart.

I don’t have the exact words to describe what I felt, but t’was somewhere between fear and excitement. It was as if my stomach was about to turn itself inside out. My hands reached for my phone as soon as I woke up. I was buzzing with anticipation. The first thing that popped onto my screen were pictures of the examinees marching their way towards the MSU Tambler campus. I scrolled further down and saw that the Bar Operations Committee was ready to serve.

My heart swelled with pride and maybe, I shed a tear or two.

I wonder how the community felt when a series of Bar Bulletin was published to push through with the Bar 2020_21. It wasn’t easy to get to where we are now; regionalizing the Bar exams and going digital, to name a few. What used to be four Sundays were reduced to two days, the thought of which I’m sure is enough to make an aspiring examinee go into a frenzy. In hindsight, it was clear that this batch was legendary - it was the first-ever Bar exam to be held locally, giving the examinees a home-court advantage and an extra morale boost.

A lot of them will become lawyers. Walking into their testing venues, those Bar hopefuls carried more than just years of knowledge on the intricacies of law; they carried a lifelong dream that will soon turn into reality. It got me thinking, how did they manage to get there? How did they not give up? I know that it takes a special kind of courage to take the Bar exam in the middle of a pandemic. That special kind of courage makes for no ordinary person.

One of my favorite authors wrote that change and loss travel together. We cannot have change without loss. This year’s Bar examinees experienced the most grueling changes - finishing law school online, trying not to contract the virus, and wondering whether or not the examinations would push through. The past two years have been everything but the best. But they also obtained the best and the worst possible loss; they are not the same people they were two years ago.

In a message to all Bar warriors, Dean Nilo Divina expressed that “challenges are only obstacles if you allow them to take your eyes off the goal. An obstacle hinders you. A challenge pushes you further.” If there’s anything the pandemic did, it’s that it pushed our Bar examinees to fight for their dreams. Despite the many difficulties that came their way, our Bar examinees went ahead and studied, refusing to let anything stop them from finally getting to this milestone. They may have suffered countless losses, but they gained something even better in return - growth in themselves and in studying law.

As we step into another semester, may we emulate their passion and tenacity in pursuing our dreams. May we never get side-tracked or jaded as we continue to devote our cause to the rule of law. Most of all, may we learn to honor the ever-changing stages of our lives – ourselves included.