Final Stretch...

Ok, so I made my husband sit there with me last night slogging through sets of flashcards... after evidence, PR, crim law, and crim pro I knew everything to about 85% retention.

I haven't focused much on con law this time around, though. Last February I did almost a week trying to thoroughly learn con law, and I really didn't get that much out of it. I know enough to write a coherent 70 point essay on speech or one of the major areas, and I know enough to get about 60% on the MBEs, and that's just gonna hafta be good enough. Con law is my one subject where I don't get better at it no matter how much I study it, so to ease my stress, this time, I said, screw it. I'll put my time where I think I can raise my scores.

Hopefully that gamble will pay off. I did reach a much quieter inner peace when studying this time. I certainly didn't like, 'cause let's face it, no one does, but I didn't hate every last waking second, either. Allocating a certain time each day and giving myself permission to be done with studying after that helped enormously. It also helped my ability to get through without feeling crazy and completely out of sorts.

I still took a stack of flashcards when I went to pick the kids up at school, and so that 15 minutes of waiting for them was not wasted. However, I did NOT try to study when they were around for the vast majority of time. I simply closed off the possibility of doing certain things, such as cleaning my house or keeping up on grocery shopping. If I didn't have dinner ready, I simply said to my husband, "I don't know what we're eating for dinner." After a couple of grouchy exchanges, he became somewhat accepting and was more helpful, allowing me downtime that I needed, and I refused to feel guilty for it.

The same is true today. I will go over to a friend's house to have snacks and watch the Oscars, and I'm not gonna feel guilty that I am not sitting at home studying. I have planned time tomorrow afternoon when I get to Sacramento- I will sit down and write out each Cheat Sheet/Approach in my stack, and then I'm going over to Arden Fair Mall to do a little shopping. I have even set aside some money for that purpose. I religiously set aside about $1,000 so I would not be worried about how to pay for lunch while I am at the bar, or how to pay for gas to get home. In so many, many ways, my stress has quieted to a slight occasional murmur, rather than a prolonged two month long, searing headache, as in past test administrations. I know that I know enough to pass this test. I know the law, I know how to write. All I need is calm and a little luck with arrangement of topics, and all will be well.