Of Exams, Growing Up, and Choices

First there were eight choices.

The first exam I failed at the College of Law was a multiple choice exam.  Eight choices, one right answer. It could be all of the above or none of the above.

I got my first 4.0, a conditional pass or if you're pessimistic a conditional fail, when I was 21 years old.  One year after I left the denial age of 'twenteen' life hit me --  everything becomes more complicated as you grow up.  Even a simple multiple choice.  I remembered looking at my bluebook with that ubiquitous red mark. I went back to my textbooks and realized that most answers were either none of the above or all of the above.

None of the above OR all of the above.

Five years into the College of Law and just two more semesters to go, I can say this has been the most valuable lesson I have learned.

Life gives us choices. Some apparent, some we have to create ourselves.  Some choices are not choices at all but merely just distractions and nuisance. But just like any exam, sometimes this distractions and nuisances are what makes it more challenging and exciting.



Then came right minus wrong.

Our teacher in succession arrived and told us, 'Tonight, i'm not your professor I'm Jericho Rosales and I am just your proctor so you cannot ask questions from me".  When he distributed the exam questions one thing popped out in the instructions: right minus wrong.

When we were kids, the questions were simple. Checking it is simple just add all the correct answers and you will get your score.  As grown-ups, however; we now have to contend with right minus wrong rules. Where each wrong answer can take you one full point, or a fraction of a point less.

Fortunately, life is not as tough. Unfortunately, life can also be tougher.

Then came essay questions.

Law school has always been about essay questions. Of arguing for or against and of resolving issues.  This has been my favorite type of exam so far. No correct answers. No wrong answers. It would all depend on how you argue and, of course, how you support your arguments.

This is the best part of growing up.  No one would tell you what's correct and what's not. The question of whether or not you would pass or fail would all depend on how you argue and use your resources to back up those arguments.

Then came pass or fails
Growing up is no more about keeping scores of getting one point higher than your seatmate. In the end it all becomes a matter of pass or fails.

A little over a year from now I will be taking the bar exams. What happens during the exam would reflect what I have learned during my years in law school. What happens after the exam would reflect what I have learned forever.

Indeed, life gives us choices which includes all or the above or none of the above.  But this choices don't stay forever, at some point we all have to 'pass our papers'.

After this brief bout of insanity and introspection, now I have to go back reviewing for my midterm exams next week.

A few weeks after I wrote this blog post I came across this article from the New York Times.