Malleability is the capacity to deform under stress. Not to break, but to take on a new shape. You see where I am going because that’s what you have been doing here.
None of you are the same as you were the day we started bar prep. In fact, I have some tangible evidence of the changes that have taken place in these limited weeks.
Some of you have “deformed” right before my eyes. Some writing has leveled up in ways that astound me. Those people have refused to accept an old “bad writer” form and have demanded change, sending essays every day for edits.
Some teetering souls are now resolute and solidly sure of themselves, just in time, after weeks of constant melt downs. Some people started out with the most unbelievable real-life limitations (you know who you are) and never wavered in their determination to get this done. But some have dropped off and abandoned their pursuit knowing they did not have the capacity “under stress” to become what this thing unveils.
You probably didn’t know that, and I would not tell you that sooner than now. It would scare you too much to consider that dropping out is even an option. But now, I think it’s worth knowing. Because if you’re still standing here getting ready to “become” the thing you always desired. You are one of the even fewer who started out all those years ago and ended up right here at the entry way of your possibility. And by fewer, I mean you start out as a rare person. Don’t be confused by the multitude of law students you know — there are still only about .00025 percent of the population taking a bar exam.
Now, I am not saying the journey is over after this test. No. It really has just begun.
A boss will throw a case file on your desk and ask for a motion in 12 hours. A judge will pepper you with questions you did not prepare. A client will demand more of your vault of wisdom than you currently possess. Yet none of these things will quite “deform” you the way this has. Because this has been preparing you for that, and you will learn after this that you can do anything hard. And it’s arguably harder to take the mantle at the bar. But you’re more capable than you were to handle it BECAUSE OF THIS.
Bless the rigors of this test for insisting that you “deform” under stress. You’re going to need it. Congrats for insisting on changing every day. I am ever so grateful to have been invited into your pursuit.
