As I write this, I should be studying for the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam), a part of the bar exam that I am taking tomorrow. I just thought I would say something about my preparation and how I perceive that it differs from other people's preparation.

Almost everyone I know other than myself signed up for the BarBri MPRE review course. This is one of those expensive bar review companies that is supposed to make you get all ready for the test. I thought about signing up, especially because my firm would probably pick up the tab, but I was never motivated enough to really do it. Heck, I'm lucky I even got registered for the test itself. So instead, I bought a little review book at the law school bookstore and have been using nothing but that and the rules themselves that we are going to be tested on. My resources are much more limited than other people's.

Also, I don't think I have been putting in as much study time as others (right now is a case in point). I know people who have missed or will miss activities today because they're "cramming." I'm just not taking it that seriously. I'm putting in my time, but I'm not overdoing it at the expense of everything else in my life.

So will I do worse than these people? We'll see. I guess I have confidence in my abilities. I always have done fairly well on standardized tests--I suppose that's how I got into Harvard. I'm not afraid of them. And the low standard I have to meet to pass this test and the possibility to retake it in March, no harm done, are also soothing me into relative complacency.

Maybe my classmates' attitudes are just a regular old manifestation of that famous Harvard Law School culture--getting a little too worked up about being the best in every possible endeavor. Me, now that I've made it this far, and especially now that I have a job in hand, I'm a little less concerned. Some people I know, however, just have some sort of drive that won't allow them to let up on the gas pedal, no matter what. Yeah, I'm not like that.