You are about to embark on a journey like no other: the bar exam. You will spend countless hours studying and preparing for the hardest exam of your life. During the bar prep period, your life will change dramatically as you shift to studying full-time. However, although you will be focused on studying, your loved ones’ lives will continue around you and will still want to see and interact with you as normal. Your loved ones have the best intentions, they care about you and want to support you! Personally, my family and fiance were my biggest cheerleaders throughout my bar exam experience. However, I had to set some boundaries during my bar study. You will want to explain to your loved ones that you appreciate all of the love and support but your main focus has to be on studying for the bar exam. No one is saying that you cannot have fun or see your loved ones during the bar prep period.
However, your time will be limited and your main focus is passing the bar exam. Thus, you will want to explain to them (lovingly) what they can expect during each phase of the bar exam and set some ground rules.
I know what you are thinking: you have been studying for the bar for what seems like forever now, and you don’t want to hear more about it! I get it, bar prep is one of the most stressful times of your life. For me, it was too. I was overwhelmed, stressed, and felt like I was going insane. I have since taken, survived, and passed the bar exam. However, I wanted to reflect back to the last few days before I took the bar exam and remember how I survived that week (remembering the most stressful time in my life may be a form of insanity, but I digress). Here is my perspective on the last week before the bar exam to help you navigate your way through this very trying time. 
It is difficult to actually envision what the test day(s) will be like when you go and sit for the bar exam (unless you have already taken it, of course). Personally, I had so many questions and thoughts about what it would be like when I sat for the Michigan bar exam. I didn’t know how meals would work, where I would be mentally, or even how I would sleep the nights before the exam. I was a nervous wreck to be honest. Personally, studying and taking the bar were the most stressful times of my life. Thankfully, I am on the other side of that difficult experience and am now a licensed attorney. However, there are several things I would have done differently if I had to go back in time and take the bar exam again. However, one thing that I would not change is having my fiancé come with me to where the bar exam was being held. 
Are you a 3L and getting ready to start thinking about the the bar exam? Are you planning on taking that exam in Michigan? Well great news, you’re in luck!! I had the (dis)pleasure of taking the Michigan bar exam in July and survived the two day ordeal! Meaning, I can tell you everything I know to help you get yourself psyched up for the bar exam!! Personally, bar prep and the bar exam were the most stressful times of my life. I hate to be such a debbie downer but that is the reality of such an important and difficult test. I would study all day at my desk while the world was spinning around me. And if I took time to do something other than practice tests, lectures, and obsessively highlighting my outlines, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough or that I was going to fail. But, like I just said, I SURVIVED IT! 
You walk out of your last law school final exam and you stretch your fists far above your head. You cheer, blissfully thinking about the grand plans you have for the summer: sandy beaches, afternoon cocktails on the water, spending time with your loved ones, and the glorious feeling of the summer air as you take a nap in the sun. What a wonderful dream to have. Unfortunately, for a law school graduate, the only sandy beach you will experience is the “pink sands” candle from Yankee Candle that you lit next to you with your nose in a prep book. Yep, the worst summer of all of law school: the post 3L summer. Following law school, the July bar exam is right around the corner, much to any law school graduate’s dismay. Hours of studying, reviewing, and practicing in front of a computer every single day. How can you make matters worse? Add work into the mix. In a new form of self-torture, I decided to work during a majority of my bar prep period. Meaning, I had to cram studying in any chance I got without any fun or breaks in between. Are you 
Although it is hard to see it sometimes, law school does eventually end. Unfortunately, you are not out of the “grind” when you graduate. While you will have your “JD,” you still have some more steps to earn those “Esq” letters after your name. You still need to think about the