Am I ready to take the Bar?
That would sum up the questions that a would be lawyer would ask himself as he is nearing the completion of his law studies. Have I studied all the laws that covers the Bar subjects? Have I read the landmark jurisprudence of a particular provision? Have I mastered the basic doctrines of my profession? Is my handwriting legible? Do I sound legally logical enough to merit a mark in the examiners' mind?
Three years ago, I experienced my first Bar Operations. I was just fresh out of college, and I am still adjusting to the rudiments of law school life. As an inductee of TAU KAPPA PHI, we are bound by sacred duty to support the Bar Ops. As I recall, we have 23 barristers in 2007, most of whom I do not know back then. We made rounds at the offices of alumni brods for solicitations to pay for the hotel accommodation of the baristas. We rushed through the hotel floors in the late of night to provide their food and coffee requests. We scurried along the roads of Manila to go to various hotels for last minute tips and find an open photocopy center to reproduce them. We sold t-shirts and jackets to augment the finances of the fraternity, not to mention the personal cost it entailed us, for the food and the drinks at the bar site. At the site, we were serving food and drinks to the alumni brods. I even brought my own lighter and bottle opener to properly serve them. And all through this time, we are either drinking alcohol or are already drunk, with no sleep. That was the taste of my first bar ops, though I never fully understood its deeper meaning.
It was however a different story last year. I personally know four of the 26 barristers who took the 2008 Bar Exams. Although I am not the one taking the exams, I somehow feel what they feel. When they are hungry, I feel their hunger. When they are tired, I share their tiredness. When they want something to drink, I feel like drinking with them. When they are jittery, I feel tensed just the same. When they storm the heavens for answers, I feel the need to pray as well. Thus, I finally understood why we are there. We bore upon ourselves, by a solemn bounden oath to do whatever it takes, to veer them away from all the unnecessary distractions while they are taking the Bar. Participating at the Bar Ops transformed from one of duty, to one of service. What initially started as a pledge became a commitment to aid the barista in his quest to achieve the penultimate goal, an ATTY. at the beginning of one's name.
It is therefore with a clear perspective of what to expect and in no small measure, that at the beginning of the 2009 Bar Exams with 31 barristers up our sleeves, we start the drill again. With 10 inductees and all resident brods, we recited the pledge anew - SUSUPORTAHAN KO ANG BAR OPS! This year, we indeed faced a lot of difficulties. But with strong alumni support, we managed to end the Bar Operations for our barristers with a bang. A professor of mine once said, passing the Bar is the exception, flunking it is the rule. What we now do is to await the results come March 2010 and pray that our barristers proves to be the exception to the rule.
With all my palabras, the question still remains - am I ready for the Bar? I shall know it better, with two more Bar Ops (2010 and 2011) before I take it in 2012. But whilst I wait, I shall help the next set of barristers who I am 100% certain, I have personally met and been acquainted with. And all the while, I study hard and prepare for the toughest professional examination in our country. And to the present and future brods, it is my fervent hope, that they shall help me as well in my bar quest. The rest, I leave to God!
Mabuhay ang 2009 TAU KAPPAN Barristers!
That would sum up the questions that a would be lawyer would ask himself as he is nearing the completion of his law studies. Have I studied all the laws that covers the Bar subjects? Have I read the landmark jurisprudence of a particular provision? Have I mastered the basic doctrines of my profession? Is my handwriting legible? Do I sound legally logical enough to merit a mark in the examiners' mind?
Three years ago, I experienced my first Bar Operations. I was just fresh out of college, and I am still adjusting to the rudiments of law school life. As an inductee of TAU KAPPA PHI, we are bound by sacred duty to support the Bar Ops. As I recall, we have 23 barristers in 2007, most of whom I do not know back then. We made rounds at the offices of alumni brods for solicitations to pay for the hotel accommodation of the baristas. We rushed through the hotel floors in the late of night to provide their food and coffee requests. We scurried along the roads of Manila to go to various hotels for last minute tips and find an open photocopy center to reproduce them. We sold t-shirts and jackets to augment the finances of the fraternity, not to mention the personal cost it entailed us, for the food and the drinks at the bar site. At the site, we were serving food and drinks to the alumni brods. I even brought my own lighter and bottle opener to properly serve them. And all through this time, we are either drinking alcohol or are already drunk, with no sleep. That was the taste of my first bar ops, though I never fully understood its deeper meaning.
It was however a different story last year. I personally know four of the 26 barristers who took the 2008 Bar Exams. Although I am not the one taking the exams, I somehow feel what they feel. When they are hungry, I feel their hunger. When they are tired, I share their tiredness. When they want something to drink, I feel like drinking with them. When they are jittery, I feel tensed just the same. When they storm the heavens for answers, I feel the need to pray as well. Thus, I finally understood why we are there. We bore upon ourselves, by a solemn bounden oath to do whatever it takes, to veer them away from all the unnecessary distractions while they are taking the Bar. Participating at the Bar Ops transformed from one of duty, to one of service. What initially started as a pledge became a commitment to aid the barista in his quest to achieve the penultimate goal, an ATTY. at the beginning of one's name.
It is therefore with a clear perspective of what to expect and in no small measure, that at the beginning of the 2009 Bar Exams with 31 barristers up our sleeves, we start the drill again. With 10 inductees and all resident brods, we recited the pledge anew - SUSUPORTAHAN KO ANG BAR OPS! This year, we indeed faced a lot of difficulties. But with strong alumni support, we managed to end the Bar Operations for our barristers with a bang. A professor of mine once said, passing the Bar is the exception, flunking it is the rule. What we now do is to await the results come March 2010 and pray that our barristers proves to be the exception to the rule.
With all my palabras, the question still remains - am I ready for the Bar? I shall know it better, with two more Bar Ops (2010 and 2011) before I take it in 2012. But whilst I wait, I shall help the next set of barristers who I am 100% certain, I have personally met and been acquainted with. And all the while, I study hard and prepare for the toughest professional examination in our country. And to the present and future brods, it is my fervent hope, that they shall help me as well in my bar quest. The rest, I leave to God!
Mabuhay ang 2009 TAU KAPPAN Barristers!
