I found out I passed the bar exam on my dad's birthday :)

What a blessing! :)

Tuesday - I sent my dad a message saying that the Supreme Court had already released an official statement that results of the bar exam would be out on Friday, the 26th of March. I asked him to pray for me, and in reply he said, "Am always praying for you, Kat."

Thursday - I asked Paul what I was supposed to do on Friday while waiting for the results. He said he was gonna take the day off and spend the whole day with me. We dint really plan anything. We just agreed that we were gonna spend the day together.

Friday morning - Initially, we thought of going out of town, but then by lunch time, I changed my mind. I thought, "really, what's the point? Results will be out no matter where I am or what I'm doing." So, we ended up spending the whole day at the mall. We had late lunch at Mr. Jones, watched How To Train Your Dragon (which I really enjoyed :)), and then heard mass at 545 pm at the Greenbelt Chapel.

Friday evening - Lunch was really heavy so after mass, we dint feel like having dinner yet (I guess the anxiety was also already beginning to get to us). We walked around the mall and realized that a concert was about to start. It was Cobra Starship's concert at Greenbelt 3. Both of us weren't familiar with the group's songs (save for Good Girls Gone Bad) but we stayed in the area and watched anyway.

At around 630pm, we got a message that results would be out by 730pm. The concert ended at around 8pm, but still no results. So, we walked around the mall again, and we still couldn't decide if we were gonna have dinner or what.

At 830pm, Paul got a call from one of his colleagues (Paul's a Court Attorney at the Supreme Court). They talked for a while and Paul just kept saying "Yes", "Uh-huh", "Yes", "I'm hoping". I felt so anxious listening to him. When the conversation was over, I asked him what it was about, and he goes, "Nothing, they're just double-checking the correct spelling of your name. They were just making sure they got your name right." 

I told him that I was beginning to feel very tired and that I just wanted to go back to the condo and wait there. So, we did. We watched TV to distract ourselves, but the wait was  just agonizing.

About 5 minutes before 10pm, we got a phone call. Paul answered and I could hear another one of Paul's colleagues at the other end screaming. Then I knew, I made it :)

I cried, and we hugged, and I cried some more. Paul called up my dad, and I texted my sister and two brothers. The moment Paul told my dad, dad shouted and started talking in a very loud happy voice. I swear I could only hear pure joy from his voice. It was indeed a happy, happy birthday for him :) After I spoke to my dad, my sister called and she, too, was ecstatic. She screamed and said that she was gonna start walking back to the condo so we could celebrate (she was then in her office, which was just a block away from where we're staying). My brothers started sending me messages of love and relatives started calling and texting. Dad had spread the good news. 

Official results were up on the net at around 1030pm. By then, Paul had already told me that when his colleague called at 830, he already knew that I made it, he just dint wanna tell me because his colleague just sort of took a peek at an 'unofficial list'. He dint wanna tell me unless he was sure, so he waited for his other colleague's phone call (wow, for 1 1/2 hours he kept it to himself!).

We finally had dinner past 11pm over at Nihonbashitei (apart from the fact that it was our ultimate favorite Japanese restaurant, it was probably the only good restaurant open at that time this side of town). We were famished! It was a long, exhausting day! Then, we headed over to Good Earth Roasts in Rockwell to drown ourselves in bottles of beer. It was time to celebrate! :)

[photos by: Vina Padilla]

The journey towards where I am now was not smooth and ideal. I encountered so many bumps along the road, but I am just happy and utterly grateful that it is over--- by the grace of God. I was blessed to have the loving support of family and very, very good friends, and I believe that prayers did great wonders. This is because of Him and for Him. Ad Mojorem Dei Gloriam. All for the greater glory of God.