Hi everyone! I am back with a year-end post. I was supposed to stop blogging since I'm running out of time and inspiration, but 2021 is such an eventful year and I'd feel bad if I won't write a blog post for it. So, here it goes~
In 2021, we're still in a pandemic, but thankfully we now have vaccines to at least give us hope that this will eventually end. Like in 2020, I stayed home most of the time, and I rarely went out. I didn't track the number of days this time though. Haha! But even though we already have the vaccine, cases were still rising, although it went down sometime in November, and but now it's going back up again as of the time of this post (is this a plot twist before the end of the year?).
Enough about that. Let me now talk about how 2021 was for me. For most of the year, I was reviewing for the bar exam, even until now. But despite that, there were still other noteworthy happenings that I'd like to tell you about. So let's start~
Getting my iPad mini fixed
I started the year stressing about getting my 7-year-old iPad mini fixed since it wasn't turning on anymore no matter how hard I tried. My iPad mini was always my daily companion and I felt empty without it. I'm really thankful though that it was given a second chance at life. I had its battery replaced and it got fixed.
The technician even told me that if I have not thought of getting the battery replaced, my iPad mini could've been damaged altogether. This is a picture of my old battery and you could see how damaged it is. No wonder my iPad mini couldn't turn on anymore.
Dean's Lister for 4th Year, 1st Semester
Graduation is near
This is a picture from our graduation pictorial, and this is my creative shot. It was supposed to be a Korean fashion concept, but I don't look like a Korean at all. Hahaha. Not sure if it's because of the hair and makeup or I just look too much like a Filipina. Lol.
This is a close-up of how I looked for the pictorial. Hihi. Many thanks to the hair and makeup artist!
I am finally done with Law School!
This is one of my happiest moments in 2021 since I prayed hard for this and God answered my prayers. I was really worried about my grades and I hoped that I could at least pass all my subjects for this last semester in Law School. Thank You, Lord. I am finally done with Law School. My efforts really paid off.
After this news, we started enrolling in review centers to review for the bar exam. Bar review formally started on May 29, but I started reading two (2) days before that since I just felt like starting earlier. Haha
Just graduated!
This is it! I can finally call myself a Law graduate. I now have a Juris Doctor degree, but I hope I could add an Atty. prefix soon. *fingers crossed*
Dean's Lister for 4th Year, 2nd Semester - my last semester in Law School
This is post-graduation news and I didn't really expect this. I actually did better than expected. Thank You so much, Lord.
Also, I made it to the Top five (5) Graduates of our batch, and once again, I didn't expect this since I knew that I am not really the best student around in Law School. We weren't recognized publicly for this achievement and we only asked for this list for discount purposes in review centers. I'm just glad that I could have this opportunity. Thank You once again, Lord.
New iPad Air 4
I got my iPad Air 4 as a graduation gift, which I got 10 days before my graduation day. I got a new iPad Air 4 since even though I had my iPad mini fixed, after a few months it had ghost touches and it was interfering with my daily usage and it wasn't good for reviewing for the bar exam. An iPad is really useful when it comes to soft copies of review materials, which is why I really needed a new one since I couldn't study without it for the bar review. Thank you so much to my parents, since even though this is a really expensive purchase, they still got it for me.
We got some goats
We named the white one Leni, and she's female. The one with multiple colors is Rody, and he's male. I was so happy when we got them since they're both so cute and we haven't had pets for a long time. These goats are so pretty. Leni was so noisy for a few days probably because of the new environment, but I'm glad she got used to our place after a while. Rody was really quiet and we didn't know how he sounds like until after a few days since he only cared about eating. Haha! They're just so adorable.
I got vaccinated!
This picture is from my first dose last August 24. I was kinda scared since I don't know what to expect as to the effect of this vaccine on my body because the testimonials are all different. I'm just glad my body was taking it well and I didn't have any adverse effects. I only had a sore arm, which is normal. I didn't even get a fever like the others. I got Sinovac, by the way. Also, I am scared of needles but thankfully it turned out that the injection doesn't really hurt that much at all. But my blood pressure after the vaccine went up though, but maybe it's because I got a bit nervous.
This is from my second dose last September 21. Since this is already my second time, I wasn't scared anymore. Like the first dose, I didn't get any adverse effects on my body aside from the sore arm. My body has been taking this vaccine well. Sometimes I even doubted if this vaccine would be effective in keeping myself protected, but I'm hoping that it will despite the lack of side effects on my body. Not that I wanted to have side effects though, but I'm hoping that the vaccine is still doing its job.
Bar application submitted!
Beating the deadline was so thrilling since there were a lot of delays on the part of the agencies involved and I wasn't sure anymore if I could still submit my application on time. It was so frustrating that it brought out the worst in me, and I apologize to those I have hurt through my words because of it. Thankfully though that in the end, I was able to submit my bar application on time. It was barely a few days before the deadline and I'm just glad I was able to finally submit it.
New laptop
It turned out that I actually needed a new laptop after all since my old laptop was getting really slow and since it's already more than five (5) years old, I'm afraid that it will die anytime soon, and I don't want that to happen as the bar exam is coming near. This laptop was my birthday gift as well since I got it a day before my birthday. I once again thank my parents so much for this. Getting all these expensive purchases makes me more pressured to pass the bar exam and I hope I could make these worth it for them. My parents have really been supporting me a lot during my bar review, and I hope I wouldn't waste all their efforts.
Bar exam postponement
We were supposed to take the bar exam last November, but since there was a surge of COVID cases due to the Delta variant, the Supreme Court was constrained to postpone it to January 16, 2022, until February 6, 2022. I was actually happy with the announcement since I wasn't ready yet anyway, but was I ever ready though? But anyway, I wanted to make the most out of this extended bar review, so I bought bar Q and A for all the subjects and I devoted my time reading my references once again.
Choco, our baby goat, was born
Leni, our goat, turned out to be pregnant, and she unexpectedly gave birth to Choco last October 11. We can't get enough of Choco's cuteness. I mean, look at him. He's soooo cute and adorable. He even resembles Rody even though he isn't his father. Haha! Rody is probably his uncle though.
We adopted a new puppy, and we named him Chuckie
Chuckie was almost two (2) months old when we got him last October 12, and he was born on August 15. Once again, we got another cute baby animal. For those who are wondering, Chuckie is an aspin.
Chuckie is now four (4) months old and he now looks like this:
And yes, he has gotten much bigger and it makes me soooo happy.
Bar Operations Care Kits, and received some from one of my closest friends as well
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| 1st Care Kit from the Bar Operations Team of our school |
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| 2nd Care Kit from the Bar Operations Team of our school |
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| Care Kit from one of my closest friends in college |
Aside from all these, I also received some cash from my uncle.
I'm really thankful that there are a lot of people supporting us bar takers. I hope that all the support that they have given will be worth it for them. Thank you, Bar Operations Team, to one of my closest friends in college, and to my uncle who gave me cash. I feel like I've been receiving Ayuda from these people. Haha! These are really thoughtful and I will put them to good use during my bar review. Thank you once again.
My brother finally came back from overseas
This is a souvenir I asked for from my brother and it's a mug from Egypt. Hihi. But yes, I'm just glad we are finally complete. My brother is a seaman and he was away from home for ten (10) months this year. I'm thankful that he's finally home.
Death of Leni and Choco
Leni, our goat, died last December 2, and Choco, her son, died last December 13, just two (2) days after turning two (2) months old. In a span of two (2) weeks, we lost two (2) of our beloved pets. They got really weak for one day until they suddenly died the next day. We couldn't even pinpoint for sure what caused everything. This made me realize how important veterinarians are since only they could diagnose animal diseases and give the cure for them.
December was the worst month for this year because of this. Our dog, Chuckie, almost had the same fate last December 29 since he suddenly didn't have the appetite to eat, but we immediately took him to the vet and he got treated, and thankfully, he's now okay. The medicine given by the vet to Chuckie was effective. If only we tried taking our goats to the vet as well but do these vet clinics accept goats? We only have one remaining goat left, and I hope that he'll live for as long as he could. It was already devastating enough to lose two (2) of our goats within the month, and I'm thankful that there wasn't any negative plot twist anymore as this year is ending.
Spotify highlights filled with piano music
I always listen to music while I study, and since listening to songs with lyrics could get distracting, I opted for piano music instead. I have been listening to piano covers for seven (7) months now because of the bar review. I play my study music playlist on shuffle every day so it's not really me who chooses the songs to be played the most, aside from ATEEZ and TWICE songs whenever I have my break days. I even thought that ATEEZ and TWICE won't make it to my Top Artists anymore because of playing my study music playlist for at least eight (8) hours a day, but thankfully they still did. I actually play ATEEZ songs whenever I'm done with classes though, and my semester went on from January to May, so maybe that's why ATEEZ still got in the Top Artists list, plus they had really great comebacks this year as well as for TWICE.
Anyway, if you're planning to listen to piano covers while you study, I can recommend DooPiano, Shin Giwon Piano, and Kairos Covers. But then, there aren't really a lot of piano covers for ATEEZ songs on Spotify though, so I opted to download them from YouTube and import them to Spotify. Many of these were not successfully imported for some reason, which is a bummer, but I got too lazy to fix it since I don't have enough time to think about it as well due to bar review.
I do hope that I don't have to listen to piano covers anymore after I take the bar exam in 2022. As much as I liked listening to them for the first few months, it now gets annoying since I've been listening to my study playlist for at least eight (8) hours a day for seven (7) months now. I want to listen to ATEEZ, and probably TWICE as well, once again as much as I want to. I hope I can soon fangirl peacefully, and as a lawyer. Haha!
Bar Review Blues
Reviewing for the bar exam could get really stressful and tiring. I didn't really reflect much as to how I felt during these seven (7) months of reviewing since I was too focused on reaching my target readings every day, but I could tell you that it's something that I'll never want to go through again.
Imagine having to read hundreds of pages every day for at least eight (8) hours, listening to the same piano covers over and over again, and stressing about whether or not you could finish your target readings for the day and retain something for the bar exam. As for me, retention is my biggest problem since every time I try to recall what I have studied, I feel like I know nothing. It's like whenever I read something, I forget it every five seconds. This is really scary and I don't want this to happen during the bar exam, God forbid. To be fair, I am like this during my law school years as well. In law school, I don't remember much when it comes to oral recitations, and I even had to rely on coaching from my classmates to get correct answers. But then, weirdly enough, I always remember what I have studied for quizzes and major exams. What is this phenomenon though? Lol. I do hope that I could miraculously remember everything that I have studied for the bar exam soon as well.
Due to my stress and anxiety, I sometimes lash out towards the people around me and it's like I am showing my worst side. There have been times when I've been angry over the smallest things. There were times when I thought that people would never understand how I feel and that my feelings are invalidated. I am super sensitive lately and I hope that others wouldn't take it the wrong way. I hope that I could control my temper this 2022, more so that the bar exam is getting nearer. I am scared of the person I could become for the bar exam weeks. I couldn't even chill anymore.
Also, we as bar takers have been dealing with a lot of uncertainties already. Typhoon Odette has been giving us another reason for a possible postponement. I'm actually okay with postponements though, but I hope that we would be informed as soon as possible. I trust that the Supreme Court can give a proper solution for the predicament of all. But for now, I'm still studying as if January 16, 2022, will be the first day of the bar exam.
Final Note for 2021
You have reached the end of my 2021 highlights. Yay! I was actually afraid of anyone asking if I am actually reviewing for the bar exam due to the many happenings this year even during my bar review months. Haha! But rest assured, I am reviewing for the bar exam, even though it doesn't show that much. I didn't really like documenting my review journeys though. I didn't even document my board exam review journeys myself. I'd even deliberately hide my progress from anyone since I don't like it when people keep track of my journey because they might say things about me or whatnot and have even higher expectations due to my study progress, which explains why I've only been tweeting about ATEEZ a lot on Twitter. I might seem chill on Twitter due to my ATEEZ fangirling, but I'm actually anxious every day about the bar exam.
Anyway, 2021 has been a fairly good year in terms of my achievements. I've been receiving a lot of congratulatory messages all throughout the year, and I'm forever thankful for that. Also, since we're once again on quarantine for the whole year, I've been spending time with my family. An unexpected plot twist is that we got a lot of pets within the year, so my pets have become my therapy as well.
This is me with Leni our goat and Kobe, our neighbor's dog who frequently visits us mainly because we have been feeding him a lot. There's also another neighbor's dog who visits us a lot and her name is Chloe. We haven't been taking many pictures of her though.
As a final note, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who became part of my life this year 2021. I am thankful to everyone who has been part of my journey, especially to my family and friends. I hope that you will continue to be part of my life this 2022.
I really hope that 2022 will be a great year for me. I have high hopes for 2022 since I want to finally achieve my dreams and move on to another chapter in my life. I hope that 2022 will be the year that I pass the bar exam and finally become a lawyer. Please pray for me.
Also, since it seems like the pandemic will still be around in 2022, I do hope that everyone still follows health and safety protocols.
I wish you all the best, please stay healthy and safe, and see you in 2022!
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