LSAT Diaries: June 2011 LSAT Test Day (Part 3)

LSAT Blog reader Jessica has written a series of LSAT Diaries chronicling her experience in the countdown to the June 2011 LSAT.

This is the 3rd of a 3-part series containing her story.

If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)

Thanks to Jessica for sharing her experience and advice, and please leave your questions for her below in the comments!

Jessica's LSAT Diaries, Part 3:

T-Minus Mere Hours

Today's LSAT is, in a lot of ways, the closing of a really horrible year for me.

This time last year I was having to give myself injections of blood thinners in my stomach because the doctor - by miraculous coincidence - found a massive blood clot in my abdomen. I was a walking pulmonary embolism, grappling with my own mortality, who just made the decision to go to law school. I printed my first practice test from LSAC and skimmed it at the pool, genuinely enjoying not thinking about strokes or bleeding to death.

But soon after I had gotten home, a uniformed police officer knocked at my door. My father had passed away suddenly on June 6, 2010. Just three days before his 60th birthday; just one week before Father's Day. My parents divorced when I was 3 and I'm an only child. There was no will. He and I were not all that close in my adult years. The entirety of his estate fell to me.

Over the next three months, two grandmothers and an aunt passed away. Then a dear friend committed suicide. My doctors find that I have a "resistance" to blood thinners; and thus, must take an abnormally high dose. But that significantly increases my risk of bleeding to death. I have to teach my daughter to explain how much and what kind of medicine mommy takes in case we get into a car accident.

I love to be humorous and light-hearted but this last year took a lot of that carefree blissfulness away from me. The LSAT gave me a place to focus my thoughts. I couldn't be mired in fear or heartache because I had to study, practice, etc. That blood clot can't kill me, I've put in too much time studying to die beforehand. I'm not going to quit because I know going to law school would have made my dad proud.

I'm going to do amazing on this test.



Lift-Off: Test Day
If I had a science, it would be based on the unfortunate combination Murphy's Law and the chaos theory. If there's any shit to be had, I'll be the one having it and it will be ridiculous. Here's how it went...

This morning, I was full of nervous energy, so I spent a really long time getting ready. My makeup and hair look fantastic today. Whatever - walk the walk. I look smart; I am smart.

Even though I drive by Oglethorpe University almost every day, I somehow managed to miss the fact that the closest gas station must be franchised straight out of Compton and the only reason to go there is to get carjacked. Since that's not on today's schedule, I head a little farther down the road to the grocery store to get my 20 oz bottle of allowed beverage. No biggie.

I park extra far away in between an Audi and a BMW convertible with its top down. See, I have to carry all my stuff in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag to the test center but I am not carrying that baggie into the Kroger. I figure if someone's going to break into a car it'll either be easy-pickens BMW or the flashy Audi. And if you really want some travel-sized Kleenex and No. 2 pencils, well then I'm the car for you and it's your lucky day.

I step out of my car and immediately put my foot down in some gum. And by some, I mean ankle-deep in a puddle of gum. No wonder this person had to spit this gum out! It's entirely too much for a human mouth to handle! Good thing it's 900 million degrees outside and I'm wearing flip flops. Extra melty parking lot gum all over my shoe and my foot.

Then I have to walk super far to the store, to the back of the store - while getting at least 4 comments on there being gum on my shoe/foot - listening to a "sticky-sticky-flop" sound before having to wash my damn foot in the sink of the public restroom at Kroger. Gross. This better be the best damn bottle of water I've ever consumed.

Maybe I'll buy Smart Water...

So I get to Oglethorpe and instead of looking if there were any LSAT signs, I just follow the big bunch of cars in front of me. I mean really, what else could be going on here during summer break, on a weekday, at noon?

Random Native American Potty Festival is what (though, not really its title).

And everyone walked so damn slow! Hurry up Aimlessly Meander, I got a test to take! We're going to have a whole different interpretation of the Trail of Tears if you don't start utilizing the sidewalk instead of the middle of the street!

I make it on time. It's cool. I'm not freaking out. Cool as a cucumber. Which is good because I end up sitting next to some kid named Doug. Doug is wiggly.

There's a whole bunch of calamity about how to bubble in our names on the cover and our proctors had to call the admission council TWICE to sort it out. Doug says, "If we can't even fill out our names right, we're fucked on this test." Fair point, seatmate.

And it's go time!

I can't tell you anything about the actual test, except that it was long and hard. They make us sign a confidentiality agreement.

About 10 minutes in, someone left. At the beginning of Section II, the summer session psychology class next door started watching a horror movie. Know what doesn't create peaceful ambiance? Suspenseful music, screaming and crashing sounds. Nor the affect those noises have on Doug. It's not Godzilla dude, sit still!

2nd person just gets up and walks out.

....Seriously Doug, if you're having this hard of a time, maybe you should go too? Run screaming from the room for all I care, but just STOP BEING NEXT TO ME. Besides, every person out is a bump in the curve for the rest of us. Go Doug...

Oglethorpe doesn't allow their students to have hot water, which is sad since they also apparently don't allow their toilets to flush and I was feeling the need to be sanitary. Good thing Doug has Purell. I love/hate him.

Bad thing psychology class apparently is watching the horror movie's sequel.

And 3rd person leaves. Followed by a flurry of activity from the LSAC people regarding what happened. I think, it's not like I had time to listen to them. I'm trying to concentrate in spite of earthquake Doug and Murdermania Double-Feature. All grounds to cancel my score...but I have to know it! Curiosity kept the cat our of Georgetown...

I don't know how I did. I no point was I rushed. There were definitely 3-4 questions I had no clue about. Ironically, the writing sample may have been my weakest part because you're not allowed to be funny.

Guess we'll find out June 29th! [Ed: Likely sooner] Thanks for all the support!!!

Photo by lij