Admission:  I failed the bar exam.  It sucks; it really does.

But this post is about making space in order to move forward and prepare for the future.

While I may have failed the bar exam, shortly after taking the bar exam and before I received my bar exam results, we learned that we are pregnant!  So as I prepare to take the February 2015 bar exam, we are also preparing for baby #2 in March 2015.  Yes, I will be around 8 months pregnant on the testing days of the bar exam.  As a friend put it, I will have the “advantage” of two brains instead of one<3

Upon receiving the bar exam results, there are so many emotions that ran through me.  But heaviest of all, is realizing the burden of having to study and take the bar exam again.  Reflecting on how many things in life got put on “hold,” and having to retreat to an isolated study cave, this is the grimmest reality of it all.

So I thought, why is it this way?  It doesn’t have to be like this, does it?!  I’m tired of putting things, my family, my life on “hold.”  More time passed and further contemplation brewed.  Then, I took the PLUNGE!  I let myself think about what needs to be cleared from the path, where I need to make space, so that when I do need to buckle down and focus on studying for the bar, I will not only be mentally prepared, but also ready to receive and build upon the knowledge that I have and need to retain.

Interestingly, we are having the same discussions in clearing the path, making space, and preparing for baby.  “Nesting” often refers to the physical preparation that we do, but we are also preparing for baby in ensuring that that baby is born in a loving and supportive environment.

As I continue to make space, nest, and prepare for the future, I’ve been noticing the many forms that “making space” takes.  In some instances, individuals make space to raise voices that would otherwise go unheard or even silenced.  Or, making space can open the doors for something new to shine through.

How are you “making space”?