It is difficult to believe that in a few days, law school will be over.

As I sit here days away from graduation, I do not know how three years passed by so quickly. With the exception of my first semester, which was difficult to forget because it was so challenging, the past three years are a blur. Regardless of that, I know that I will treasure my time in law school because I have grown as both an individual and a student.

When I looked in the mirror while trying on my cap and gown, I could not help but notice that there was a new person staring back at me. I no longer saw the student who was afraid to speak in class. I no longer saw the student who was terrified by upcoming finals.

More importantly, I no longer saw the timid and insecure person I once was. I now know that I can handle myself under intense pressure. I now feel comfortable resolving disputes, reading contracts and negotiating deals. Indeed, I have already encountered several situations where I was able to avoid signing agreements that were not in my best interests.

I guess what I am saying is that I realized right then that the person who I saw in my reflection was practically a lawyer. Although I am proud of this, I cannot help but think, "Wow! When did that happen?"

The realization that I am about to begin my career is both daunting and exciting. At the same time, reaching the end of law school feels somewhat anticlimactic. I suppose that is because it is difficult to feel excited about graduating when I know that my next challenge, the dreaded bar review course, begins only two days after commencement.

It also does not help that law school does not teach you what to do after graduation. To be sure, I am not implying that law school does not prepare you for your career. I believe it does. However, law school only gives you the tools you need to think like a lawyer, but much of what remains you have to learn on your own. This is because law school, the bar exam and legal practice are three entirely different matters.

Many people I know were surprised to hear that much of the law that is tested on the bar exam is not learned until the bar review course. In addition, the topics taught in school are presented in a different fashion during bar review.

While we spend several months figuring out the laws governing specific subjects by reading through and discussing case law in school, bar review courses spend only one or two days on each topic, forcing us to learn and memorize a substantial amount of black-letter law in a short amount of time.

In addition, practicing is very different from law school. On a typical law-school exam, professors are more interested in a student's analysis than in his or her conclusion. Thus, professors expect students to write elaborate discussions on both sides of an issue that mentions several of the cases, statutes and theories presented during the semester. Contrarily, firms want you to provide a brief and decisive answer to your client's problem.

I suppose I can sum up my thoughts on graduating by saying that I feel like I have spent the past three years racing toward a finish line, and now, just when the end is in sight, I realize that the race has only just begun. Not only is there much left to learn, the stakes are now higher. It is incredibly important that I pass the bar the first time.

It is also astounding to know that from the moment I start practicing, my work will affect people's lives instead of just my transcript. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to say that I believe that law school is throwing me to the wolves. A more appropriate analogy would be to say that I feel like a baby bird about to be pushed out of the nest for the first time.

And while I am naturally apprehensive about what can go wrong, I am confident that I have learned what I need to know in order to be able to fly.

A graduating third-year student at the University at Buffalo Law School, Rachael Vitti holds a bachelor's degree from the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She can be reached at ravitti@buffalo.edu.