Sit With a Stranger (and Why It Matters for the Bar Exam)
- Tommy Sangchompuphen
- Sep 16
- 2 min read
September 16 is National Sit With a Stranger Day. It was created in 2020 by BDOPE LLC, a bottled water company, with a simple purpose: Encourage people to take a seat next to someone they don’t know and start a conversation. The day is meant to push back against social isolation and remind us that human connection—even in small, ordinary moments—matters.
For bar examinees, this observance has a unique twist. On exam day, you will sit with strangers. Not in a relaxed coffee shop setting, but sometimes at long 2x6 tables, side-by-side with people you may not know and cannot choose.
That stranger might kick the table with a jittery knee, sigh loudly, breathe heavily, tap their pencil, or pound the keyboard during essays. And no, you can’t move away.
Why This Matters for Exam Day
Bar prep isn’t only about rules, issue spotting, and timed practice. It’s also about preparing for the testing environment. Distractions—especially those you can’t control—can rattle even the best-prepared examinee.
That’s why the spirit of “sit with a stranger” is so important: The more you expose yourself to unpredictable surroundings now, the more resilient and focused you’ll be when it counts.
How to Build Stranger-Resilience
Building stranger-resilience is a skill like any other. You can train yourself to adapt to background noise and small annoyances so they don’t derail your focus. Think of it as mental conditioning for exam day.
Coffee Shops and Libraries: Take your practice tests into public spaces. Learn how to refocus when you’re interrupted by someone chatting, shuffling, or sipping nearby.
Study With Friends: Ask them not to minimize their normal study quirks. Let them type, shuffle papers, or move around. Your job is to stay centered on your own task. At the same time, make sure that talking is minimized—otherwise group study can drift into socializing instead of focused work.
Simulate Exam Day: Try a timed essay set or multiple-choice block in a setting where people are moving and making noise. Train your focus muscles now.
You won’t know who you’ll sit next to on exam day, and you won’t control what they do. But you can control how you respond. Training yourself to “sit with a stranger” during bar prep is one of the best ways to prepare for the real test environment.
