California single mom passes state bar on first try, her emotional reaction video goes viral

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California single mom of two recently received the joyous news that she passed the state bar exam on her first try, and she celebrated the momentous occasion with her young children, as they let out uncontrollable tears, ecstatic cries of happiness and relief, and embraced one another tightly.

The moving moment was captured on video, seen by millions around the world, many of whom have shared their own tears for this stranger and her loving and supportive children.

The TikTok video starts with mom Rhiannah Gordon sitting in front of a computer on Nov. 8, ready to get the results of the bar exam that she took back in July.

Her two young children, 10-year-old daughter Rhiley and 12-year-old son Flinn, stand behind their mother, looking on nervously as they all await the news.

"Oh my God," Gordon first says, as her eyes widened. She then screams another "Oh My God!" and covers her mouth and sobs. She’s soon joined by a chorus of cries from her children, who dissolve into their own tearful sobs as they hug her.

Amid the crying, you can hear the mom saying, "We did it!"

The video has received some 6 million likes and has been viewed more than 27 million times.

"Yes, we ALL ugly cried," Gordon wrote as part of the caption on the video. 

The grueling California bar exam has long been considered one of the most challenging. 

"It’s awful!" Gordon told KTVU in an interview on Thursday. 

Statistics from The State Bar of California showed that this year, from the bi-annually administrated exam, fewer than 58% passed their first time taking it.

In July, about 68% of first timers passed. In February, the figure was fewer than 48%.

"The California bar exam is considered among the most difficult in the nation because of its comparably high cut score and low pass rate," The State Bar of California spokeswoman Teresa Ruano told KTVU in an email.

For the UC Davis Law grad, it was a collective celebration for the entire family.

"We did this together. It was a choice I made, but it was a choice that we all went through together," the Sacramento mother of two told KTVU. 

She said it was a long, arduous journey and the sacrifices that were made were not hers alone, but also those of her children.

"It meant that when I put dinner on the table, I went into my room and did my homework, while they ate by themselves," Gordon shared, as she talked about the kind of painful sacrifices that were made. "They hurt emotionally because something else was being prioritized over them," she explained.

The 34-year-old mother graduated from the UC Davis School of Law back in May, attending school full-time to complete the program in three years.

She also juggled a nearly full-time job, working 32 hours a week, all while trying to meet the needs of her children as a single mom. 

"I’ll be candid," she said. "A lot of the time, it felt like I was failing at everything. I wasn’t being the best parent because I couldn't be fully dedicated to my kids. I also wasn't being the best employee. I wasn't being the best student. I was always constantly feeling like I was failing at everything," Gordon said.

It was a lot, both mentally and physically taxing. "Law school is intended to be very, very hard. It's intended to weed people out, and it does exactly that," she said, adding, "The reality was, I was doing the best I could at everything that was on my plate." 

After her first year, Gordon said she was completely burnt out, and she knew she had to approach all that was on her plate differently. 

"I realized law school, it will consume everything. It will take that and more. It doesn't matter if you’ve done all your homework, there is always more work to be done," she said. "Law school will take up every ounce of you if you allow it."

Gordon realized that in order to survive, she would have to make adjustments and create a balance for a life outside of law school.  

"I drew really hard boundaries," she explained. "And if it meant every single reading didn’t get done, that was okay. It was a risk, and I was willing to take that."

The risk was worth it, and she found that implementing those boundaries helped in every realm. 

"The kids and I were in a better place in my second and third years," she recalled. "My grades got better. My children were happier. My papers got stronger. I invested more in self-care and making intentional decisions." 

With the demanding and loaded schedule, even her children gained an understanding that every moment was not to be taken for granted, even the short periods together, in the car on their way to school drop-off. 

"They understood it was quality time," Gordon shared.  

She said while excited about this next chapter, the reality of it was that she’s now saddled with a massive loan, one that could potentially derail her plans to do the work that motivated her to study law in the first place. She’s already secured a job in public service practicing criminal law. 

In a GoFundMe she set up after passing the bar, she wrote, "While all this is amazing, the reality is that law school was a HUGE financial commitment for our family."

The fundraising effort is to help her pay off some of those student loans. "While we are blessed, I'm now carrying 6-figure debt. I'm also going into public interest work and won't be one of those high earning attorneys like we see on TV. Ha!"

The newly minted attorney said that she took a risk for her and her family by going to law school and that a big reason that she decided to go forward with the decision was because she was counting on federal government student loan forgiveness programs for law students pursuing careers in the public sector.  

But now, with the programs facing legal challenges, she said she's worried, "Those things are all up in the air." 

Gordon said that when she applied to law school at the age of 30, she had a good, stable, well-paying job. For almost eight years, she held a position with Caltrans as a training and community manager in the agency’s Office of Race and Equity.

Her family had a standard of living that they had gotten accustomed to. "I was successful before I decided to pursue a law career," the former state worker said. 

Now, in the face of her student loans, "It’s definitely a scary position to be in," Gordon said, adding, "On my salary, I literally cannot afford my student loan payment. If I have to choose, I’m paying my mortgage."

And she said she has her children's futures to consider. "In a few years, I’m going to have to think about how to put my kids through school, which is terrifying," the mom said.

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Gordon said so much of how she’s parented has been intentional and data-driven, focused on how to increase her children's chances of attending college and being successful. 

"I am very analytical in the area of statistics, so everything I do is calculated," the mom said. 

So, given her research, she made sure the kids attended preschool and were reading before the age of 5. She worked to place them in good schools and got them involved in sports, knowing how that would impact their academic journey. 

"So this was part of it," she said of her law degree. "And I know the more educated that I am, me being a single mom, they raised in a single-parent household, it increases those odds and would increase access to a successful future for them."

On social media, Gordon has also shared about her experience of being a domestic violence survivor, which also helped shape her decision to go into criminal law. 

She said she's raised her children on her own pretty much their whole lives since leaving their father when the kids were babies.

In Gordon's now viral TikTok video, as you watch her children share their mother’s hard-won achievement, it’s clear what an inspiration and role model she has been to them.

She’s also moved and inspired strangers to tears who have congratulated her on her perseverance, hard work and fortitude.

But perhaps one of the most powerful messages many people walked away with was that of love, support, and family.

Hundreds of thousands of people have commented on not only the incredible achievement of the attorney mom, but many have also shared how emotional they got over her children’s response to their mother's success. 

"The love in that house is INSANE!!! Wow," commented TikTok user @Yorkshire Peach

"The fact the kids understand what is going on, the value of that result… that says a whole lot of the mother the[y] have. CONGRATS!!!" wrote @lionzariveramia.

"Those babies watched all of your hard work, late nights, studying endlessly, missed time with them, and dedication come to fruition," @Heather C shared after watching the video.

The sacrifices were clearly not lost on her children.

In a follow-up video posted the day after she learned she passed the bar, Gordon thanked all the congratulations she received from strangers from around the globe, many of whom admitted to crying celebration tears with her not even knowing what the California bar exam was. 

On that video the children, shared that the milestone also meant that they could, "Get more family time."

Last month, as she awaited the results from the bar, Gordon posted about all the fears she had about going to law school and how her children were the reason for her to face her fears. 

The video included a recorded voice from her daughter who said, "If it wasn’t for you, I kind of wouldn't be as strong as I am right now." 

And an equally grateful caption came from mom who shared, "Being a single mom was my biggest fear.. but they were my strength to leave an abusive relationship and my reason to keep going. Failure was no longer an option after having them. Tears and struggles are natural, but in this house, so is success!!"

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