Sunday morning... rays of golden sunshine pierce the cold, frostbitten earth. The steam from my coffee rises up from the cup to meet the sun's rays. Silence....
BARK! BARK BARK BARK! RUSSLE! GRRR! BARK BARK!
And... no more silence! For a second there, I thought I might be productive. See, it's "outlining in my dining room" day. It seems that everyone is awake and ready to pounce on the day... at the expense of my outlining day.
My finals prep schedule is one week out from it's start date. T-minus seven days until I begin the sacred run for the test.
I can already feel my nerves kicking in. Every break in the silence will have me frustrated and ready to go find a corner of the universe that might satisfy my need for uninterrupted studying.
I need to go back to my outlines... So I'll leave you with my favorite scenes from The Paper Chase. I'm thinking a hotel might be a good idea...
Is there hope on the other side of the graduation cap? Well, hope may be clouded by mountains of student loans (both law school and undergrad if you are lucky like me). I'm interested to see how this works/what it is going to cost the country/how I fit into the picture.
One of the most frustrating aspects of a legal education is figuring out how to finance it. It's a big commitment and the answer to that big question could ultimately determine where you decide to attend, where you live, and whether or not law school works out for you at this stage in your life.
What advice do you, my readers, have on the topic in general? It could be from the standpoint of a law student, graduate student, or recovering undergrad! (Post and let me know!)
For me, it's all about making sacrifices and looking at the long term. I had to save earlier so that the unknown would be a little more predictable now.
I was reminded of this mental shift today as a flurry of undergrads threw themselves in front of my car while on my way home.
Negligence! The reasonable person would not run out in front of me in the middle of the road! If I hit them because they throw themselves out into the road, could I sue them? Would I be liable? Maybe I should start riding my bike.... (Torts makes you a little more cautious)
It was more apparent after our new pup made "a mess" in the living room:
Kris: Can you clean up the "mess"?
Me: Where's the consideration??? Make me Nutella and crackers and we have a deal! A Contract is Offer, Acceptance, AND Consideration! I clean the mess so that YOU make me Nutella and crackers! A Bargain for Exchange! I'll have no illusory promises!
Kris: I have no idea what you just said.
My thinking is WARPED.
THINKING like a Lawyer means seeing Liebeck v McDonald's on a coffee cup (a gift from orientation week) and giggling because it's funny. Not the story behind it, but the fact that it's on a coffee cup! Thinking like a Lawyer also means rereading the parts of your lease to see if there's any mention of Assignment or Sublease "just to see." It's also looking at the empty lot next door and giving adverse possession more than a quick thought. It's creating ridiculous hypothetical situations in your mind (using your pets' names as parties) and wondering, sometimes out loud, if Paxie could bring a suit against Olaf in Federal Court.
It's all WARPED. But, it's what I bargained for... right?
What a FANTASTIC weekend! Yes, this includes the day of my final.
Centre grads all know the line: "Do your best. Be your best. No
regrets." This little piece of gold is passed down from the wonderful
Centre College president, John Roush, to every incoming freshman class.
My philosophy is, if I've got to do it, I'm going to do it right.
The test wasn't a cake walk, but I felt that I did my best and had no
regrets about my level of prep. The best feeling in the world. I don't
know my grade, but frankly, I don't care about it right now. I did my
best and that's all I can ask myself to do.
What do you do afterwards? Decompress.
Nothing makes stress dissolve more than spending time with friends and family. I recommend a dose of this every week during some set aside time. You need to designate some time ONLY for free family/friend time. Also, create a completely unrelated spontaneous time. It's your buffer zone. This time can be added to family/friend time or it can be dedicated to 1) taking a run in the fabulous Cherokee Park, 2) buying yourself a large Huber's apple cider at Heine Brothers (specific location: Eastern Parkway and Preston), 3) simply watching the latest episode of Breaking Bad.
One thing they don't tell you enough is to be selfish about some of your time. SOME. Granted, you probably shouldn't go out every night, BUT don't feel guilty in taking that time for yourself. The assignment WILL get done. You will be just fine. Don't forget you are a person for 3 years. You will likely regret it.
This token of advice was what led my weekend to the status of absolute bliss.
Law school isn't easy. BUT, it isn't IMPOSSIBLE. I leave you, my fabulous reader with the same challenge: Do you best. Be your best. No regrets.
Well, ok, my weekend was also blissful because of this adorable face. The new addition to our family, Mr. Olaf!
We've all said it about three weeks before the final: "Psh, I'm not worried! I'll get something together. Outline? What outline?"
Anger — "Why me? It's not fair!"
"****!! I didn't know that class started at 9:30 today! I could have been studying!"
My morning class today dipped into this stage. Class moving to 9:30 seemed to shatter a lot of morning possibilities. Then, our conversation turned to an assignment due next week..
Bargaining — "I'll do anything for ..."
"Do you think she'll postpone the assignment since we just got it yesterday and we have a test this week and.... "
Alas, most likely not. We're trying to find ways to alleviate the concern we have for the outcome of the next few days.
Depression
— "Why bother with anything?"
"I'm so tired of studying!" "I refuse to read any more 'helpful' tips! I'm over it!"
We're all tired and sitting on pins and needles.
I watched Glee yesterday instead of spending that hour studying. We've begun to understand the uncertainty and certainty of the days to come.
Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."
In this last stage, Law Students begin to come to terms with their test or assignment.
But, despite the anxiety around law school exams we can at least laugh (maybe not now) because we are just on the verge of participating in what has become a ceremonial flurry of anticipatory madness in our search for the truth about law school exams.
In honor of the first law school final exam, Legal Research, I thought I'd note a few things I'm going to need upon graduating:
1) A Chiropractor
Casebooks, Notebooks, Laptop... you name it, it's in my backpack. One thing I shouldn't have given up upon leaving the teaching profession was that little rolly-cart. Man, that thing was gold!
2) A Job
Ok, ok, honesty folks. It's a rough world out there. I grew WAY too accustomed to my 10th and 25th paychecks. Now, Uncle Sam gives me one lump sum via Student Loans to cover me for 6 (ish) months! As hard as it is to see beyond the textbook at this point, I'm going to need to put myself out there for the best job possible because Ms. Restrepo has enough debt to put Greece to shame (Ok, that was eccentric).
3) Lots of Legal Looking Books
I have spent so much time these past weeks learning what these things are, if I don't have access to them (even if I will never use them) I will feel these past 3 weeks of studying have been in vain.
4) Something to replace (or harness) my caffeine addiction
All this coffee and tea cannot be good for me.
5) A tree
I already feel like I need to plant a small tree about every two weeks. With as much paper as I use per week (practice tests, copy and copy, print and print) I think I personally am responsible for global warming. I'm sorry Mother Nature. Maybe I can do environmental law for a while to make it up to you...
