moving on

Before law school starts, I have another event to look forward to. I will cease working full time at my non-law job, and to be honest I cannot wait. I have less than a month to go, and it will be such a relief to be finished with this chapter of my life.

It’s not that the work has been difficult, but rather boring. It’s not that I dislike the place I work, just some of the people I am forced to spend my days with. I realize that I will likely feel some of the same things for people in my law school classes, but at least those classes are going to be taking me in the direction I want. Here, I’m stuck in a position that has nowhere to go.

I’m looking forward to moving on with my life, and never looking back.

balancing act

I am anxious to get my schedule information. I am anxious to figure out which activities I will be involved in as a 1L. I am anxious to see what kind of dedication to studying I am going to need to employ.

I want to get into a routine. I crave a structured schedule, even if it is self-imposed. I want to learn how to balance school and the rest of my life so that I don’t become permanently attached to a carrel in the law library. Without know anything about what my life is going to be like in six weeks, I can’t even begin to imagine what this will be like. It’s a waiting game when I want it to be a balancing act.

Does anyone have any tips for balancing school and life?

turn and face the strange changes

I am not going to go on and on here touting how intelligent or amazing I am, because I don’t think those things are true. However, I have consistently been one of the top students in my class over the last several years. I graduated from college Summa Cum Laude. I did well enough in high school considering how many different activities I was involved in, though I could have done better had I truly applied myself.

This upcoming year is going to be very interesting. 75% of the people in my class (and with those odds, quite possibly including me) will be given a rude awakening. Most of us are used to being some of the best students in our class. We’re used to being the ones to “screw the curve” as I’ve often been accused of. But that’s going to change. We can’t all be the best. I’ve been making every possible effort to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable: I’m most likely not going to be a top student anymore. It is difficult for me to imagine, and I’m sure that when fall grades come out I will not feel so reflective and calm about things.

It is hard to swallow that you may no longer be the best when that’s exactly what you’ve grown accustomed to.

the future doesn’t have to be so bleak

I’ve seen stories and read in law school forums that the legal profession is most prone to depression, suicide, and substance abuse. With my liberal arts education under my belt, I cannot help but question where they get their numbers. No one has directly cited research or backed themselves up with any evidence. Even a brief surf around the internet has revealed that I should not necessarily believe the doomsday preachers over on LSD. There is some research out there, but nothing that is overly alarming.

All basic internet research aside, to me common sense comes into play. When you read those message boards, it seems like there are a number of top tier school obsessed individuals. When we build something up on such an incredibly high pedestal, we’re bound to be disappointed to discover that working in the ever-fabled world of Big Law means ridiculous hours and a lot of work. Ridiculous hours translates to not much of a life outside of work, which can strain and even break existing relationships as well as prevent new relationships from forming.

That said, I am not diminishing the fact that these things can be problems for professionals in the legal field. But the thing to keep in mind is that it’s probably true of most professions. Any job that requires you to work as much as some lawyers do would be a serious stressor. I just wish that more people actually stop to think about it before spouting off so-called wisdom about how horrible every single lawyer’s life experience is going to be.

I don’t define myself by my profession, even if the world does. I hope that I am well-balanced enough to recognize self-destructive behavior and seek help before a tailspin occurs. There are plenty of alternatives to working as a nameless, faceless drone for a huge mega-firm. Life doesn’t have to be so miserable, and I hope my experience never makes me so jaded to think that it has to be.

waxing nostalgic

I can’t believe it’s only been just over a year since I first registered with LSDAS and took the LSAT. As I read blogs and posts on message boards, it’s so weird to read the worries and angst of others. It feels like it’s been ten years, not just one.

In a year’s time, I have done several things that I thought were the most difficult as they were happening. First, I imagined that preparing for and taking the LSAT would be the hardest part of everything. After taking the exam, I realized that the application process was more difficult than I expected. Writing an effective personal statement seemed like an impossible feat. I thought I’d never finish the tedious work of filling out all of the applications, but I did. Then came the very troublesome time period where all of my applications were turned in, and all I could do was wait. Next, after being accepted to several schools and being offered different levels of financial aid, I had to narrow the field. Finally, I had to pay the first and second tuition deposits for The School after I had made my decision, thereby officially ruling out going to any other schools.

I’m sure that I will continue to raise the bar on the level of difficulty I can endure, and that many tasks in my future will seem to be the most challenging I have ever faced. It has just been such an interesting journey thus far; one that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Here’s to more uphill battles!