While on deployment in the Navy, at the halfway point (3 months of a 6 month deployment complete), the ship would have a halfway celebration. A special dinner, much like Thansgiving, would be cooked for the crew - lobster tails, thick steaks, black forest cake. Special events would be held, unfortunately, I am not at liberty to discuss anymore - what happens on halfway night, stays on halfway night. Needless to say, we celebrated! The rest of the deployment is all down hill from there.
This past week was the halfway week for the first semester (trimester) for law school. We didn't have any special dinners, or lunches for that matter. Special events for halfway week did not occur. In fact, there wasn't a celebratory atmosphere at all. "Halfway week" was mentioned in passing only.
There is a reason behind this. The first year of law school does not have a down hill portion. The hill is all up hill from this point forward. Law students do not get a chance to take a breather until Christmas.
I've been told the big celebration for law students is Halloween. Halloween to a law student is what Mardi Gras is to a Catholic - a day to party because the next day, life is not the same for some time to come!
This past week the tutors began to discuss the study plan for the finals. Finals begin on a Saturday (second week in December) and run for one week. The plan is to study for 40 hours per course. The 40 hours are usually completed over a seven day period. This results in 4 weeks of study, one week per course.
One of the tutors said once the study plan begins, life ends. Studying for the finals is akin to being on a deserted island - no friends, no night life, nothing to do except study, study, study. The aspect of studying for the finals is daunting and frightening. The grade for the semester rests on the one exam (except for Property, we actually have a midterm, but the midterm is only one subject).
The pressure is immense for the exams. So much to know and a lot rests on what to know. Stress and pressure, pressure and stress. This is what awaits the law student after halway week.
The push for the final is an uphill period that gets steeper the closer the day of the final draws near. Instead of celebrating halway week, I am lacing up the hiking boots...
Friday, October 22, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Rollercoaster at Law School
In Mission Beach at Belmont Park is an old wooden roller coaster, the Giant Dipper. I like wooden roller coasters - they jar you more than modern roller coasters and something can be said about the clicky-clack as the roller coaster screams around the track. A roller coaster can be very fun - up and down and thrown to the side while whizzing around curves.
Emotions in law school are much like the ride of a roller coaster. One moment your emotions are high in the air feeling the exhilaration of heights and wide open viewing space; the next moment your emotions are screaming to the bottom. This week my emotions, or maybe more correctly, my stress levels were like a roller coaster.
If you were to ask my girlfriend which class I hate the most, she would reply, "Criminal Law!" I moan and groan (this is the politically correct vernacular) every Monday and Wednesday about how I just don't get criminal law. The issue statements I never get right. I don't remember anything from the course. Yet this week during the tutoring session, I felt like I had criminal law down pat. I knew what the tutor was discussing and felt very confident.
One of the classes I like the most is Civil Procedure. This week during the tutor session, I had zero clue. The tutor had some hypothetical questions and I got everyone of them wrong. So from the high on Tuesday to being dashed upon the rocks on Thursday, my emotions and stress levels were up and down.
I think this is natural for law school. Since day one, I've felt good one day, only to feel down the next. One moment I think I know what I'm talking about, the next moment I don't have a clue. After much reflection of the past couple of days, I'm okay with this.
I know my stress levels and my emotions will be like a roller coaster. I just need to be like a rider on the roller coaster - enjoy the ride because every roller coaster ends the same, safe back at the starting point. All I have to do is survive to make it to the end.
Law school is like life - there are ups and downs. Enjoy the ride because one day it will be over.
Emotions in law school are much like the ride of a roller coaster. One moment your emotions are high in the air feeling the exhilaration of heights and wide open viewing space; the next moment your emotions are screaming to the bottom. This week my emotions, or maybe more correctly, my stress levels were like a roller coaster.
If you were to ask my girlfriend which class I hate the most, she would reply, "Criminal Law!" I moan and groan (this is the politically correct vernacular) every Monday and Wednesday about how I just don't get criminal law. The issue statements I never get right. I don't remember anything from the course. Yet this week during the tutoring session, I felt like I had criminal law down pat. I knew what the tutor was discussing and felt very confident.
One of the classes I like the most is Civil Procedure. This week during the tutor session, I had zero clue. The tutor had some hypothetical questions and I got everyone of them wrong. So from the high on Tuesday to being dashed upon the rocks on Thursday, my emotions and stress levels were up and down.
I think this is natural for law school. Since day one, I've felt good one day, only to feel down the next. One moment I think I know what I'm talking about, the next moment I don't have a clue. After much reflection of the past couple of days, I'm okay with this.
I know my stress levels and my emotions will be like a roller coaster. I just need to be like a rider on the roller coaster - enjoy the ride because every roller coaster ends the same, safe back at the starting point. All I have to do is survive to make it to the end.
Law school is like life - there are ups and downs. Enjoy the ride because one day it will be over.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Associations and Contacts
On Sep 30, the San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA) held a law student welcome reception. The reception included free food and spirits. When law students hear the word "free," their hearts skip a beat! Law students love free stuff, especially food and alcohol.
The purpose of the reception was not to feed the law students; instead, the evening's purpose was to introduce the students to the section and committee groups at the SDCBA. These are much like any other special focus group - each has a theme and a common core group of lawyers. The groups socialize, hold meetings about events affecting their specialized concern, and fulfill the bar association's requirements for continued education.
The SDCBA encourages law students to join some sections and committees. At Cal Western, the school sponsors the students for up to three sections (membership in the SDCBA and the individual sections requires dues - the school pays for the first year and the three sections). Another "free" event for students - they know how to motivate us!
The key to these events and meetings is face time. While a first year law student's time is occupied for the most part with school and, for some, family, meeting and mingling with local lawyers is crucial to internships and jobs. Allowing the lawyers to get to know you and recognize your face aids in the internship process and the job application process. (Realize, I'm not talking from experience; I'm only repeating items spoken by the lawyers and 2L's and 3L's.)
But it makes sense. If faced with hiring an intern or a new lawyer, the firm will be more inclined to hire someone the firm knows and likes. For the firm to know you and like you, you have to get your foot in the door. The meetings and events sponsored by the local bar association are a way to do it.
The SDCBA event was a RSVP event. I was disappointed to see a table of name tags late in the event. This means numerous students signed up for the event, but for one reason or another, failed to show up. Obviously, those of us who did show up benefited from the non-attenders - we now have a leg up on them.
I was disappointed because those non-attenders do have an impact on the rest of us. A bad apple in a bushel can influence the sale of the entire bushel. I hope, though, the impact is minimal.
Associations (net working) and contacts are crucial to life after law school. Better to start early than later.
The purpose of the reception was not to feed the law students; instead, the evening's purpose was to introduce the students to the section and committee groups at the SDCBA. These are much like any other special focus group - each has a theme and a common core group of lawyers. The groups socialize, hold meetings about events affecting their specialized concern, and fulfill the bar association's requirements for continued education.
The SDCBA encourages law students to join some sections and committees. At Cal Western, the school sponsors the students for up to three sections (membership in the SDCBA and the individual sections requires dues - the school pays for the first year and the three sections). Another "free" event for students - they know how to motivate us!
The key to these events and meetings is face time. While a first year law student's time is occupied for the most part with school and, for some, family, meeting and mingling with local lawyers is crucial to internships and jobs. Allowing the lawyers to get to know you and recognize your face aids in the internship process and the job application process. (Realize, I'm not talking from experience; I'm only repeating items spoken by the lawyers and 2L's and 3L's.)
But it makes sense. If faced with hiring an intern or a new lawyer, the firm will be more inclined to hire someone the firm knows and likes. For the firm to know you and like you, you have to get your foot in the door. The meetings and events sponsored by the local bar association are a way to do it.
The SDCBA event was a RSVP event. I was disappointed to see a table of name tags late in the event. This means numerous students signed up for the event, but for one reason or another, failed to show up. Obviously, those of us who did show up benefited from the non-attenders - we now have a leg up on them.
I was disappointed because those non-attenders do have an impact on the rest of us. A bad apple in a bushel can influence the sale of the entire bushel. I hope, though, the impact is minimal.
Associations (net working) and contacts are crucial to life after law school. Better to start early than later.
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