Keeping my head above water...

This is what happens when you aren't prepared for class in law school...

Since this weekend is Labor Day weekend, and I have a few days off from school I thought that I would take a break from my studying to reflect on my first two weeks of law school. After a fabulous month in The Mediterranean I flew home just in time for my first day of school. It was hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful place (especially since Travis was staying a few more days), but I was excited to get home and start the next chapter of my life. The past two weeks have been a blur of endless reading assignments, class discussions, 4:00am wakeup calls, as much coffee as I can get my hands on, and four hours of sleep each night. Everything that I read in preparation for law school said that it was going to be a lot of work, so in a way I knew what to expect, but nothing could prepare me for the intensity of the work. Studying law is like learning a new language so the reading takes three times longer (at least) than I anticipate that it should and going to class unprepared is not an option because all of the rumors about The Socratic Method are true, and if a professor catches you unprepared it can be a very painful experience. I know that as the semester progresses the workload is only going to increase, and at times I know that I am going to hate my life and wish that I hadn’t decided to put myself through this, but in spite of myself I have to say that I am really enjoying law school so far. Going to law school and becoming a lawyer is something that I have dreamed about doing for many years, and something that at times I wasn’t sure was going to happen, and I am just so happy to be here. I don’t know about other law schools, but Willamette University College of Law is a very student orientated school. They really strive to help students succeed. They expect you to put in the work and are very strict about being prepared for and attentive in class, but the professors and faculty are very accessible to students. Their doors are always open for anything whether it be clarification on a hard to understand topic or just advice in general. On my second day of school I had lunch with my Contracts professor (who I think is my new mentor), and she gave me advice on how to cope with law school. I told her that I had cried the previous night due to the shock of how much work it is and she explained that this was normal and that despite how it may seem everyone else is just as scared and overwhelmed as I am. The advice she gave me, which may be the best advice I have ever received is “focus on you”. She told me to stop comparing myself to other students who seem to have their study systems down already, or who claim to be studying twelve hours a day. She said not only is it probably not true, but that everyone studies in their own way and that I need to find what works best for me. Another professor told me that she balled her eyes out after her first week, and another told me that she considered quitting multiple times during her first year. The point is that law school is hard. Especially the first year, but the payout is so rewarding if you just stick with it, and that is very encouraging to me. My fellow students have been great as well. The 1L’s are all looking at each other like “Hey man, we’re all in this together”, and the 2L’s and 3L’s are very supportive and tell us to “just hang in there” and “if we can do it so can you”. There has also been multiple BBQ’s and meet and greets with fellow students, staff, and faculty, and getting to know everyone has been a lot of fun. So far I am just happy that I have been able to keep up with the reading, have been prepared for each class, and am making myself participate at least once a day in every class. I have even been “cold called” and was able to correctly answer the professor’s question. At this point I am just trying to keep my head above water, and I think that I am doing okay so far. My goal with this blog is to try to update it at least once a week to let the outside world know how I am doing, since I won’t have tons of time to spend with my friends and family, and as a way to reflect on my experience as a 1L. I hope you enjoy!