Harry Potter blog fans, have no worries I’m still here! I missed the Sunday post, only because I spent my weekend watching all of the Harry Potter movies in theaters, which was amazing! Not only was it great to see all of the movies again in the comforts of a movie theater, it was even better to take a break from law school. Here we are though, a special Wednesday post! And not only am I going to post this one, but I will also be posting a second post later today! Lucky you!

We return to Hogwarts just in time for Halloween! This chapter includes one of my favorite movies scenes (TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!) and one of my favorite book quotes! Here we find that Hogwarts students are much like students everywhere: judgmental. Ron and Harry are becoming the best of friends, while starting to loathe hermione and her know-it-all tendencies. When they get to charms class and Ron is paired with Hermione (the great Levi-O-sa not Levi-o-SA scene), Ron is less than pleased. After class he is overheard by Hermione saying some really mean things about her. As they head to the halloween feast, Ron and Harry find out that Hermione has been crying all day in the girls’ lavatory and is absent from the feast. As all the students enjoy their feast, it is suddenly interrupted by Prof. Quirrell informing Dumbledore of a troll int eh dungeon. The students are escorted back to their houses, and in the midst of returning to Gryffindor tower, Ron and Harry realize Hermione doesn’t know about the troll and could be in danger. They rush off to find her, accidentally lock the troll in the bathroom with her, and then end up fighting the troll and saving Hermione.

There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

This week’s theme: Seeking Help.
I’m truly blessed at law school, even if at sometimes I want to say goodbye to this madness, or doubt that I can do it. I have an amazing support group (friends near and far)! This past week though has been one of those weeks where you realize that the universe is trying to keep you motivated to keep going, even when you really want to quit. On Sunday not only did I watch the 2nd part of the HP marathon, I also ran my first 10k, something that I would never have imagined doing. The support of people before and after the race was amazing and made me so inspired to keep running the race of law school. Then Monday came and all hell broke loose and I wanted to throw in the towel once again (yay LP class madness), but then I met with my Professional Mentor and he put things back into perspective for me again. While I didn’t have any sort of mental breakdown on Tuesday, I still felt even more inspired from a meeting with my peer mentor and then from hearing amazing speeches of some great judges being honored by the Colorado Judicial Institute (I even met the current Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice).

The thing is, being in a new city, going through the stresses of law school, and missing family and friends can be difficult, but the key is to ask and look for people who can help you. Look for moments to be inspired, find people to help you defeat the 12-foot mountain trolls that pop up every week. Talk with mentors (better yet, find mentors), get coffee with friends, go to award dinners, listen to speeches, etc.  The key is to find things that help remind you of why you decided to go through the law school experience. If you are struggling to remember why you came, don’t be too proud to seek help. If Hermione would have tried to tackle the troll on her own, if Harry and Ron didn’t go after her to warn or save her, Hermione wouldn’t have walked away from the girls’ lavatory. She panicked and hid in the moment, and when Ron and Harry intervened to save her, she set her pride (since they had hurt her feelings earlier in the day) and walked Ron through the spells he struggled with, defeating the troll.

The key to law school is to build an inspiring network of peers and mentors. The key is ask for help in defeating those troll moments and to keep moving forward. I know I’m thankful for my network of Troll Moment Warriors and Moments, because we know I couldn’t do it without them.

Until Next Time,

Mischief Managed