This past Wednesday we took our first final exam as 1Ls and the studying that led up to that exam was interesting. Last week’s post explored the four types of studiers in law school. Right after I wrote that post I headed to the school to meet with some peers and go over criminal law (our first exam). There in that room alone were all of the study types I just mentioned and I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
It’s funny how law school takes over life these days. A group of us recently went up to Vail to “get away” from the stress and madness of school (bringing all of our school stuff with us in case we wanted to study). We did a pretty good job of not studying, but drinking instead, yet law school always found its way back into the conversation. They tell us not to work the first year, to really study hard, and to put our hearts and souls into it. The thing they don’t tell us though is how consuming it can become when you approach it in this manner. It eats away at you, you end up craving it, needing to bed n the law building to have purpose, you can’t live without it, and the thought of it being taken away from you puts you so far into a panic that nothing else matters… ever.
Which brings us to this week’s Harry Potter chapter. The dinner party from chapter one is in full swing, everyone is in their places. Harry saunters up to his room to find a strange magical creature sitting on his bed, a house-elf named Dobby. Bobby is there to tell Harry not to go back to Hogwarts this fall, for bad things are going to happen to him. Bobby reveals that he’s been interfering with the mail from Harry’s friends and has been trying to make sure Harry has no incentive to go back to school. At hearing this Harry lunges at Dobby and a chase ensues down the stairs and into the living room area where Dobby magics a pudding to come crashing down on one of the dinner guests. Dobby disappears, yelling ensues and a letter comes by owl into the house. Harry has been officially warned about using magic outside of school. Uncle Vernon is enraged at both the night’s events and finding out that Harry has been lying about being able to use magic outside of school. Vernon is so upset he puts bars on Harry’s window and won’t let Harry out of his room, not even for meals. Harry becomes more and more desperate to get back to Hogwarts, and then one night, a car pulls up to his second story room window, with a familiar face looking at him.
This week’s theme: desperation and purpose.
In the last book, Harry had finally found his purpose at Hogwarts. He finally found a place where he belonged. He made friends, found that he was good at something, and felt at home. Then returning back to his Uncle and Aunt’s house he found himself longing to be back amongst the crazy staircases and the Gryffindor dormitories. He longed to hear from his friends and to laugh with them. Having no contact from his friends, having no way to practice his magic or to fly his broom, having to keep Hedwig locked up all the time, Harry was starting to feel alone and desperate to return to his new life.
That’s the thing about law school too. Not having classes every day and a week in between each final drives each person to madness. There are people who have gone to the school each and every day to study and to feel that purpose they had when school was in session. Then there are others, like the group that went to Vail, who try to remove themselves from school but end up talking about nothing but law school. It’s expected though when we don’t have anything else going on in our lives. Without a job, without non-law school friends and the normalities of our old lives, we become consumed by school and everything it has to offer. The thing is, law school is not our only purpose in life. We have so much more to offer the world, to conquer, to explore, see and do in this world. Yet here we all sit consumed with the fear of losing something that wasn’t always part of our lives.
And sometimes the only way to stop being consumed with something is to add other things to life… As this semester wraps up, I know I’m looking to branch out a bit more. I’ve gotten a job (working at the good old Starbucks again) and I’m going to start looking for other things to add that are not law school related to my life before I become so consumed with law school that all other parts of life lose meaning… and I would challenge others to do the same.
Until Next Time,
Mischief Managed
Well, there hasn’t been school in like a week and how odd that is for me at least. Thanksgiving break brought about a chance to relax and to enjoy our family and friends. Well… at least for some… a lot of people spent their breaks preparing for next week.
The Aunt Petunia: This type of studier is someone who sticks to the advice they were given by others who have gone before them. They keep to a laid out plan, following a strict plan of attack. They are quiet about their plans, about their outlines, and about what they do or do not know about the exam. They keep to themselves studying just the right way.
Chapter recap: Harry emerges into the room where the stone is hidden to find Professor Quirrell and NOT Snape as he thought. Dun Dun Dun… Voldemort is attached to Quarrel’s head.. he’s trying to get the stone from the Mirror of Erised… Alas Harry gets it, Quirrell tries to tough Harry, Quirrell’s skin starts to burn and blister… Harry passes out and wakes up int he hospital wing to Dumbledore sitting at his side. Dumbledore explains a whole bunch of things to Harry, they have the end of the year feast… Dumbledore awards Gryffindor more points and they defeat Slytherin for the house cup and everyone goes home… END OF THE FIRST BOOK!
So, as the last chapter blog states… I’ve learned a lot about what tests are coming for me in the future. Here’s what I’ve learned, with a little backstory to start:
I’ve joined organizations that combine my favorite things about both the law and community. I’ve learned a lot about interacting with people through my peers. I’ve learned that things are not always what they seem and people are ever-changing before your eyes. I’ve learned that I need to change my views on money and how I interact with it. But most importantly I’ve learned that I have to give myself a break and stop acting like every hang-up in the world is the biggest failure of my life.
Facing the truth, facing yourself and facing your fears are all part of life… and for me, it took removing myself from the world I knew, entering into the world of law to find out that things aren’t as bad as they seem… even if at times I still make a big deal out of nothing.
Today marked the final day of classes and papers due! Now if only final exams were cancelled too… but alas starting next week we have three weeks (one final a week) of exams!! If only we were at Hogwarts…well at least not in Harry’s first year…
This semester has been full of tests… while not physical exams for most of us, we were tested in a variety of ways. We had personal tests: making new friends, learning new places, figuring out how to balance school, the bar and life, and figuring out how much fun we could have. We had scholarly tests: creating new study habits, figuring out how many things to write down that each teacher said, learning how to brief cases, and write legal memos or letters. We had social tests: learning what professional wear meant, how to act professionally and how to network. There were so many new things to learn and we aren’t done yet.
All of this to say is that sometimes we forget to look out across the lines we draw by our desires and see how they affect the people we’ve segregated. Females blames males, males blame females, whites blame blacks, blacks blame whites… all we do is keep on making the line we’ve drawn between us thicker and thicker, not wanting to move away from an objective standpoint and really understand how other people work, relate and contribute to the world. Putting our desire to keep or grab ahold of privilege away and just starting to understand each’s worlds can change the world we live in. Creating a legal system that helps give voices to all communities and groups of people is far better than continuing to create these huge divides between them.
It’s all about knowing when to let go of control, when to hang on and when to regain. Self-control over your time, your decisions and your social engagements are key to survival in law school. You can’t do everything, you can’t follow every rule and you can’t hang out with every person. You have to make time for your studies, your self-care and your sanity. You can’t spend every hour you have for two weeks stressing over a paper while neglecting friends and other classes, but you also can’t put off working on your paper. It’s all about time management, self-control and drive to make things work.
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!
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 Wizarding World of Law School 