This is how I feel when someone starts making up hypotheticals in our study group when they know NONE of us know how to answer it and it completely ruins our previous understanding of the topic.


 This is how I feel when someone asks if I have a clue about what we went over in class that day...



How I feel when I read my notes...



When I get out of class and feel happy, but then and remember I have a billion things to do that night...

 
These days this is how I feel about looking at anything with words on it that I'm not required to read...

-L

Sacrifices.

Most things in life require you to make some sacrifices. 

Law school is no different, in fact it probably requires you to make more sacrifices than you are used to making. You sacrifice free time, sleep, time with family, time with friends, time to watch your favorite shows, time for reading books for fun, time to make dinner, time to go shopping... the list goes on and on. I'd even go so far as to argue you sacrifice your sanity every now and then.

Most of the sacrifices are easy to ignore, eventually they just feel natural and fit in with the new territory of your life. But... at times some sacrifices are impossible to see as anything but a sacrifice (in the worst way) and can really leave you feeling torn between your life and your (law school) life. 

 

Late last night I got the call that my Mamaw was being rushed to the hospital for what they believed to be a stroke. 

The distance between here and Tennessee immediately felt palpable. 

 

What options do you have in law school when life throws you a curve ball? Well... not many. Of course you have a few absences for each class you can take and emergencies are taken into consideration by the school... but how do you miss classes when your ability to succeed (actually pass) law school is directly influenced by information they give you in class?

Luckily, (as of now) my Mamaw is (from my understanding) in no immediate peril. She has it rough and is still in the hospital, but will hopefully benefit from a treatment plan. There's absolutely nothing I could do even if I did make the drive there, but that doesn't negate the fact that I want to be there. 

........................

 

When I was in college, I had an 8am class three days a week and had to drive 45 minutes or so to get there. The only person I knew who was up that early every morning was my Papaw, so several times a week I'd call him and we'd talk my entire commute to school. I vividly remember the last early morning we talked before our phone call routine was cut short. Later that same day was the day he was rushed to the hospital. 

He never went home again.

I don't remember much about the weeks and months after my Papaw died, but I do remember how kind my professors were and how they did everything in their power to help me still succeed. Somehow I still made all A's that semester. If I were to miss the amount of days in law school that I missed during that time it would be pretty impossible to finish a semester. 

The point is, life still happens all around you while you're in law school. There will likely come a time that a life event will require a sacrifice that will give you pause and you'll wonder what's more important. 

Wishing I was in Tennessee. 

But here goes another week.

-L

A week of ups.

After my really terrible week last week, this week has been much better . School has been just as demanding as usual, maybe even more so than usual with the addition of our pre-midterm assessments (mini exams). I am proud to say that my assessments have all gone very well! I still have one more to go and I don't have a grade for another yet, but I am about 98% sure I did well on it too. 

Remember how I complained about Contracts? I got the highest grade in the class on the assessment :) It was literally the best feeling ever! :)

There are some major differences from law school exams and undergrad exams. First of all, in law school you do not put your name on any of your exams. You are assigned a number to keep the grading anonymous... which I think is a pretty novel concept. It protects the professor from being accused of bias (they're human too, it happens) and keeps the students happy knowing your teacher doesn't know that you're the one who missed that question they went over and over in class.

Second, (I know I've mentioned this before) law school exams usually have two really wrong answers and two correct answers. The hard part is figuring out which one is more correct. I would have had a perfect score on one of my assessments had I not gotten stuck between the two correct answers and inevitably chosen the "less" correct one. Oh well, lesson learned.

Lastly- in law school you don't talk about your grades. Well, at least you don't openly... you keep it to yourself or between you and your group of friends. Law school brings out the emotional side of both the girls and the guys which they may not have even realized they had. Sensitivities are at an all time high. When I got a significantly better grade than one of my friends it made for a very awkward conversation. You just have to learn who you can and cannot share things with. Some people will celebrate your successes, but others will resent you for them.

 -L

Sunday night blues...

Every Sunday around this time of night I get the blues. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are particularly grueling. Each day starts at 6 am and doesn't end until 1 or 2 am. By Thursday I'm sleep deprived and information overloaded. By Friday I'm contemplating burning my books and moving out of the country.  But each week, somehow, by the grace of God, I keep riding this train and the days (seem) to be flying by. 

...I'm still literally counting the minutes until Christmas break though...

This week I have three different tests. One tomorrow in LRA (my least favorite class) and two on Wednesday in both Torts and Civ Pro. Praying I pass all of these tests and maintain my sanity at the same time. I've literally been dreaming the definitions of assault, battery, false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress, etc... Dreaming about law school does not help with sleep deprivation FYI. 

Speaking of sleep...

-L 

Snowball effect.

Today started off badly and just continued to snowball all.day.long. 

I got up late, got stuck in a traffic jam, hit every stop light, couldn't find parking, spent 20 minutes circling the school until I finally found a spot and had to literally run to class with only 2 minutes to spare...

...got to class and opened my laptop only to have the girl in front of me accidentally knock it off my desk with her bag... -_- ...made it through that class only to find out the assignment that was due in a later class magically deleted itself (maybe my computer retaliated?).... 

...forgot my lunch, had to eat crackers... migraine started around lunch and never left... went to Contracts only to painfully realize I still don't have a clue... started to feel even more hopeless about my test on Thursday...  

...some other bad stuff happened I won't mention...

...felt so sick and down during my last class that it must have showed because my professor noticed and asked me to stay after class in front of everyone, ugh... luckily she just wanted to make sure I understood it and was concerned that I seemed down..

So overall today was a complete bust. I wish I would have just stayed in bed... but for now I just keep telling myself that tomorrow's another day. I can only pray it is significantly better than today. God only gives us what we can handle right?

-L 

 

Long days, shorter nights.

This morning I had my first "assessment exam" in Property. I have never been a good test taker, but I kicked that test's butt. :) There wasn't a single question on it that I didn't know the answer to and that was a great feeling. So I'd say at this point I'm basically a pro at the finder's rule ;) Misplaced, lost, abandoned, or treasure trove items beware! I know what to legally do with you now!

Thursday is our Contract's assessment and I already know I need to bottle up and save this happy feeling from today for after that exam because I am not looking forward to it at all. Most law students (from what I'm told) usually really understand one subject, are okay at another, and really struggle in one or more. Contracts has yet to register in my brain for some reason, which is ridiculous because everyone else seems to understand it pretty well... and of course by everyone else I mean my small group of friends, but still...

I did get frustrated in my Civil Procedure class today... that is the class I mentioned has the "scary" (by reputation) professor with an Ivy League education and a no-nonsense attitude. I actually really like the professor, but for the second time since we started school I gave an answer to which he said was incorrect, but after calling on a few more people someone else gives the SAME ANSWER and he says correct! -_- I have yet to figure that man out. 

I have about 5 billion cases to read and brief tonight so I should probably get started. Blah.

-L 

ps... this is how I hope my Contracts exam goes on Thursday...

Waiting...

Had an interview to be a Barbri rep early on this Saturday morning. There were only a handful of other people here in the building which felt weird since it's usually packed with people. I didn't know what to do with myself since I arrived an entire 45 minutes early per usual so I took some selfies like a weirdo. :)

(Me and this dude are the only two here.) 

(My "it's too early, I should have eaten, it's creepy in here alone, at least my hair looks nice" face.)

 

I really need to learn how to not be so early all the time.
 

The interview went well, the head Barbri rep is a really nice guy and I liked how the questions allowed me to show him who I really am. I'm not super confident I'll get the job since there were so many applicants and it was extremely competitive, but like my dear friend told me, "you definitely won't get the job if you don't even try."
 So here goes nothing.

-L

3 weeks down...

One more week and I've been a law student for an entire month! 

Time feels like it's been stuck on fast forward lately. I feel like it should still be Monday, but here we are again at Friday. There are not enough hours in the day to get anything done! I remember all of the 'pre-law school' days when time seemed to drag on and on. When I was a waitress I swear a four hour shift felt like it would never end. Now I can't seem to make four hours stay longer than two minutes. 

Next week is going to be a difficult one. We have our first assessment in some of our classes, starting first thing Monday morning. My first assessment is in Property... I actually find the class pretty interesting, but the rules can be so confusing. There are so many rules. Then there are so many exceptions to every rule. We will be tested on the Finder's Rule on Monday, which is actually pretty useful to know...

Finders Rule: The finder has a truer title against anyone in the world, except the true owner or subsequent possessors.

So basically, if you find a diamond ring in a public place and you notify the police (because you are an upstanding citizen) and they cannot find the true owners after a specified period of time, the ring is rightfully yours. Of course like I said there are exceptions to every rule, you can't be a trespasser... you can't find something on private property and just take it, etc. So next time you find something of value and you turn it in to whatever 'authority', consider notifying whoever you turned it into that you will be checking back in periodically and if they cannot locate the true owner then the item is most likely rightfully yours (so long as none of the exceptions apply to you of course).

We read a case about a family who found thousands of dollars in the road and called the police in an effort to do the right thing. After a period of time, the police attempted to put the money in a police department fund. The family found out and they went to court. The court ruled in favor of the family because they were the original finders. The police were merely subsequent possessors. So next time you find a couple grand in the road, make sure you call me so I can claim to be the original finder too!

In other news, I was received some very sad news this week from one of my best friends from high school. She is pregnant with her first child and was given the news this week that the right side of her baby's heart did not fully form. The baby will need to undergo a series of surgeries after birth and will always live with only one side of a functioning heart. My heart was so heavy with this news that I had trouble sleeping the last two nights. You don't want something like this to happen to anyone, but especially not to someone you love. I know miracles happen everyday and God is in control, so I am keeping the faith that He will bring healing to the little miss. 

I will say that after I spoke to my friend today, I felt much better about the news. She actually comforted me by her positive attitude. She is determined to continue having a happy pregnancy and has made it her goal to think only positive things. She is a strong momma already and I told her that the little miss will obviously take after her and be strong as well. Please keep them both (and her husband of course) in your prayers.

-L

Legally... something.

I always thought Legally Blonde was a comedy and was in no way close to the real thing... I was wrong. If you want to know what a class in law school is like, there you go. Oh, and aside from being kicked out of the classroom... this is pretty much how I felt in class the other day during my humiliation. -_-

Ps...after my bad day the other day, this is how my sis cheered me up :)

 

Slowly opening up my contracts book now :( 

-L

p.s.s... An offer is a manifestation of an intent to enter into a contract in which both parties will be bound. An offer must be specific, definite, reasonable, and communicated.

You win some, you lose some.

And today was one of those days for me.

My name card decided to make its way through the stack into the professor's hand and I was called on in Contracts. Unfortunately for me, the question was not to brief the case we were working on, which I actually would have known the answers to, but to answer a question that I had absolutely no idea what the answer was... to make matters worse I didn't know a simple definition and couldn't find it anywhere in my notes. If you could see my class notes you'd probably be surprised because they are about a million pages long... I write down everything from a class... or at least I thought I did. I was pretty humiliated and my mood was deflated as fast as a needle pops a balloon. My ego was also painfully knocked down a few pegs as well.

 The problem in law school is that when you get the wrong answer or you don't know an answer to the professor's question they don't move on to another person... you're just stuck with the question... even if it takes you ten minutes or the entire class period. Some professor's will get annoyed and move on and some won't. Today, my Contracts professor was in the mood to torture apparently and waited for what seemed like an eternity for me to mumble out incoherent answers that weren't even remotely right. 

So that sucked.

But today wasn't a total fail... I got my test grade back that I was 100% sure I failed and I got a B-!!!!! I have always hated B's and I think the minus part is unnecessary, but I swear to you that B felt like a golden A++++ to me today. Pretty sure if I had failed that I would have gone home and contemplated dropping out and moving to a country that would grant me asylum so I wouldn't have to pay back all these student loans. A lot of people did fail and I can only imagine what they are feeling right now... something tells me it's a lot like the feeling of looking like a complete idiot in front of 80 people which I can say I've now experienced.

Hoping tomorrow has more wins than losses.

 -L

Oh, and in case you are wondering... an OFFER is a manifestation of intent to enter into an agreement to make a deal. It must be specific, definite, communicated, and reasonable.

 If I forget this definition after the mental beating I gave myself after class there is something wrong with me.

My life in a Youtube Video...

Apparently all of my friends from school are doing exactly what I'm doing today....

.....which is not getting any actual work done.

One of the girls just sent me this video and it's 100% accurate. 

Enjoy.

-L

4 day weekend.

I had high hopes for this weekend. I thought I would have plenty of time to get some needed shopping done, clean my house, and make a serious dent in some homework... It's now Sunday and I've only gotten the shopping part done.

It's not that I haven't tried... I've literally forced myself to sit down at my desk with my books laid out in front of me with a pen in one hand and a highlighter in the other, but then I look at how much work I have to do and my mind checks out to another land. Looks like I will be paying for it tonight and tomorrow when I really have to cram.

I am a hard worker. I thrive in my school work and I actually like when I have a project to do. However, I'm extremely OCD and like to narrow my focus to one project at a time... which unfortunately is impossible to do when you have six classes demanding the same amount of attention.Which brings me to my feelings about law school as I enter into week three...

I have always wanted to go to law school. I can't remember a time when I have said anything otherwise. The problem is that saying you want to go and actually going are two entirely different things.

Law school plays with your emotions in ways you cannot imagine until you actually go through it. At school you sit through class after class terrified you'll be called on to be in the hot seat, especially during a topic that you have little to no understanding about (which is basically all of them). At home you struggle with the balance of wanting to enjoy being home and feeling guilty that you aren't studying or getting ahead. Even when you sleep you can't escape the emotional pull of law school as your dreams (or nightmares rather) are filled with legal question after legal question.

The hardest part of law school that I have personally struggled with the last few weeks is dealing with all of the doubts. I never once doubted I would make it through undergrad or even that I would do well, but everyday I doubt that I will make it through law school. It's like being told you have to climb Mount Everest to the top and back down again with zero knowledge or skills of mountain climbing.

Oh, and before anyone tries to tell me not to worry, just know there are over 200 dead bodies on Mt. Everest, so clearly some people do not make it. -_-

 

If support and a desire would get me through, I wouldn't be so worried. I have some great people behind me and I obviously have the desire to make it. I'm just counting on my faith to help me overcome all of these doubts, because no matter how many people tell me it'll be okay my fears are not quieted.

"For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." -Bible

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." -MLK

Getting to work now.

-L