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