When I was eight, I told my parents I wanted to be a lawyer. When I was a junior in college, I took the LSAT, applied to schools, picked the best fit for me, and hoped for the best. Now, I am finally in classes and have been trying to figure out life as a 1L for the past month. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of the first month.
Time goes by so fast. I know you might think that would be a good thing, but I only have one week until my first midterm, and ten weeks until my first final. Surprise, I'm not prepared for either of those things, and I'm currently hoping that I will be by the end.
Another ugly part of law school is breaking down. Everyone will do it, and if they say they aren't, they are definitely crying in the shower. Your relationships will be strained (notice I said strained, not broken) while you adjust to your new life, you will feel like you don't know what's going one for way longer than you find acceptable, you will stress about everything from money to what to have for dinner, and you will realize you only ate PB&J for three days in a row. That's okay. Find an older law student to talk it out, and you'll realize you can do this. That's what I did!
So... I'm just going to say it. We're a month in, and the gunners are still gunners, and they still think they have it all together. The only difference now is that more of us actually have an idea about what is happening during class, so those feelings of "everyone is so much smarter than me" have started to subside. The key to getting through this is finding good friends and good study groups to talk through problems with. If you know you can't work with a certain type of person, a study group is not the place to test it. Just trust me on that one.
This isn't really good, bad, or ugly, but everyone will make some sort of "will you bail me out of jail" comment. I personally am just annoyed by this at this point. The more I learn about the law, the more I know about what lawyers actually do, and it isn't bail people out of jail. Normally old people are making these comments though, so I have learned that you just have to go along with it and smile before making your escape.
Now for the good stuff. The past month I have been totally immersed in school. I've never been in a situation where my only job was school, and it's actually pretty great. I'm never distracted by thinking about work, and I actually go to bed at normal hours. Making school your job sets you up for success, and an hour of Netflix a day.
My relationships are stronger. My entire family is interested in my life because I'm the first one pursuing a law degree, so I talk to them a lot more, which makes me realize how much support I have out there. Same thing goes for my friends. Most of them can't believe I have chosen to put myself through three more years of school, so they're constantly checking in on me and encouraging me. Law school doesn't have to ruin your relationships, romantic or not. Let me repeat, law school doesn't have to ruin your relationships. I was so worried about losing people who are important to me because I wouldn't have time for them. This couldn't be more true. Yeah, I have to study a lot, but I also need study breaks and encouragement, so taking those calls or spending an hour away from my desk is worth it every time. It is possible to do school and have a social life, I promise.
There's the good, the bad, and the ugly of the first month. If you want to check out my thoughts on the first week and see what has changed, click here.
