L&L Final: "Law School Blawg"

Advice to entering 1L students:

You’ve watched the television shows, you’ve read the John Grisham novels; for the most part your entire perception of the law and law school to date have revolved around what has been gladly handed to you on a tray of popular culture. Law school is not as awful as Hollywood portrays it, nor is it as glamorous. Classes are not as scary as The Paper Chase makes them out to be, but will not be as easy going for you as they were for Julia Roberts in the Pelican Brief. Granted, I am not finished with law school yet, but I have yet to meet an Atticus Finch. I have also yet to meet an Al Pacino devil-like character either. Remember that for all the flack lawyers receive as the butt end of jokes, as wicked portrayals or glorious figures in the media or culture (whether present or past), it is all derived from some semblance of truth: a truth which many people do not properly take with a grain of salt. You must. I would say forget those notions, but it is impossible. Law school is less about the law, and more about who you were, are, and become as you relate and comprehend and process it. Remember also to take what I say with that aforementioned salt. If there is any advice worthy of passing along as you prepare to enter into your first year of law school, it is this:


Take the summer off. Don't even pay attention to the 'suggested reading' list. It cannot and will not help you. The best it will do is make you more anxious than you probably already are. This anxiousness doesn’t give you an edge-it is just detrimentally distracting. Travel to Europe. Have sleepovers with your Grandparents and stay up late with your siblings. Spend the time with your friends even if you think you are too tired after work. Go to barbeques and pool parties. Visit all of the tourist attractions your city has to offer. Go sit in the field you drive by on your way to work everyday but have never stopped to enjoy. Take pictures. Many, many pictures. Close your eyes: make mental notes of how your best friend's voice sounds, the smell of your mother's perfume and your dad's hair, what its like to give the perfect present, how the sun feels on your face and what your hometown's air smells like. Remember the way you feel when someone tells you why they love you. Listen. Remember the "why", it is important.

Orientation is daunting, even though the school believes they are giving you a proper welcome. Listen closely to what everyone has to say to you (there will be many people talking at you) and promptly forget every word.Trying to remember what got them through law school, and what to do and not to do, and how to outline and read and prepare for class is a surefire way to spin your already reeling mind into convulsions.


"Do"s and "Dont"s do not exist.
The only thing that exists is you. You got here because you deserve to be here. You have successfully navigated the world thus far, and you will successfully navigate this one. This is a different animal, but to buy into the over processed hype of “shoulds” and “shouldnots” and the panic that exudes from your fellow classmates is certain suicide. It will be difficult to forge your own way and not succumb to the pack mentality.


You will have at least one professor that has the distinct dialect made famous by Charlie Brown's grade-school teacher. There is nothing you can do to understand him or her, and it is highly unlikely meeting with them during office hours or after class will provide any benefit. You can try, but as soon as you realize that, you'll be better off teaching it to yourself than working yourself into a sweat over the meaning of "is". The same goes for getting explanations from classmates. The way they understand it in their mind is not the same way you need to put it in your own.

Expect nothing and rely on no one. But always make an effort to be friendly, to smile, to stay after class and chat, even if it is only about how horrible everything is, because that is the only conversation you will be able to sustain for the first great while. But moment by moment, person by person, you'll draw the human they used to be to the surface. Through it all, be kind. You don't know who else is breaking and in desperate need of a smile. Be honest. This is not the place for cheating and side-dealing. The people who behave this way always get the same in return. Karma does still exist here, if not more so.

There will be days when you wake up and know for certain that you must either cry or throw up, and the two sensations will have never felt so identical. You have never and will never feel so alone. People at home love you, but for whatever reason they simply cannot understand; some will never fully grasp how much you need them and their silence will hurt the worst. People here understand but cannot stop to breathe, much less to love someone. And you can't understand why you've decided to subject yourself to this, because the end doesn't seem to justify these means. Whatever made you come to law school doesn't cut it anymore. And the debt might just be what keeps you going, because to turn back isn't financially responsible, so you sacrifice your mind and personality. You are shell of your former self. You were amazing, flocks of people loved/counted on you: you mattered. You were interesting, had stories, and laughs, and midnight loves. That’s the funny thing about shells, it all looks deceptively the same, but your personality has written a Dear John letter and left it pinned to an empty wall.

For an unfortunate moment you will be lost, a stranger to yourself, and desperate to feel something. Remember those pictures you took of your last summer? The smells? The way you felt? The reasons people love you? Its all still there, and if you try very hard, you can almost feel the sun on your face.

You will prove to yourself what you are made of. And realize things you could never let go. The fact of the matter is that you are who you have always been, even if slightly tweaked here or there. You were never lost, you just had to look a little harder to find yourself.

You successfully navigated the world before enrolling in this beast, and will successfully navigate this new version of this strange world. Because you brought yourself here, all on your own, and as time passes, the end slowly begins to justify the means, once again.

Be kind to those around you. Be kind to yourself.
Listen with trained ears.
And do not be afraid to not take anyone's advice.
And that's the best advice I could possibly offer to you.

Take it with a grain of salt.