Oh sweet Jesus, no

http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/article/vinnie_of_jersey_shore_says_law_school_is_fallback_plan

New Semester Resolution

So with the new semester starting today, I started reviewing some resolutions in my mind. Even though I felt like I did good my first semester, I am definitely willing to try a change. Also, I really am down for the whole self improvement sort of deal (ok, I am like a self help addict half the time).

I divided my resolutions into different categories. Each resolution highlights what I want to improve the most.

Academic Resolutions
1. Read smarter. Last semester I got really good at reading. And by good, I mean I am able to read ridiculously fast. I always used to read fast though, so It was only a matter of time before I got good at reading the boring crap. Now I want to be able to question what I am reading as I read it, and make connections that I may have over looked by only reading.
2. Be more confident. Not a gunner (although if you ever raise your hand, ever, or even just nod your head, you risk being branded a gunner, so take the term as you will), but I want to be certain of myself when I speak and when I prep for exams.
3. Review my notes and semi outline after class. I actually did that today. It was a fun fusion of book, lecture, and my thoughts on the issue. I think it should help prepare for finals.
Enter into a writing competition. I am not sure if this is in the right section. It does sound cool though.

Professional Development
1. Have interactions with lawyers in the field I want to go in. So I was assigned a mentor. I wrote to him and I am waiting to hear back. Ummm… It doesn’t hurt to have more interactions though.
2. Get a summer internship. For the awesome experience. Paid would be preferable. (A broke law student has got to eat!)
3. Be up on my current events in the field I want to go into. Sadly, I've been sort of in the dark about those, and about most other things. Unless it happened in the library, there is a good chance that I am unaware about it. But, I did know about the bird that flew in here in November.

Personal (along the law school variety)
1. Be nice to everyone. Pretty straight forward there. This also includes the "don’t talk shit behind people's backs" clause. They always find out. Also, bad karma.
2. Bring my own lunch and make it tasty. I brought peanut butter sandwiches almost every day last semester. At the end I rebelled. In order to save my cash, I will cook extra at dinner and pack it in a tupperware to eat for lunch.
3. Don't dress like a damn slob. Harking back to my post about keeping law school classy, I plan on dressing like I want to be a damn lawyer, or at least like I am worth the five minutes talking to.

Reason #631 Not to talk about an exam

Because you will only freak out about it and feel worse.
Go, try it. Go up to one of your classmates and start talking about the exam. How do you feel? Shitty? Yea, that sounds about right. Oh, he noticed that you had your palm squarely planted on your head as you were clearly angrily shaking you head halfway through? You totally want to be reminded of that wonderful moment.

Sometimes the only thing left to do is keep you mouth (and ears) shut and cross your figures. You are not going to do any better after the fact. Commiserating doesn't help.

1 down, 2 to go

So yesterday at noon was my contracts exam. Do I feel like I owned it? I don't know. Not because I totally feel like I missed all the issues on the test. I think I hit on at least one important issue per question, most of the questions I hit on two issues. I was able to evaluate the strengths of the arguments and make a clear case for my conclusion. (Now that I typed that, I feel a little less nervous about yesterday.) The bads? The test didn't feature the topic I was totally, 100% confident on. Should that ruin my exam? No, not at all, but it would have been nice to have the "freebie." Also, the test was three hours. There was supposedly less than 3 hours of material, with time to distribute as we please. I finished all the questions in 2:55. I had five minutes to spell check (a feature that I desperately need). In theory I can say "I was distributing time as I needed it." I am not sure I can say that I was making that choice deliberately (ok, I wasn't), but maybe it was a subconscious thing.



So the exam finished and I walked out rushing through the group of classmates who got together to talk about the exam! Ahh!!!! The last thing I wanted to do was talk about it. As I walked past the crowd, I was screaming in my own head to drown out the "OMG, I totally owned that!" Talking about grades in law school is as tacky as wearing an ugly Christmas sweater at work, and not realizing you are wearing one.

Finals have descended

So here it is, day one of two reading days. Two days away from my first exam: Contracts. How do I feel about it? Actually, not bad. I am a little rust on the statute of frauds, but I do feel like I am in good shape. I've taken the idea of exam IRACing to heart. I just need to make sure I have a clear mind to spot the issues on Saturday (yes, my first exam is on a Saturday.)

Here are a few things that are on my mind:

1. The fact that my exam is on a Saturday is a little intimidating. It feels like I am taking the LSATs again, and not in a good way. Actually, let me restate that (R2d)- the LSATs never feel like a good thing.
2. I actually feel ok, but sometimes talking to other people makes me feel not ok. Stress is more contageous than the flu.
3. I am running out to ways I can cram contracts into my head at the moment. How else can I study without overstudying?
4. The library is so silent, I am pretty sure if I sneeze again, I will be stabbed.
5. Tuesday night, I dreamt about the five elements of promissory estoppel.

How does this all pan out? I'll update after the exam (but I will NOT talk about exams specifics.)

Also, just a friendly reminder- BACK UP YOUR DATA. A week before exams is not a good time to lose everything.

Meet the Hottest Member of the Class of 2012

Hey everyone (particularly Southwest University) met one of the hottest new members of the class of 2012, Jerry O'Connell. You may know this strapping young man from his work in Jerry Meguire, Crossing Jordan, and the 90's classic, Sliders (or as they guy that married Rebecca Romijn). Don't worry, he got into law school just like the rest of us. Took the LSATs and had to show them his undergrad transcript (although his Wikipedia page says he was a few credits short of graduation, might want to update that). So here is to you, out fellow class of 2012 member, Jerry O'Connell.

Full article on Eonline.

Spilling my law school related guts

Reader be warned. This is a more emotional post that I usually post.

Lately I've been trying (really trying, and yet to succeed) in trying to find my place in law school. The reason I phrase it this way is because I am starting to learn a very important lesson about law school- it is eerily similar to high school. It is somewhat clique-y and intimidating. At least in high school I could rely on the fact that I knew I was smart. Now, I don't have that. Now I am constantly second guessing myself. The one little bit I am telling myself over and over again is this- stop worrying.

Why you should go to Law School Events

But first....
OMG I got a Hypo(thetical question) wrong! I know how can you do that? Well, it is possible and I did. I was in Torts. The dead center of Torts. Center seat, center row. The two seats around me were unoccupied. The teacher asked his hypo. A short pause. I timidly raise my hand. I don't know why. Not like me answering a question will help my grade. It won't, unless I raise some sort of genius point, which I am not likely to ever do. So, do I say "yes" or "no?" I said "Yes!" Such conviction! I am so damn sure of myself. The answer- "No." Damnit!

Every emotion of embarrassment rushes around me. I felt like I fell into the black ole in the center of the room. What if the teacher thinks I am a hack? An admission's mistake? What if I am a hack? What do my classmates think of me? Will I ever be able to join a study group? Am I that girl?

I slink back into my chair and count the minutes until class ends.

I walk upstairs to my locker (yes, in law school, there are lockers, and thank God, the books weigh a ton) and down trodden as a girl could look. My classmate asks what's wrong. What's wrong? Hah! What isn't? But not to sound like an ass, I say "I got a hypo wrong." Her response "Oh, I didn't notice." Then it hit my. You can answer questions wrong. No one remembers. No one cares. And if they do, they're still stuck in undergrad mentality (and eventually that person will be found out for the ass that they are).


BUT... The main (and shorter) point of this post. Going to law school events helps with two things

1. They disseminate information about important things- jobs, study skills, etc etc
2. Free Food

Who would ever turn down free food?

The First Assignments

So today I really dove into my first set of assignments. I call a mulligan on last week's work on Contracts. (Even though I don't play golf, I still reserve the right to use the work "mulligan" at will.) My approach to law school is that I am treating it like a job, and unlike my last job, I am treating it like one I like and want to excel at. So in light of that, I woke up at 8AM this morning, hit the gym, and then the books.

This round of studying seemed less daunting. I was actually able to read and understand what I was doing. I also didn't feel like I was just copying the textbook. I am not exactly sure what happened, but I think it might have just been the setting. In the library I don't get distracted. The library makes me pretend that I am a good student, and it seems like law school is all about pretending (Moot Court, mock interviews, etc. etc.).

I do feel the need to keep quiet about my studies though. I won't be divulging how long I was at the library today. On my Facebook, I posted my study location, but in retrospect, it makes me look like a giant tool. So what if I am in the library on the second floor at 11:34AM? It is all about quality, not quantity. It is also about not being an asshole when it comes to studying. Is telling people you are studying some sort of intimidation tactic? We shall see.

The Pre-Orientation Meet and Greet

So one thing that I had never seen in the law school blog-o-sphere (and yes, there is one) is advice on how to meet fellow pre 1-Ls via Facebook. Is there advice? Is there a protocol? How do you know who to look for? How do you not look like a crazy stalker? Well, I am going to attempt to outline some protocol (what can I say, I love guidelines.)

1. Look for a Facebook group for your incoming class. Sometime after the acceptance letter goes out the group goes up.
2. Be active on the group. Establish some sort of identity and let people know who you are.
3. Start friending. Don't just send a friend request, send a personal message like "Hey we are going to the same law school." And then tell them about yourself. Not a novel, but something like what section you're in (if you know).

After that, the happy hours begin. On this Facebook group, you can post invites to a pre-Orientation meet and greets. It can be a happy hour, or maybe a group cup of coffee. Here are just a few general tips:

• Keep political talk neutral.
• Be mindful of the body language of those around you. Check to see if maybe a particular subject is making them uncomfortable.
• Don't get drunk or talk about how you are going to get "So drunk." You aren't a freshman anymore.

As for me. I've been to a few of these pre-Orientation meet ups. I don't feel like it is giving me any more of an advantage, and that is definitely not what I am looking for. I do feel like it is a less stressful way to meet my fellow classmates in a less stressful situation (I have a feeling the Orientation will be a little be stressful, but more on that tonight.)