A Woman in Law School

Yes, law school is a learning experience, and not just by way of books. I learned a lot about myself and the type of lawyer I want to be.

First semester:

• I skimmed reading, and quasi-book briefed.
• I focused more on my research and writing course than my other four courses combined.
• I relied on other people's outlines.
• I didn't group study.
• I made it a point to work on friendships with classmates.
• I actively participated in professional opportunities on campus.
• I was too proud to ask questions, or admit that I didn't understand concepts.
• I took weekends off, for the most part.

Second Semester:

• I actively read and book brief for all classes.
• I focused on my core courses rather than on research and writing.
• I attended every class, and made no excuses for myself.
• I focused on what my professor's were saying and why they were saying it.
• I let several friendships unfortunately slide so that I could keep up on my coursework.
• I worked every weekend, often in tears.
• I gave myself Friday nights.
• I utilized breaks between classes much better than fall semester.
• I still attended several professional events but I was pickier about which ones to participate in.
• I regularly met with our academic support staff to talk about my studying habits, which I highly recommend.
• I outlined over spring break which lead to my outlines being done prior to finals so that I could study and refine the outline's content.

In all, I studied like it was a sickness. I pushed myself moreso than I ever have before...now I just have to wait to see if it paid off. If improving my studying doesn't improve my grades then I know that I may have to look at how to improve my exam writing skills.

Like I said, I unfortunately let some friendships slide this past semester. Law school is a professional school and in some ways I need to keep that notion of professionalism in the forefront at all times. I learned that it's difficult to balance a social life with law school without looking like a complete "gunner" bitch at times. But it's my choice. This balancing will only get more difficult as time passes, so I may as well start practicing this balancing act out now.

In addition, I'm just now finding classmates that I look forward to hanging out with. That in itself always takes time. It may very well be true that those who are your friends the first year aren't your friends that last year. We'll have to see.