Student Life

I love school. Do you hear me? I'm going against all 1L trends and admitting it. How could I not?

I get to read hilarious cases infused with the language of erudite, pompous, muddled, and straightforward judges. I actually like the reading--you can feel the people behind it. I hear my fellow students complaining about how legal cases are dry, and I want to say, "try reading technical specifications." I'm telling you, cases are great.

I am required to attend 14 hours a week of class. Only I'm not really required. Of course, there's more to do if I'd like to go: discussion groups, student group meetings, group study and research sessions in the library. But really, the life of a law student is full of freedom. The freedom to not do your reading. The freedom to not go to class. The freedom to go out every night and party like a rock star before exercising the freedom of not going to class. I can only assume that students who complain about 1L don't like the side effects of exercising these freedoms. Or maybe they hate having the choice and making the one that seems less fun. I'm not certain.

This week was slow after the Wednesday from hell (first LWR assignment due, 9:30-6:30 at school). So, I haven't brought my school bag in the house since Wednesday. The next time I'll have to do so is Monday evening. To celebrate my freedom, I started 100 years of solitude, pushed the weekly total to 17.5 miles of running, and agreed to participate in a grueling weekend of chores and socializing that have nothing to do with law school. I'm starting to wonder if I could get up to 30 miles a week, which is baseline for a marathon. I never thought I'd want to do a marathon, but given how much time I'm finding in my schedule these days, if I was going to do one, this year would be a good time. *laugh* My guess is that idea will die a timely death sometime next week.

Why am I celebrating law school so loudly? I know it's not the style. I know it's not what 1Ls do. I know I'm supposed to lament how much work I'm doing and how concerned about my grades I am. But, I'm telling you--my quality of life hasn't been this good in years. It makes me so sad to see my fellow students stress themselves out and hate every minute of it. I hate to see them forego the fun and relaxation that is there for the taking, because most of us won't ever get this time back. We're all going back out into the real world--even those of us that avoid BIGLAW. We're still going to be on at least a 40-hour grind. Having just come off of the grind, I can only say, student life rocks--even the reading. Have some FUN people!