First semester recap

So, some things I've noticed after one semester in law school:

1. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would...so far.
This might come back to haunt me when marks hit in January, but I haven't been that worried through the process of studying for December exams, which is likely suggested by the fact that I have my Contracts final tomorrow and here I am blogging away. I don't know - there where times this semester (mostly in Property) where I felt completely lost, but in studying over the past couple of weeks (even Property), things seem to be making sense. This means either that I actually know the content well, or I have completely missed the boat. Again, we'll find out in January.

2. I am very, very grateful for my laptop.
I wasn't sure about this at the beginning of the semester - I never used (or owned) a laptop in undergrad and never brought it to class in grad school, and I had always thought that those who did were either pretentious or overcompensating for something. But, I brought it with me and I have been happy with it, notwithstanding the fact that it gives me the Blue Screen of Death (TM) once in a while, for no discernable reason. I have never been a great note-taker, and I found that with my laptop, I pretty much get down everything substantive that is mentioned in class. Now, this in and of itself is not great, but what I found in going over my notes at the end of the semester is that by writing everything down, I have been able to re-create the lecture in my mind when I re-read the notes. So, while 90% of my notes are devoid of any substance that might be relevant on the exam, I can juxtapose the 10% of good stuff against it. When most of one's notes are complete crap, the important points jump out like a diamond in a cesspool (or something like that.)

3. I am also very glad that I didn't work much (at a job) this semester.
This one I'm very serious about. Throughout undergrad and grad school, I worked either part-time or (predominantly) full-time, mostly at a job completely unrelated to school (it was all right when I worked as a research or teaching assistant, except for having to deal with first-year undergrads). The first few weeks of school this year, I worked a shift or two, but since then I think I worked two days total. If you can pull this off, do it. There is nothing worse than having no time whatsoever to do anything, or feeling like you're always headed from one place to the next, trying to budget your studying time into a set space, &c., &c. You're (probably) going to be making decent money in a few years. Bite the bullet, get the student loan, eat up some of the line of credit. If you're young enough and able to (and your parents don't loathe the thought of having you), live at home.

4. If you can, marry/date somebody who is also a professional student.
OK, this one might not be so easy to accomplish, but if you can do it, it just might be the study tool you need. Your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend is never going to be tugging at your shirt trying to get you to do something while you're knee-deep in the usufructory nature of riparian rights (which no longer even exist in BC, or so they say...) if they're just as busy learning things twice as hard as you (if they're a medical student). Everyone wins! Especially the banks, when it comes time to repay the loans and credit lines that are necessary to support such an arrangement. But, they could use the money.

5. Do stuff at school.
Just because it's fun. And not just drinking, like most law students. Join the hockey team. Get involved with the legal journal. Make a fool of yourself in front of the whole class in the Guile debate (only available at UBC). They're drunk anyway. They'll laugh at your feeble attempts at humour and forget everything by the next morning.

I don't know - some people claim that first year law school is ultra-competitive, with everyone clawing at each others' throats in attempts to get ahead. I haven't seen it this way, and I suspect that the people that feel as such are those who are ultra-competitive, clawing at each oth...you get the idea. Perhaps things change after the first round of marks come in. Maybe in a month, I'll be singing a different tune...