Well my first week of law school is almost over, so I thought I would write you all and let you know how it has been going.
It is exhilarating, challenging, riveting and I honestly wouldn't wish it on anyone (not really). :) It is extremely HARD. I have never had to work at anything more in my entire life, but it builds character, I guess. As of today, I definitely know I am where God wants me to be and that I am going to have to rely solely on Him to get through the next three years. I have had at least four hours of preparation every night for the next day of class and then a few hours of review to do every day after class. All in all, I am averaging five hours of sleep a night this week and the rest of my time is spent studying or in class. I know it is going to get easier time wise once I actually know what I am doing, I just haven't gotten to that point yet. However, today I survived my worst nightmare, so I truly think it is going to be downhill from here.
Law school operates on the Socratic method, where one student dialogues with the teacher on issues and points in order to further their and the classes understanding of the law. Most professors make the student participate for 5-10 minutes at a time and then move on to their next victim. (I had to participate for five minutes in my Contracts class both on the fist day and on Wednesday and did OK!) That is all except for my civil procedure class. Wrong.
This teacher calls on one person per day to be what he calls his 'helper' for the day. You basically have to dialogue with him the whole time and state all the facts of the case and argue any point he sees fit in debating. We had our first class yesterday and the poor guy that was called on for the day got obliterated. It wouldn't be that bad if our prof didn't insult us when we get something wrong or don't know an answer, but he does. Well, I had a lot to do last night, and long story short was not as prepared for class today as I would have liked to have been. So before class I was joking with the guys behind me about Murphy's law (whatever can go wrong, will) and said that today would be my day because I wasn't prepared. (You see,I have briefed (legal summary) every case and been fully prepared for every class this week (which so far has been seven cases and another 50-70 pages of material), except this one. I had read the case and the rules of procedure for it twice, but had not written my brief yet.)
And sure enough, class starts and I got to play helper today...Yea! The first thing he asked me was the facts of the case, to which I replied by stating the facts before the appellant court. He proceeded to tell me he would be up at the podium sleeping until I got to the point, and to please wake him up when I decide to get there. As you all know, I do not scare easy, instead I get angry... So, wisely keeping my temper I changed my course of action and proceeded to tell him the facts of the district trial that was being appealed. He was much happier with this answer and from there it was smooth sailing for the most part.
I don't think the rest of the class thinks I am an idiot and I managed to have an answer to ever question that he didn't find insult worthy for the remainder of the class, but it was very intense to say the least. I think he is insulting because opposing council would be in a court case, but still, it is crazy to have to sit there and let a teacher tell you that you are wrong, illogical, or just plain stupid...
Anyway, each day is getting easier and I am becoming more confident in my ability to actually get through this, but I still feel like I am drowning. I hope next week will be better and every week after that too. The interesting thing about law school is it is all a matter of weighing all the options and you have to be able to argue both sides of every case presented before you. It makes you change your way of thinking and become extremely analytical.
So the next time you see me measuring the pro's and con's of doing laundry or eating ice cream, go easy on me, I will figure out the balance between law and life eventually. I think the hardest thing is going to be being fully prepared for each class because you never know when you will be called. (The amount of reading we have to do to be prepared is mind blowing.)
That, or the fact that we only have a final exam. Our teachers told us that it is going to be radically different than our undergraduate studies because we will all get the answers right to a degree on the test. My teacher informed us that we are graded on our analytical reasoning and our ability to argue and see all ends of the spectrum in law and in cases. He said in a given semester with 90 students in a class, he will maybe get 2 wrong answers in total. That means the other 88 of us are writing essentially the same stuff and who says it best gets the good grade. To bad I wasn't an English major. Needless to say, it is different than my multiple choice tests at A&M. I hope I am adjusting well, but I still have a little bit of the deer in the headlights syndrome that I am working through. I will let you know when, if ever, it goes away.
Don't feel to sorry for me though, because amongst all the craziness, I am truly enjoying myself and think that I can be happy in the long run within the realm of law. As of now, I am content resting on God and knowing that He is providing for me on a daily basis...Well, I hope that gives you a little taste of my life at late and I pray you are doing well. Feel free to email me back or call me and let me know what you are up to. I am never to busy for my friends, although I may not pick up my phone or email you back for a few days... Hehe. Know that I still care and my friendships are my main priority and I would much rather hear how you are doing than read my case books, believe me. :)
Yours Truly,
~Jen
