Orientation v Life

Just like my career will marry my Pharm D. and JD, I want to marry my law school orientation to regular life. Usually, I would separate life and school posts, but I saw an opportunity to chronicle the experience for you. 

(For all my lawyers and law students, the title is just to be cute.)

Orientations are generally uneventful. You could even say they’re overwhelmingly boring. Mine was two days, 8am-4pm, and covered several topics, including presentations by the law library, campus police, and the health center. For a real life example, imagine a work orientation. “There’s the restroom, some desks, the break room, click through some online learning tools, and now watch someone else work for the rest of the shift.” Good times. I found it interesting how my law school orientation ended up oppositely for me. It reflected real life (useful) advice in multiple ways. That created an opportunity for me to share those ways with you. Whether you’re a fresh 1L, a recent high school grad, or just a person who wouldn’t mind a refresher on basic life advice, this post is for you. Let’s get to it!

1. It’s going to be hard.

I think everyone knows this about law school and life. It’s hard. You have no clue just how difficult it will get. People, like mentors and parents, try to convey it to you, but there’s nothing like experiencing it. It’s like wading in a pool for the first time. You’re getting closer and closer to the deep end. The water is getting higher. Its getting closer to your chin, and suddenly you begin to float, and your feet don’t touch the bottom anymore, without you going under. You knew it would happen. Your friend told you how deep the pool is. You read the ‘8ft’ sign. But still, you’re a little shocked when it happens. You can turn around and go back to the shallow end, or you can swim forward. If you can swim, I’ll always advise you to swim forward. In other words, if you’re equipped with the basic skills, it’s always worth it to move forward and try something new. You gain experience as well as confidence. Next time, its not so hard. Maybe next time, you even try something even harder.

2. Take time for yourself.

This one was repeated several times by the upperclassmen. Make time to do what you like to do. You spend so much time in law school reading and writing and going to class. If you listen to professor’s suggestions, you should be busy with those things 45-60 hours a week. Real world people are busy working, taking care of others, running errands, grocery shopping, and more working. It’s so important to take time for yourself. Jog, if you like that. Dance, if you like that. Cook, if you like that. The upperclassmen suggested to take this time every day, even if you only get in thirty minutes.

They also suggested:

• Shutting down at a certain time. Sitting with your nose in a book for hours is draining. Pick a daily time you shut that down and stick to it.

• Take an entire day off. In addition to daily time for you, take an entire day. For me, it would be take an entire day not studying. For others, it might be taking off work. This includes no picking up an extra shift! You’ll feel better and look better. Trust me.

3. Be nice to each other. 

Easy to say, harder to do. Life and school get next level stressful. You can get overwhelmed, overworked, scared, and confused, all while your supposed to be continuing onward. It is tough, friends. You may not know this, but the way grades are set in law school makes it competitive. Only a certain percentage of students get As, and professors required to give at least a small percentage of Ds. This can turn libraries into boxing rings. People won’t share notes, will lie about assignments, and I’ve heard of people throwing away other’s notes. It can get wild!  But something that was conveyed to us at orientation was that it doesn’t have to be that way with our class. We are starting fresh, and we can be there for each other (at least be civil), instead of hoping someone cracks. Life is also this way. You can chose to lift up your friends, coworkers, and baristas, instead of tearing them down. Even when the pressure is high and your morale is low, you can still make that effort to be nice.

I hope these simple, yet effective points have reminded you how you can make tomorrow better than today for yourself and those around you. 

Comment and share one way you can apply one of these helpful hints TODAY!