New Semester, New Year... New Me?

So, as you can see I haven't posted much lately.... I was busy with finals, and then during break (and I just noticed I do this every break) I became a hermit to decompress, hide from the phone, read many novels and play video games. I think since I push myself so hard during the year, that I need to completely socially shut down during school breaks just to give myself some me/family time.

However, that is all over since today was the first day of the Sporing semester. Grades came in from Fall, and while I didn't do bad, I know I could have done better. But, in m y defense, I had some personal issues going on and I just couldn't get in my groove. well that, and I couldn't get the eff off facebook. So this semester I am going to make an effort to pay attention in class, knowing that this will prolly bring my grades up to what I feel is acceptable, that and I have to stop getting on my comp when I am supposed to be studying. I am horrible about that!!

On a different note. I joined a gym and started a weight loss/fitness blog. I ache all over and actually pulled a muscle in my neck, but I am seeing results after 3 weeks and enjoy the feeling of empowerment and accomplishment I get from hauling my big butt to the gym every week!

Hows everyone else's semester going? Anything changes you want to make?

Still Here. Just Buried

I am still here, just buried under a pile of legal pads, used up highlighters and Examples and Explanations supplements. I had two exams last week, property and contracts, that I surprisingly feel good about despite the fact I spent the majority of the semester surfing the net during class (don't do it kids, I hope I don't in the spring). Now I just have intellectual property and torts this week.... wish me luck.

On a good note I have an appointment with a local gym that is doing a fitness program and taking volunteers. I hope I get in. Its hard for me to stay motivated about my health whne I am in school, I am hoping being a part of something like this will help.

Well back to re-writing my IP outline over and over until I can recite it in my sleep. See you on the other side!!

Good Show Moron

It finally happened, I got called on and was completely unprepared for it. Right before class I had a, how shall we say, intense conversation with the hubster. One which we were continuing over facebook during class (yeah yeah, I know, I was supposed to be paying attention). So... of course, I am called on. I had read the case, but it was on Monday when I read it and I hadn't reviewed it like I normally do because I was otherwise occupied. And this is the day he called on me. So I stumbled through, did ok I think, but still feel like a complete ass. Perfectionist A-Type people take this kinda of stuff hard and it will haunt me until I get high on paint fumes from painting the house this weekend. Oh well.....

Maybe I need to leave the laptop in the locker next semester huh?

Calm Before the Storm

It's coming, the crying jags in the bathroom, 1Ls walking around, muttering to themselves and the 2/3L's looking at us with pity.

It will start the week after Halloween, when it hits all of us that finals are really only 4 weeks away and we really are expected to know all of this crap, er, legal knowledge that the proffesors have been talking about while we facebook-ed. Our hearts will skip a beat, or 5, or hands will shake and we will realize the reason that we have had so much free time this semester when everyone told us how hard it was going to be was because we were only doing 25% of the work we were supposed to.

How do I know all this, and how can I be so calm? Because I did the same this this past summer, and I am wiser for it.

For those of you saying, "NO!! We don't want to be those 1L's? What can we do?"

Well this is what I am doing: outlining after each class (Its a lot easier to outline 3 classes of notes per day, then outline 3 months of 5 classes in 2 days) and I try to do 2 review sessions per subject, per week. Usually this is either a chapter in one of my Examples & Explanations books, or a lesson in CALI. While this wont get me through everything leisurely by finals, it will give me a nice solid foundation of stuff I already know, so I can focus on points I have struggling with.

Good luck everyone. It won't be as bad as you think!

The Second Wind Cometh

I feel rejuvenated, not literally, but mentally. I am still physically tired and wish I could sleep in on weekends, but the fact that I wake up early all week has jinxed that.... but I digress...

I am caught up in school work, so much so that all my classes are outlined to the most recent day, I am slightly ahead on reading and a written assignment and have had time to start reviewing. I realized I slacked off the first few weeks of the semester and now have to review that concepts I half ignored the first weeks cuz I was not on my game. But I am doing it!

I started a new, yes another biz venture (let me know if you want info) because I have a firm goal/idea for my solo career and want to work as hard as I can towards it, both financially and academically. For those of you that scoff and say I am only a 1L or that i should be doing something legal with my time, I say this... Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. And while do intend to find a legal job 2L year, but in my podunk area they are harder to find then a person who reads. And to quote Ani DiFranco "you gotta have an alternate plan."

So, yes, I am still yawning, I am still tired, but I feel good about the semester, the year and my future.... lets see how next week goes, lol.

Is it too Early to Wish it was Over?

Its week 2 into the fall semester and I already feel mentally frayed (evidence: I am typing this when I should be glancing over my Torts cases, today will be the day I am called on, lol). By 8pm every night I am unable to speak coherently, especially if the words that are required have more then 1 syllable, and I can't read anything that uses brain cells (hence I am happily re-read my beloved Sookie Stackhouse series again). While I am keeping up with the work, I feel like I am reading every minute of everyday and am struggling to find the school/life balance that everyone says is essential to mental health (and my relationship, lol.) I am not stressed as a lot of my fellow 1L's are, just tired. I loathe being tired.
Since I live an hour away I am wasting 2 hours of my day just driving, plus in an effort to be more social I am trying to re-connect with friends and I actually joined an student association (those that know me in RL just fell off their chairs). While I am excited about being a member of our chapter of OUTLaw, I am stressed about meeting new people (my hermit ways is what made me decide to force myself out of them) and hate that our first social event has me up at the school for 13 hours so I can attend. But I think it will be good for me to see something other then my beloved, my doggie and my office walls.
I am already looking forward to my 2L year where I can choose my classes and hopefully get at least one day where I am not at the school every week. Hopefully this is just what I usually go through at the beginning of each semester and I will be in my groove by next week. Any suggestions?

Summer Starting & Orientation Lewtz

Today was day 2 of 1L orientation. The first day I did not have to attend because I got the super-duper condensed version a few months ago at the start of the summer semester. However, all 1Ls have to go the the professionalism seminar given by the state bar association. Basically it involved some speeches from the Dean, Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court and then some small groups with local attorneys and judges where we talk about being an ethical lawyer and how to face the myriad of crappy choices we could come up against as practicing attorneys. However, we ended the day with some nice walk aways such as a jump drive from Lexis and some really good info from other organizations. Plus it was really cool to see all the people that started with me in summer and it really helped me get back into the groove again for the coming fall.

I do want to say that I am glad I was a summer starter. I feel like it gave me a nice and easy introduction as to what to expect from the coming fall. I was able to see what kind of studying methods worked for me for the exams, I had both a closed and cheat sheet exam, and get me used to how classes went with only the stress of having two classes. If you are a pre-law and don't mind spending your summer in a class room, I definitely recommend starting in the summer. It definitely gives you a leg up on fall and you can enjoy the beginning of the semester instead of having panic attacks every night before bed :).

1L - Part Deux (or Fall Semester)

So, 1.5 weeks from now will find me back in the real beginning of my 1L year. I think of this summer as more of a primer really. A nice quick, intense intro to what the next year is going to be like. But Fall is slowly creeping up on me. Within the past 2 weeks my email has been inundated with book lists, orientation emails (some I get to ignore as a summer starter thank god) and various other offerings reminding me that my blissful weeks of reading a NOVEL and not a CASE, playing Warcraft until late, spending time with the hubster (his semester started tonight) and drooling on myself are coming to an abrupt end.

On one hand, I feel pretty good about the upcoming year because of this summer. I have a handle on what king of studying works for me, what to expect in class, and how much time I should be spending on the reading materials. Thank god for the one thing I have found handiest from my paralegal education, the fact that reading legalese and briefing is second nature to me. It helped tremendously. If you are a 1L reading this, brief the cases for the first few weeks of the semester, then move to book briefing. being able to pull out the important facts from each case is invaluable and saves a lot of time.

On the other hand, I am nervous yet again. This fall is going to be way more intensive then than the summer. More classes, more classmates, more assignments and more activities. That's what gives the most pause. I. Am. Not. A. Joiner. I loathe group activities (unless it is with my friends), hate school related social functions and work best when just left the hell alone. But I am trying to change that in law school, especially since I plan on being a solo. I need to be able to network and *deathly, strangling, choking noises* ask for help/advice (can you tell I HATE asking for help, lol). So, here I am, forcing myself out of the shell I live in, trying to become social.

The other hurdle to me getting involved is my hour commute to school and the fact that my hubster is also working and going to school full time. Between his job, my 1L year, his full time school schedule and everything else in life (hell just us having a life that involves each other and our friends) something has to give, and I fear it will be deep involvement in law school except for any law journals I might (and that's a big freaking might) get invited to and one student group I have planned to join for 2 years. Part of me is totally fine with that sacrifice (she is usually sitting in the back of my head, smoking cigarettes and threatening anyone who comes to close with a sharp pointy stick) but the other half hopes I am not missing out on something because of it.

I guess I will just have to play it by ear, say hi to a few people now and again, and put one foot in front of the other. I would love to know how involved the other Non-Trads got and how it effected them later if anyone would like to share.

Practice Exam

The practice exam was a complete wash. The Prof said there wasn't even a B paper in the stack. You could see the panic fly around the room as all of us wondered if we could get a management job at Burger King. However, some good did come out of it. Our Prof who was nice enough to give us the exam in the first place, went even further and spent the entire 2 hour class going over the mass majority of mistakes (alliteration anyone?) and giving us some much needed tips on what to do in future exams. May thousands of blessings fall upon his head for that. Then our Civ Pro teacher gave us last years exam to look over.

So, while bombed the practice, I know what is expected. I got the main points of law, I just didn't analyze enough. Paralegals are taught to be very very short and sweet. I have to get past these preconceived notions I have from being a paralegal student and start thinking like a law student. Armed with that knowledge and some supplemental study books, I feel more secure about finals in 3(ish) weeks. Lets hope I am right :)

PWNed by my Practice Exam

Our Crim Law Prof sent out an email today with the model answer for our practice exam we took Wednesday. From the answer he sent I can see that I am going down the right road, I got most of the charges dead on and made the correct arguments. however I can see that I am not going into nearly enough detail and making my answers and thorough as they need to be. I hate not knowing what to expect and how exactly to nail a question. As someone who had an easy time of it in undergrad making good grades, figuring out what the teacher wanted and giving them that, law school is making me feel inadequate and moronic. I know I am neither of these things and I possess what I think is a good legal mind. I just don't know how to get that across on my paper. Ugh! I can't wait until this is old hat and no longer the issue it is now. Am I a 2L yet??

Still Here,

I am still here. School has been keeping me quite occupied (for the record I loathe outlines).

In a fit of generosity my Crim law professor has decided to give us a practice exam. Perhaps the way the entire 1L summer class turned pale and started drooling at the word exam has given him a hint that the majority of us are terrified of the first test, or perhaps he is just a nice guy, I vote for both. But I have been trying to prepare for that as I would a graded exam just so I know what I have gotten myself into....told ya I was a nerd :)

Plus, I am feeling the stress of school and being a noobish 1L. In fact, I am becoming convinced every night before I fall asleep that I am going to:
A) Flunk out of law school
B) Put Hayden and I in the poor house between not working the 1L year and trying to find a job after I graduate. Pretty soon we will have to tie a "Will Look Cute for Kibble" sign around Piggy's (our shih tzu aka Radclyffe) neck and send him down the street door to door. (I jest and exaggerate here, I promise)
C) Never learn the secret that EVERYONE knows but me about succeeding in law school

In the light of day these ideas make me laugh, but for those moments between shutting your eyes and falling asleep, these are true... I'll be glad when this first test is over and I know what to expect. Type A personalities like myself hate the unknown. Or maybe I will just starting drinking a bottle of wine before bed....who knows.

Hopefully I will have some more to post soon :)

Paralegal v Law School

Criminal Law class is really bringing home the difference between my training as a paralegal, and what I am learning in law school. Today we were talking about mens rea, an issue I was familiar with but never really had to think to much about as a paralegal. Now, as a future attorney, I have to think about it a whole lot more.

As a paralegal you are trained to think about the law only so much so that it helps your attorney. You have to understand the elements of each case so you can find cases that are on point with your clients, you have to be able to draft legal documents and you have to know how to follow your attorney around and pick their head up when they forget it.

As a lawyer you have to know how to actually handle the client's case. How are you going to defend them, can they raise certain defenses, what is the other side going to do and how will you handle that, what would you do as the prosecutor? I naively walked into law school thinking oh, I got this, this is all old hat. And yes, some of it is old hat, some of it is familiar and some of it makes me feel like the legal idiot I was when I first started down this road. I am dead thankful for my paralegal background because it gave me case brief skills, introduced me to legalese and the fundamentals of the legal community. But in law school its a whole new ball game. I am challenged in every class to think in new ways, keep my emotions out of the case (I will never be able to practice in criminal law, I would be GREAT at it I think, but I don't think I could leave it at the office), and see the other sides POV, even when I think it is moronic....

..... and you know what? I LOVE EVERY EFFING SECOND OF IT, so ignore the petty bitching I may do about it from time to time.

Student Loan Forgiveness

MSN just posted an article about a Facebook group trying to push for a bill that will cancel out all student loan debt. Wow...

I don't know if I agree with that. On one hand, the Type A side of me is think "Great!!! One less thing for us to worry about!" But, on the other hand I feel like I have the education, I will (hopefully) reap the financial gains from said education, so shouldn't I pay the for the education? I borrow the max amount I am allowed. Some people think this is stupid, but to me it allows me to not work if I choose not to, and allows me to focus completely on school. My grades are great because of this and I feel that it is debt well incurred (ask me again in 10 years, lol.) Now, this doesn't mean I don't agree with the forgiveness programs for lawyers, nurses and other fields. I hope to take advantage of those programs myself and benefit from both the forgiveness of some percentage of my debt, and help some people out in the process. My sister-in-law works in a hospital as a Med Tech and instead of forgiveness, she receives X amount every month on her check to pay toward her student loans. That is great. But to totally wipe out all student debt? I don't know, you can walk into Target, blow $3000 bucks on a plasma and then want the price forgiven. You are enjoying the TV, you need to pay for the TV.

However, the article does bring up bill coming through this year. One that caps payments at 15% of your income and then forgives any portion left over after 25 years, if there is any(I also think they are lowering interest rates too, I could be mistaken). Now this is a great idea. It allows people to make payments that does not conflict with their income, especially in these times, and it forgives a portion if you still have some left. This combined with different payment options, to me, gives people a little more leeway to pay their debts. It also teaches responsible borrowing.

What do you think?

Week 2 down

This was the first week that us Summer 1L's had both classes we are taking this semester (Crim Law was canceled last week due to the prof attending a conference) and I feel like things are going to be ok. I have to say it is taking up a lot more of my time then I thought it would. I am usually doing homework until 9pm every night and I am finding that my time isn't stretching nearly as far as it did in undergrad, where I was able to make A's with minimal effort. However, it is mostly busy work, ie. reading, briefing, making sure I have pulled the most important legal jargon out of the reading, that is taking the most time.

Whether it is a combination of some legal knowledge and interesting classes, or the fact I am ignorant as to what I am in for, I don't seem to be as worried as my class mates are. I guess finals in 6 weeks will let me know which on it is. Until then I am going to keep doing what I am doing and find time for myself and my beloved.

Welcome!

Welcome to my first foray into the world of blogging. I have noticed how helpful and prevalent blogging in during the course of my academic career, and think its a great way to get my name out there in the legal community.

A little about me:

I am 31 yrs old and have a little more on my plate then your average law student. We (my partner and I) have car payments, a mortgage and a small clump of other debts. Plus, not only am I in school, but I finally got his tail back in school as well.

I will begin law school at the end of May. I have to admit, this is not where I pictured myself when I was younger. In fact, law was something I saw as completely out of my reach. I, like many people unfamiliar with the law, thought that to be an attorney you needed to be able to rattle off statutes, case decisions and the like. I didn't look at law as a viable choice for a career until I became a paralegal major. Of course, once I went further in my paralegal schooling, law school seemed like a natural next step for me.

I hope to open my own practice when I graduate law school. I have never been one who was happy working for others. I am independent, opinionated and work best when its my name on the line. Of course my problem right now is deciding what areas of law to focus on. I am mainly interested in Intellectual Property, Alternative Family/Gay Rights Law, Business Law and Real Estate, but every day in class or while surfing the net, I find 10 more practice areas that sound challenging. How is one to decide?

Topics I want to have in this blog: being a non-traditional law student, exploring various practice areas, law school itself, ideas for solo practice and the like.