The first year of law school is, doubtlessly, quite an experience. Even making it through the first semester should be enough to earn you a medal. The first semester of your first year will be, according to accounts I've heard from others and my own experience so far, the hardest you will undergo at law school. If you've made it this far, congratulations; but don't get lazy now.
In a few days, January will have ended, and by the end of the week, I will be closing in on the end of the first third of second semester. In some weird way, however, I feel like I'm farther along. This second semester is definitely not as trying - for one thing, any uncertainty I feel about the material is mitigated by the knowledge that I will know all of this stuff by the time exams roll around. On the other hand, this is shaping up to be quite a full semester. While the number of credits I am working toward this semester remains the same, my overall course-load has been increased by one class. Instead of three doctrinal classes and Legal Research and Writing, I now face four doctrinal classes plus Moot Court. The effect is somewhat offset by small adjustments in the hours per week for each class - Constitutional Law and my statutory elective, for instance, meet only three hours each, rather than four, per week. My understanding is that this set up is quite unique, as most law schools will have you continuing your fall semester classes, with the exception of Legal Research and Writing. On top of this new schedule, however, I am well within the midst of attempting to find a summer job, a necessity for any law student looking to pursue a career in the legal field once he or she has earned a law degree.
So, while we're nearly a month into 2011, I'm going to make some resolutions. I'm going to resolve to start earlier and work smarter on preparing for exams. I'm going to resolve to set aside time for job hunting. I'm going to resolve to make the best of Moot Court and try to be the best advocate I can for my side.
And I resolve to impart whatever knowledge I gain from my experiences to you, the reader, to help on your own legal journey.
Happy New Year.
~Pax
