5 weeks and counting...

We're more than halfway. Good and bad depending on how you look at it. 5 weeks of classes, then 2 weeks of finals, then this first semester is over. In my view it's a good thing-- only 13 more classes of CivPro torture, only 7 more weeks until I get a weekend off without feeling guilty about it. Of course, the other side is only 5 more weeks to catch up on outlines and to really figure out if I understand what we've been talking about for 4 months, or whether it's all just a great illusion.

Everyone warns you before you start law school about the immense reading load and briefing you have to do, and the Socratic Method style of teaching that leaves some 1Ls wishing they could curl up and die. Everyone has seen "Paper Chase" and "Legally Blonde", read "1L", read blogs, talked to friends/family/pets/4th cousins removed. I just haven't really found much of that to be true. Perhaps it's because I am 4 years out of college, perhaps it's because of my anal retentive organization and planning skills. Perhaps it's simply that I never give in to hype. Whatever the reason, I just haven't ever felt that "1L pressure" that's so blogged and written about. Sometimes I'll sit and wonder if maybe I am not doing enough, if perhaps I am not working hard enough. But then I look at my planner, look at my outlines and realize that I am just fine. It's a strange feeling to have when so many of my fellow classmates are struggling to keep their heads above water.

I look back at college and realize that my time management skills kept me afloat back then-- between activities and classes, there's no way I would have been able to keep up with everything unless I pro-actively finished assignments early and kept up. It also was always making the decisions between reading for Class A or Class B, studying more for a test or going to class... Luckily, I seemed to have a knack for making the right decisions back then... So maybe that still holds true now... I guess in 7 weeks we'll know. At that point I will either have sank or swam and this first semester of the journey will be behind me.