Reflections on the Importance of First Year

I've been meaning to blog about this topic for a week or so now, and haven't had the time to do it. So I had a couple of minutes now, and I want to get this out there before finals start looming on the horizon.

I don't usually preach about what people should do in law school/not do in law school, because let's face it, I'm no expert just because I survived one year; but, I do know what works and what doesn't work to some extent, and I see now, in retrospect, how the 1L year is so important. So important.

My advice to all 1Ls out there is this:
Concentrate on your exams. Don't worry about anything else on this earth but your exams this semester. How you do this semester will set the tone for the rest of your year. If you do well, you will feel much more confident that you know how to manage your workload. You will feel more adept at making comments in class. You will know what to expect for Spring semester finals, and you will know that you can and will be prepared. Focus on your exams this semester.

Start your outlining early. Don't leave it all for the end, don't ask some 2L for his/her outlines from last year, don't get the outlines from BarBri. Make your own. The best way to study is in making those stupid outlines.

After Christmas break, start looking for a job for next summer - a law-related job, people, not working at the local Dairy Queen. A law job of some sort, any sort, paid or unpaid, will really give you something to talk about during on campus interviews next year. I know it's a lot of thinking ahead, but law school is all about thinking ahead.

Finally, you don't really have to think about this right now, but do the journal competition at the end of the your first year. You have no idea how many doors will open for you if you make it onto a journal, and how many more doors will close if you don't even try.

Most importantly, however, make good friends. Find a good group of a few people that you can count on to study with, to bounce issues off of, and to just be there for you in general. Law school can be a lonely, isolating place, but some good friends can really help in terms of getting through it all, and doing it successfully. There will be days that you feel like an utter failure (and those days are probably many), and it's those good people around you that will remind you that you're not, and will remind you why you wanted to do this in the first place.

I'm hopping off of my soapbox now; but I hope all you 1Ls out there take this advice to heart, because it's quite true. Start outlining this month - focus on your finals, not stupid school drama - bond with some people in the course of studying and making it through the day - guaranteed, you'll all be fine.

May the force be with you!!