New Beginnings

Well, I have just finished my third week of law school and I have never enjoyed anything more than I do this experience. It's way more work than I could ever have imagined, but every minute of it provides me with some new insight to the world and tickles my brain like nothing else has. I actually really like the level of work we have to do. That is one of the reasons I chose the school I did. It challenges me, and I love a good academic challenge, so here I am.

I am happy to have my first experiences with the Socratic Method out of the way. I have been called on multiple times in class now, so the anxiety is gone for the most part. I do, however, still get nervous that I will get called on in certain classes when the professors move so fast it's hard to keep up. For the most part, though, I kind of like the thrill of knowing I could get called on at any moment. As me about it again in a few months when I'm so sleep-deprived I can hardly walk. :)

So, that's pretty much my life right now. My roommate has been such a wonderful support for me and I'm thankful that God brought her into my life. We are not only able to talk about school, but she has a heart that's truly devoted to the Lord and so we get to share the joys of talking about God in our lives, too. It's so rare to find a friend with whom you can be completely open and honest, but we hit it off from the very beginning and I can only owe that gift to the Lord. Yay Jesus!

So, our first Memo for our Legal Research and Writing class is due on Monday, and that has semi-encompassed my life this last week. I love legal writing because it's very straight-forward and you don't have to waste your time putting in all the frilly stuff that you do when writing more liberal-artsy kind of papers. I think I could easily get used to it.

On top of my LR&W project, I spend most of my weekends (literally all day Saturday and most of Sunday after church) outlining the material we discuss throughout the week. Law school exams consist of what we call "issue spotting." Basically, that means that on the exam, there will just be a fact pattern (a story) and we have to spot all the legal issues that could arise out of that fact pattern based on what we've learned in class. They allow us to use our class notes and books during the exams, so students spend a good portion of their time throughout the quarter trying to get workable outlines that we can use to quickly find information while we're in the exams. Some people use outlines that older students have created in the past, but most people like to create their own since it helps to solidify the material in your mind. If you know me at all, I'm sure you know that I'm a little obsessive about things like that, so of course I'm making all my own outlines. (That's what I'm in the process of doing right now, in fact.)

It is still weird to me that it's mid-October and I'm only 3 weeks into school. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the quarter system. Usually by this time in the year, I'm expecting a Fall Break or something and studying for mid-terms. I'm having a hard time realizing it's fall since I don't have the normal school year to gauge the seasons. It is getting chilly here, though, so it's starting to sink in that it's fall. I'm preparing myself for the sooner-than-desired day when I have to break out the heavy duty coat. Let's hope it stays fall for a while.

Well, on that note, I must return to my studies. Keep on the lookout for more updates. You keep reading and I'll keep 'em coming. Take care...