Catch…and Release
If there is one thing law school has taught me, it is how far beyond my limits I can take myself. When I have 5 more pages of Criminal Procedure to read or one more case to brief for Law and Medicine and all I want to do is take a nap, I just think about how all this strength I have built up will make me a better lawyer, and person. It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this, that law school is tough, mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. Entering RWU as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed first year, having just graduated from college, I was prepared to take on the world of Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, and Property. I was excited and eager to learn the ins and outs of my future profession; I was ready to gain knowledge about the law, but what I learned even more about was myself.
From the beginning, law school challenged me. Having been waitlisted to RWU, I knew I was going to have to fight for a chance to show the school, and myself, that I could be a successful law student. Once I was given the opportunity, I devoted myself to everything law- I read and re-read cases, showed up to class early, made sure I took notes on everything- some how thinking I needed to prove to someone I deserved to be there. It was not until the Fall semester of my second year that I realized the only one I needed to prove something to was my own biggest critic: myself. All that “extra” work I thought I was doing, was not extra, it was required; it was law school.
I’m sure you have all heard stories from lawyers or law students about how stressful and hard law school is. Truth is, they are not lying, but thats ok; it has been said “anything worth doing is never easy.” One of the many great about RWU is that, as students, we know when to take a break, even if its only for a few hours. It’s nice to that once Friday comes, I can sit down with a few good friends and a nice glass of wine and talk about something other than law. Law school consumes all of us, but there comes a point where you have to sit back and relax. I’m not very good at relaxing; I’d rather go for a run or take the dog for a walk than sit down for an hour and watch tv. It’s funny, because I never thought school, which has always caused me some sort of stress, would actually teach me how to relax. These days, there is nothing I look more forward to than sitting on the couch with the dog and my boyfriend and watching Boston Legal (I can’t fully get away from the law!!).
Today, as I sit here and write this, I know I have some 100 pages left of reading to do, about 10 cases to brief, and all I want to do is take a nap! But I know that I have the strength to buckle down and get things done, not because I have to, but because I want to. Because once you find something you are passionate about, the last thing you want to do is stop.
