I should be reading.....

But, I feel as though I have been neglecting my blog. I want folks to know about my adventures thus far, so I'm taking a little break. It's been less that an hour since my last class of the day (Contracts..yippee) and it's just a little bit past the lunch hour, so I think I'm entitled to a little personal time to do what I want to do. So where do I start??

Okay- as promised, I want to talk about Law Preview.

At this particular moment, I can say that it is currently helping me. I have a general understanding as to what is going on in class. I think I'm a little less lost than some other folks in class, so I think that helps. Also, they provided a nice schedule to follow for studying, which I'm glad I have and plan to follow pretty closely. Additionally, they provided a few supplemental study materials, which I actually cracked open while trying to understand my first Civ Pro assignment. Some of the cases I'm going to encounter in class have already been discussed in Law Preview so hopefully at those moments things won't seem so daunting. I'm sure at the end of the semester, after the final exams have all been graded and posted, I'll know whether the class was truly beneficial to me.

Next- Orientation

Overall, I had a really good experience during Orientation. It was over the course of three days and it provided A LOT of information. Some information was repetitive because of all the law school prep I've been doing over the summer, some was school specific. I was able to meet my classmates and befriend some 2L's and 3L's, which is always a benefit. I also identified individuals whom I would probably steer clear of, for various reasons. I will refrain from sharing any stories at this point, however, if I happen to cross paths with any of these individuals I've mentally noted in the future, and if from that interaction a story arises, I will be sure to provide you with a story that I'm sure will be entertaining.

First Day of Class

I'm not sure why my schedule is constructed so that I don't have class until 3pm on Mondays, but I'm seeing the bright side in this because I am able to read, study or review for practically a whole day OR if I'm ahead, I can just rest. My daughter will be at school and my house will be silent. At any rate, class doesn't start until three and I only have one- Civil Procedure. The class that seems to leave me with the largest question mark at the end. LOL. I'm told that is supposed to be my state of mind and eventually I will have an AH HA! moment. I'll let you know when it comes, lol!

First Week of Class

By the end of the week, I felt indoctrinated in the law school process. My week was full of emotional highs and lows (mostly feeling either rested or exhausted). All and all, I feel like this is more than doable. It will take alot of work, which I am more than prepared to do.

Parent v. Law School Student

I'm surprised that being a law student has not yet interfered with my ability to be present for my daughter. I imagine that conflict will probably appear closer to exam time. My schedule has me in school when she is in school and studying after she's asleep. To celebrate our first day of class, I took her out for ice cream, but I paid for the celebration later on in the week, since the break away from our schedule found me having to "catch-up" on reading until about Wednesday. It was a sacrifice well worth it.

So far my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I hope that continues to be the case. I'll keep you posted.

PTI (Pardon The Interruption)

Yes, I know I've been MIA....it's been due to reasons beyond my control really, reasons I will attempt to explain very soon. I have SO MUCH I want to share, so please STAY TUNED!

Whew!

Hey folks! I made it to College Town, finally!!!! Moving actually went very well, surprisingly. My daughter is absolutely ecstatic about her new home, as am I. I spent the first couple of days unpacking and getting familiar with our new surroundings. I enjoy my new neighborhood, which is really quiet and very conducive to studying. I also LOVE the fact that I can get anywhere in College Town in 15 minutes or less. On the other hand, I don't like the fact that I no longer have a job. It's the oddest feeling ever! I'm extremely risk-adverse and am having an issue adjusting to the fact that I'll have to live on loans. Luckily, I got an increase in my child support, so I felt extremely blessed about that. Tomorrow is the first day of Law Preview, and in true procrastinators form I have not even begun briefing the cases for the first day of class. I'm going to get it done tonight, I promise. In the meantime- I hope all the other 1L's out there are having as smooth a transition as I am thus far! Good Luck!

Tips and Techniques

As I said before, I found the A.I.E. seminar very helpful and it provided many different tips and techniques that I think will make my transition to and through law school pretty seamless. Some suggestions include:

• Start practice exams early. Now, let me clarify. First, you would want to get copies of exams fairly early, in order to beat the rush later on. As far as begining practice exams, you certainly don't want to wait until two weeks before finals. Four to six weeks prior may be better.
  
  
• Structure your time. This includes study time, class time, and play time.
  
  
• Get help before it becomes a problem. I think this is especially important for minority students because I've heard on countless occaisions that law school can be more difficult for us. If you have an academic support department, that's a good place to start.
  
  
• Educate yourself early about the Bar exam. If you know the jurisdiction you would like to practice law, begin researching the requirements. If you think you'll want to practice in multiple places, research them all to determine the best way to go about planning for taking each Bar exam.
  
  
• Think of yourself as a professional. Professionalism begins day one in law school. Whatever you do in law school, good or bad, will follow you into the profession.
  
  
• Bring a digital clock during exams. Apparently some have problems reading analog clocks or the anxiety of test taking makes it a bit difficult. Honestly, I could totally see myself having this issue.
  
  
• Go over exams with professsors. This includes any practice exam questions you undertake, as well as your actual final. This will hopefully help guide you to what it is the professor is looking for in exam answers. I honestly wonder how easy (or hard) this might be. I guess I will find out in the next couple of months, eh?
  
  

So, do any current 1L's (now 2L's) or future 1L's have any suggestions that might help one get a leg up in law school? If so, please share!

CLEO- A.I.E. Program

Hello All,

As promised, I want to give you the lowdown on my experience at the Council on Legal Education Opportunity's ("CLEO") Attitude is Essential ("A.I.E.") Seminar I attended in Atlanta over the past weekend.

I love the fact that CLEO brings together so many diverse people, from so many different walks of life, who all share a common goal- wanting to be a successful law student. I met a lot of great people, most of whom will be my peers in the legal profession.

Highlights of the seminar included-

• Mock Torts and Criminal Law classes.
• A panel discussion about how to obtain success in law school.
• A presentation on reading and briefing cases, and legal writing.
• A workshop on strategies for legal thinking.
• A discussion on ethical issues and law school.

I found the mock classes to be the most helpful. We were given cases to read and brief about a week before the seminar. During the mock class, which were taught by actual law professors, we discussed the cases we were given to brief. Some professors called on people randomly, while others took volunteers. Some even made you stand up to give your answer. It makes me both excited and nervous to be in class on the first or second day. I doubt I would be a volunteer, but in the event I am called upon, I will make sure I am prepared, because professors can be brutal if you give an incorrect answer, or if you are obviously trying to BS your way through a question.

I also found the ethical issues and law school workshop very insightful. It discussed things like social networking websites and how they can be used for good and evil, and it also discussed the Character and Fitness portion of the Bar. It definitely shed light on the importance of staying out of trouble (criminally, financially, and otherwise), because even if you pass your Bar exam, if you are found to not be fit of character-you will have essentially wasted three years of your life, and a ridiculous amount of money that you will STILL have to pay back.

There are definitely other tips and techniques that I took away from the seminar. I've decided to share them over the course of the next couple of days. I'm doing this mostly because I need something to do as I await my last day of work, LOL! So, stay tuned!

The Home Stretch

You have no idea how excited I am about the fact that I will be on my way to College Town in just a matter of days. Twelve days to be exact! I still need to finish packing, but I have plenty of time. Honestly, this job is REALLY getting on my nerves! I spend eight hours a day sitting in front of a computer doing absolutely nothing useful. I've already completed all the necessary planning for my transition to College Town and for law school and I'm afraid I've run out of useful things to search on the Internet. How sad is that?!?!? I continue to tell myself that the money I'm being paid to keep this seat warm is totally worth it. Hell, at this point, I'm damned determined to ride out the last eleven days, but I realize that I'm going to have to get creative, LOL!

As always, I'm down for a challenge!

Free Study Aids- Thanks Kel

As I've said before, I follow other bloggers who are in law school and thus far, they have provided useful insight into what I can possibly expect to encounter during my time in law school. Well, leave it to Kel to step it up a notch and offer up her 1L study aids to rising 1L's. She doing so by holding weekly drawings. I think it's a terrific ideal and may even carry on the tradition. Now, on to the rules....

• You must leave a comment on her blog in order to enter the drawing.
• You may not win two weeks in a row
• Only rising 1L's please
• If you have a blog, Kel would appreciate a shout out so that more 1L's can enter

Winners will be announced on Sundays. Good Luck!