As I write this blog post today, having completed my first year of law school and an internship with a domestic violence law group, it strikes me that less than a year ago (surprisingly little time considering how much has happened), I was nowhere near as self-assured as I have become.

The overwhelming sense of law school you receive from research or people you meet – and worse from yourself – is fear. Fear that the work will break you. Fear that you won’t succeed. Fear that you’re wasting your time. What you don’t hear is how quickly this feeling passes, and more importantly, how common it is. During my first week of law school, I had a depressing, introspective look as I battled intimidation due to the intellect of the students around me. This passed as I quickly realized that everyone else felt the same way. Additionally, it was only by sharing and admitting how hard the stress hit that we all moved past it.

I found the greatest asset that helped me get through my first year at Temple Law was the one I least expected: a sense of community. Temple University is a monolithic institution with everything from music to medicine to law, but its size does not diminish the understanding you reach with your peers that you are all in it together. As soon as I entered Klein Hall I became aware of a vast network of students, professors, and alumni who understood the pressures of the three challenging years I was about to experience and were happy to make them easier. The long hours and high standards feel tense, constant, and lonely, but they do not have to be. The most successful students find time for humanity, and do not have to look far to see others going through the same struggles.

“The friends you make in law school are there for the worst of it and ready to share a laugh and a drink when the chaos ends.”

Law school is home to horror stories about students adopting cutthroat attitudes on their race to the finish. At Temple Law, you see no such thing. My newfound friends and I quickly learned to rely on each other for everything from studying together to better understand the case law to simple commiseration (a fancy way to say complaining) to help ourselves through the mire of the toughest days. The friends you make in law school are there for the worst of it and ready to share a laugh and a drink when the chaos ends.

The professors and alumni also know how harsh the law school experience can be. After all, they went through it themselves. Each one I encountered was not only willing but ecstatic at the prospect of sharing strategies for success. I have heard more than a few war stories from my professors. All of them bettered my relationship with a successful member of the practice, gave me insight into the working of the law, and drew a much-needed laugh from my weary form. All of them have been in the trenches long enough to know a simple truth: it is better if you don’t go it alone. They succeeded because they practiced this lesson, and along with the law they make it their mission to pass it along.

If there is a takeaway here, it’s that you need to communicate. If you have a professor you respect, stop in and talk to them about nothing in particular, even if it’s just that you’re freaking out about class materials. If you don’t feel you have any direction, the career services office makes it their job to listen and give you advice. Older students are always willing to give you advice on classes and healthy practices, and newer ones will be there to share in the hard times, even if only with a bleary eyed nod over a lukewarm coffee cup as you pass one another in the library. Most importantly, don’t spin yourself the lie that you have it the worst. You are about to meet some fantastic, inspiring people, but that doesn’t mean they will be any less stressed and worried than you. You can do this, and you don’t have to do it alone.