The Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner and the atmosphere at the law school is getting tense. Exams are approaching faster than we want or expected, and you have classes to prepare for, outlines to write, flowcharts to create, flash cards, LRW memos – anxiety is rising. At this point in the semester, you may be thinking to yourself, “When will I have the ahah moment?” “When will the light bulb go on for me?” “I haven’t started / done much work on outlines. So and so has this great 50-page outline already.” “I can’t even keep up with my class prep and get my memo done.” “How can I bring all this material together?” “I bombed my practice exam!” Etc, etc.
Remember: Everyone who has ever been in law school (including myself and the rest of your faculty) felt the same way at this time of year, especially during their first year. I can still remember how I felt around this time of year. I was ready to quit, and felt like I could not even breathe without feeling like I was falling behind. The light bulb finally did turn on in my head – sometime in March. Despite this, I ended up being a successful law student, lawyer, and (I think) professor. If someone says they aren’t feeling overwhelmed, anxious, confused, not getting it, etc. – don’t believe them.
Don’t be intimidated by your classmates (or your faculty). None of your classmates are smarter or better than you. Their great outlines may or may not be that good, or even real. Their occasional brilliant comments in class may represent all they know.
Even though we started talking about outlines and flowcharts several weeks ago during ACE sessions, you are not behind or failing if you don’t have outlines written up to date already. It would be great to have your study materials in excellent shape, but most students don’t. You are not alone and you do have time.
So relax, take a deep breath, do something fun that isn’t law school related, and keep plugging away. Although the Thanksgiving break is a good time to catch up and to work on study materials, such as outlines, please do yourself a favor and take at least one whole day during the break and do nothing related to law school. When the break is over, you will find yourself constantly working hard as you move through the end of classes and finals. You don’t want to wear out before the end. Law school is a marathon!
You can all succeed here, but it is a grind and the first semester can be very disconcerting. Remember why you are here and that you have been successful before. You will be again.
