Sunday, September 4, 2011

Law School (so far...)

So I've completed my first week of "law preschool" and 2 weeks of actual law school to date. I say "Law Preschool" because, as a 1L, I had to take a week's worth of my Intro to Legal Class (a requirement at my school) and then that class meets every Thursday the rest of the semester. It is meant to ease you into how law school classes are, what tests are like, writing styles, case reading, etc. and I found it to be quite helpful. By the end of that first week, I had made some new friends and formed a carpool, so that is helping.
Adjusting to a new sleep schedule has been difficult. I am now one of those people who starts yawning at 9pm and views 8am as "sleeping in." Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays I have class from 9am until 2:30pm, Wednesdays I have class from 9am until 4:15pm and Thursdays I have class from 1pm to 6pm. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, one of my classmates who LITERALLY lives a half a block away rides in with me, so on those days I can get to and from school much faster. I have a carpool that meets at Brea Mall every day so that we get the privilege of parking on campus, as all non-carpool participant 1L's have to fight for spots at Cal State Fullerton (which is right across the street from WSU.) Most days I eat lunch on campus, as they have a little cafeteria in the Student Lounge that makes all the food to order and is not expensive.
When I come home from school, I typically spend between 1 to 2 hours a night reading, briefing cases and occasionally drafting some ungraded but mandatory writing assignment. Though this isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, that, along with my new daytime schedule, makes me a zombie the rest of the day. My workout routine during the week has tanked, so I try to catch up on weekends or nights when my homework is less. I spend a lot of time sitting and being sleepy, but I'm surviving. I'm not overwhelmed by the work, I'm just overwhelmed by the schedule. In truth, the work is not that difficult, there is just always work to do. It is just unending.
We will see if my opinion changes by the end of the month.