Law School – One Month Later

I’ve officially been a law student for a little over a month at this point. I find I have only one thing to say that can accurately describe my feelings on the issue:

What the heck just happened?

When you’re in over your head, you know. Nobody has to tell you. There isn’t some magical sign from heaven that says “Oh hai, you’re gonna have some issues with this.” No. It’s not that easy or that  blunt. You slowly discover things.

For instance, a few months ago I never would have called myself ill-equipped for anything scholastic in nature (i.e. I have a brain, and I know how to use it. I know it can adapt to various learning situations, because it has in the past, etc.). But this experience is so substantively different from anything I have ever been through academically. It is not just about reading and understanding material and being able to regurgitate it at will like every other class I’ve been in. It’s about being able to pick apart a scenario, analogize that scenario to a previous one, find the similarities and the nuances, apply the legal rules at play, and come to a conclusion.

It’s a whole system of analysis that my mind is totally unused to, and therefore ill-equipped for. Of course, one could argue this is why I’m in law school to begin with: to sharpen my mental acuity to the point where I can do these analyses with very little hesitation. It’s like I said before, though. You know when you’re in over your head. And that is definitely how I’ve been feeling these past weeks.

It’s not all bad, though. I’ve recognized some small victories of my own. There have been moments of clarity on some issue that have caused me to think “Well, look at that. Maybe I can do this after all.” Those instances are few and far-between, though. I think I just have to take them as they come; pat myself on the back when they occur and hold on to them when I get discouraged. Maybe that’s the only way to get through this in one piece.