Law school is kind of like hell, except that it’s not quite as hot. It’s like a guy – a bad boy – the kind of guy you know you shouldn’t date, but then you find yourself in a committed relationship and you can’t quite figure out how to get out, or if you want to. You’re afraid its going nowhere, and he’s driving you crazy, but you just can’t let go. That’s law school. It’s the good and the bad and the very, very ugly. It’s grueling and competitive; it deprives you of everything you’ve ever enjoyed doing during that archaic concept you used to call “free time.” You can’t have friends outside of school because:
a) you don’t have time for them, and
b) you can’t talk about anything besides law and that bores them.
You make lists and outlines constantly because:
a) it’s a good way to procrastinate but still feel like you’re accomplishing something, and
b) you think in outlines now.
You look forward to weekends because it’s a great opportunity to catch up on your income tax reading, and maybe even review notes from the previous two weeks. And even though you’re busy as hell, you engage in activities to make your life busier than hell. You compete for law review and moot court and mock trial and you join organizations, start organizations, attend meetings, meet with professors, join study groups, and anything else that might add to that one page resume.
Not to mention the job search. Sending out dozens of resumes and waiting for the rejection letter. If you actually make it to the interview phase, you interview and then wait for the rejection letter. You write and re-write your resume and draft twenty cover letters, all the while wondering why you did all those things you did before law school because none of them really matter anymore. All that matters are those grades, honors, and accomplishments you do in those three precious years. All the jobs, volunteer work, and great references no longer mean shit. Your 4.0 GPA in college means nothing next to your 2.5 or so GPA in law school. Graduating summa cum laude with a double major in four years felt like an accomplishment until I got to law school, where everyone graduated summa cum laude with a double major in four years at least. Lots of your fellow students have more than a Bachelor of Arts; some have MBAs, Ph.D.s. Some were professors when you were still in college.
So why, why, why, why did I choose this route? I’m here voluntarily; no one is forcing me. There are other things I could have done. I could have taught French in France or gotten my masters in English. I could have taught, maybe even at a university. I could have been a writer. Those would have been enjoyable jobs, so why did I decide to put myself through three years of hell and tons of debt to be a lawyer?
I know why I did it, and why I will continue to do it. I know why I’ll stay in all the “extra-curriculars,” work hard on law review, and harder studying for exams. I know why I’ll send out the endless stream of resumes and participate in the mock trial competition and wake up early and stay up late and forget to eat and overdose on caffeine and spend countless hours in the basement of the ugly old library. I know why I put myself through this hell. It’s the same reason I never can let go of the bad boy relationship.
Because I f*&^%g love it.
a) you don’t have time for them, and
b) you can’t talk about anything besides law and that bores them.
You make lists and outlines constantly because:
a) it’s a good way to procrastinate but still feel like you’re accomplishing something, and
b) you think in outlines now.
You look forward to weekends because it’s a great opportunity to catch up on your income tax reading, and maybe even review notes from the previous two weeks. And even though you’re busy as hell, you engage in activities to make your life busier than hell. You compete for law review and moot court and mock trial and you join organizations, start organizations, attend meetings, meet with professors, join study groups, and anything else that might add to that one page resume.
Not to mention the job search. Sending out dozens of resumes and waiting for the rejection letter. If you actually make it to the interview phase, you interview and then wait for the rejection letter. You write and re-write your resume and draft twenty cover letters, all the while wondering why you did all those things you did before law school because none of them really matter anymore. All that matters are those grades, honors, and accomplishments you do in those three precious years. All the jobs, volunteer work, and great references no longer mean shit. Your 4.0 GPA in college means nothing next to your 2.5 or so GPA in law school. Graduating summa cum laude with a double major in four years felt like an accomplishment until I got to law school, where everyone graduated summa cum laude with a double major in four years at least. Lots of your fellow students have more than a Bachelor of Arts; some have MBAs, Ph.D.s. Some were professors when you were still in college.
So why, why, why, why did I choose this route? I’m here voluntarily; no one is forcing me. There are other things I could have done. I could have taught French in France or gotten my masters in English. I could have taught, maybe even at a university. I could have been a writer. Those would have been enjoyable jobs, so why did I decide to put myself through three years of hell and tons of debt to be a lawyer?
I know why I did it, and why I will continue to do it. I know why I’ll stay in all the “extra-curriculars,” work hard on law review, and harder studying for exams. I know why I’ll send out the endless stream of resumes and participate in the mock trial competition and wake up early and stay up late and forget to eat and overdose on caffeine and spend countless hours in the basement of the ugly old library. I know why I put myself through this hell. It’s the same reason I never can let go of the bad boy relationship.
Because I f*&^%g love it.
