2L Status

The thing about being part time is that if you use summer and intersessions the right way, you'll be like me, who will be a 3L at the end of my fall semester! AND I'm still only taking 9 credits in the fall - and going three days a week! Trusts and Estates, Professional Responsibility, and Comprehensive law. I'm taking a heavy summer load, and a heavy intersession load, but I can't wait to graduate and get out of school! :)

It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time to be so close (yet so far) from actually graduating. :)

Oh - we had Barrister's Ball a couple of weeks ago. For as much crap as I talked about it last year - I actually had an amazing time with my friends! We had such a fun table and a fun group that I was laughing all night long. There was some drama towards the end, but hey - haters gonna hate - right? Or at least that's what someone told me that night.

I also was elected to the SBA e-Board which is so exciting. I'm glad to help, and I'm getting such good, positive feedback from my classmates that I'm really excited about it. Sounds like next year is going to be a really amazing year with a really amazing (for the most part) group of people. :)

Officially a 2L!

After a long semester with no updates, I am officially a 2l! This semester was one of the roughest, to be honest. Not only did I work full time, but I took a 12 credit course load, which left me with hardly any life to be spoken of. Next semester I'm only signed up for 9 credit hours, thank goodness.

Fortunately, this semester will also be the end of my required first year courses, and I can start to get into some electives and fun stuff. I'll still have to take classes like Professional Responsibility, but hopefully I can get some more interesting topics in, too. I'm ready to be done with Torts and Property, more than I can even tell you.

I hope everyone else out there is having a great break. I don't go back until January 30th, so I'm enjoying the last little bit of it.

I'll update soon (I promise!)!

Personal v Real Property

I had lunch with a professor from last semester that no longer teaches at my law school. I told him that I was having some issues with property. Not that it's that hard to understand two weeks in, but more that my Professor asks questions like, "Property is acquired by......." and is looking for a very specific answer. It's not like we're in the end of a case where the point is that property is acquired in certain ways. It's just an open ended question out of left field. So, I feel a little lost. I brought this up to my old professor, and he said - "well by now you understand that there are two types of property right? real and personal...certainly you've learned that by now". And well, no, we haven't. But tonight she brought it up when discussing replevin and theories of damages in property. Which is fine, she can teach in whatever way she wants to, but I guess I'm having a hard time seeing where this all fits in. We're working through all these acquisition theories, which is the way that it's traditionally taught, but it's incredibly confusing, thus far anyway. But, with his help, to put everything in the scope of real vs personal property, it's helping a little bit....I think. :)

So, that's that. Con Law is still taught by an amazing professor with a passion for the subject. He brought us all in our own little personal copies of the Constitution because he was so frustrated one night when his was misplaced. Love. It. He's great.

Torts and Civ Pro are both frustrating. I'm mostly frustrated with Civ Pro because my professor hasn't really taught us anything yet, other than rules of evidence. We're working on summary judgment supposedly, but we spend most of our time talking about his case and the applicable law, and his frustrations in his own case. Crazy, right? But I guess that that's an argument against adjuncts. I usually love them, but this semester I'm finding them frustrating.

So, that's my semester thus far. A little dreary, and not that fun. But I am looking forward to do projects for midterms instead of tests. I think that's going to be much, much better than essay's and mbe's. :)

Til next time. :)

Professors: The difference between good and great.

I had two classes last night. Two very different classes. The first one was okay. You can tell the teacher came straight out of the box with "getting to know you" exercises and flexed her Socratic muscles right away. She was into teaching, and spent time telling us how she's been a life long teacher and has taught every age. She also went over all the mundane details of the class, start times, end times, etc. She was a teacher, through and through. Didn't get me excited about property, but you can tell she loves to teach.

The second class? Con law. Taught by someone who lives, breathes, and loves the Constitution. He loves it enough to carry a copy with a torn off cover that's seen better days rolled up in his back pocket at all times. You can tell, that even after teaching it for years, he's fascinated by the document and how its interpreted and how it plays out in today's world. He talked about wanting us to have a curiosity, and a real thirst for learning and understanding the constitution and the role it plays in our lives. He didn't come out with any ice breakers, and barely talked about his syllabus, but spent the time sharing his passion for the Constitution with us, and in turn, it made us excited to get into the material.

The difference between the two professors? I'm intrigued by Con Law, and don't really care about Property. To see someone have such a passion, such a thirst and fascination with the material can't help but spark that kind of reaction in students. To see someone who loves to teach, but isn't excited about the material? It's just another class with another professor. So, so far? Looking forward to con law, not sure where I stand with Property. We'll have to see how today's classes and the rest of the week go before I pass any real judgments.

Second year 1L

Whenever I tell law students from other schools that I'm a second year 1L, they look at me like I'm crazy, like I failed my first year. Unfortuantely, with part time students, we're still considered 1L's our second year, because we haven't completed our 30 credit hours to have that 2L status, and we won't until we're done with the fall semester.

Unfortunately, this also means that coming back this year is a little nerve wracking. I've decided to take on an additional course, and am now taking Property 1, Torts 1, Con Law 1, and Civ Pro 2. Not an easy course load by any stretch of the imagination, and I'm afraid that it'll be even more difficult with working 40 hours a week, and not having a bunch of time to study these very foundational subjects.

Oh well. It seems like Torts wont be so bad. We're doing a few "projects" this semester. Oh, and I get to outline the constitution! Yay? :)

Also...

New 1L's? I know that campuses give you discussion groups and all sorts of groups to ask questions and get to know each other. Use them, they're great. However, be cognizant of what you put on them. Do not discuss what weapons you are going to bring to campus because you feel unsafe in a downtown location. Don't discuss how drunk you got last weekend. Don't talk about what drugs you've tried and liked. Do not be the 'gunner' on the forums. Be respectful, ask questions, and then just observe. These are public forums, and god forbid you say anything that makes the law school reject your admission, puts you on their radar in a negative way, or could come up on character and fitness when you sit for the bar. You don't need to be front and center and let everyone know you. You'll ruin your reputation before you even step foot into a classroom, and that's not how you want to start off with the people that will be with you through your entire career. This extends beyond law school, and you need to understand that when you practice and have cases to refer, you don't want people to not refer you business because you're THAT person that no one likes.

You're in law school. Use your brain people.

Worst blogger ever? This gal.

Well, my first part of my 1L year is over! What a relief. Unfortunately, I'm still a 1L credit wise until I complete 30 credit hours...since I've completed 18, and am taking 12 in the fall, it looks like I'm technically a 1L until Christmas. :)

Summer has been awesome so far. I'm not in summer school since they released the calendar during the Spring semester, and I had already booked my Europe trip over the beginning of classes. As it turns out, it's actually been a blessing. The class I was going to take has had 4 different professors in 6 weeks. Sounds like a hot mess, and nothing that I want to gamble with my GPA with.

...speaking of GPA. I did fairly well. But, I really thought going in that all that advice that C's are the norm for the smart kids in law school didn't apply to me. Well, I got one C and the rest I got B's, but I realized, that C is the majority, and the curve forces it to be that way. Especially in smaller sections. And my law school curves us with our little section, and then ranks us in with the bigger classes, which makes the system completely skewed, but I guess that's how it is. Either way, my ranking isn't a clear picture of my standing, at all. Overall, I'm happy with my GPA. So, that's what it is I guess.

I'm starting to gear up for the fall semester, especially since I've added another class on to the standard 3, and will now be taking 4 lovely classes a week. Civ Pro 2, Torts I, Property I, and Con Law I. It'll be a big schedule, but I think I can handle it.

Thankfully, things have slowed down and improved in my personal life. It's amazing that you walk into law school, meet people, form bonds with them, and come out a year later with a whole new family. It's been a great experience so far.

I'm gonna work on being better at blogging. I hope. :)