Halfway

And then the third semester of law school was over. Evidence was 78 multiple choice questions in three hours (thanks to “Undercover Classmate” for that info ahead of time!—he/she should start a blog!). I felt like I was basically guessing on probably 60 percent of them. Not good. About three people in my testing room finished in about 1.5 hours, so I'm guessing those are the people who knew the rules cold and didn't have to consult their notes at all. I assume they got 70-78 of the questions right, or if they didn't, other people did. The curve may not be kind. But it's over. I feel great relief, though obviously nothing like last year at this time. I was just going through the motions of being a student this semester; I put very little in, and feel I got very little out of the semester. That's disappointing, and there's no good reason or excuse for it. Sure, I was busy working two part time jobs and writing a “novel,” but those were choices. I plan to make better choices next semester. I have no desire to be a gunner, but I would like to make better use of my time in law school so that I can get more out of it. The fact that doing more reading and thinking about my course topics might also make finals and grades less of a disappointment and nightmare is obviously a good thing, but I'd also just like to feel like I've learned something when the semester is over. I learned a great deal this semester, I'm sure, but I could have learned more, and I hope next semester I will. As of now, the schedule for next semester includes:

• Federal Courts (3 hrs)
• Criminal Procedure (3 hrs)
• Feminist Legal Theory (2 hrs)
• Ethics (2hrs)
• Consumer Legal Clinic (3 hrs)

All of those are classes I picked because they focus on topics I want to learn more about, which is a good start. I'll still be working for the non-profit where I worked this semester, I'll still be posting every two weeks on that other blog (which eats up a surprising amount of time, actually), and the clinic will require some unknown amount of extra time (6-8 hours/week, I think is what they say), so I'll certainly be busy. Still, I hope to prioritize better, use my time more wisely, and balance the load a little more toward my class subjects. That's the plan at this point, anyway. Of course, now it's time for a complete break from all of that, and when I get back, my good old devil-may-care attitude may have returned. We'll see.

Posted December 16, 2004 10:59 AM | 2L