Britt, 1L

Time has really gotten away from me these past few weeks. Since I last wrote, I've survived an intensive week and my law office has made great strides on our social justice project. Our first draft is finally written and while it needs reworking, there is a real sense of accomplishment in having made something tangible out of all our hard work over these past five months. I've also been chosen to co-facilitate my law office in the coming months since our laywering fellow is going to leave us to work on our project independently for the first time. It will be yet another thing to balance, and this semester is definitely already much more stressful than the last, but working on this project is important to me and I'm excited to see how it takes shape.

This weekend, while working on the draft of my motion to dismiss memo, I am also nervously anticipating my first set of evaluations. They are due to be posted on Monday after what feels like a life time of waiting. As you may know, NUSL doesn't have grades, but rather an evaluation system with buzz words and write ups about each student's performance in class. I've always been a grade driven student, so it has been an especially difficult adjustment for me. I've found it difficult at times to move forward confidently when I haven't had much feed back on how I've been doing. It's hard to know what's working or how to perform better when there aren't grades along the way. But it has also changed my perspective on learning and made me more reliant on myself rather than on the affirmation of grades alone.

As I anxiously await my grades, I reflect on where I was a year ago. I nervously stalked my mailbox for my letter from Northeastern every day for what felt like an eternity. It never came. One day, however, I got a call from my mom who lives in New Jersey and she said, "You got something in the mail the other day, some big letter from Northeastern." Confused, I made her rip the package open immediately and she began yelling excitedly about how I had gotten in. I made her read the entire letter out loud and still didn't believe her. Still in shock I said to my girlfriend, "They sent my acceptance letter from Northeastern to my mom's house." And she looked blankly at me and asked if I had gotten in, to which I replied, "Can you believe it? They sent my letter to my mom's house. Her response, "BUT YOU GOT IN?!"

Well it turns out I did get in. Unfortunately, I had the bad luck of having my most coveted acceptance letter mailed to the wrong house. Looking back on it now, I think it was kind of nice that my mom got to share such important news with me.

Even so, I wouldn't wish the same misfortune on another perspective student. But if your letter doesn't come, it might be time to call your parents and see what's arrived in their mailbox lately.

Last time I wrote I was just about to take my first final and now I’m already on my last day of vacation. How does that happen!

I can’t really say how finals went. I was full of stress and anxiety and the six days (one day was an exam, the next a study day) went by in a blur. I know I studied as much as I could have but looking back on it there are things I would do differently now. For one, I would have structured my time better in terms of making outlines. I originally started making my outlines over Thanksgiving break but slowly fizzled out and was left to complete them over the study break. Working on each one bit by bit every night will be a change for next semester. I think reviewing class notes every night will really help to solidify the material in my mind as well. Another big change I’m going to make is to take all my notes by hand. I’ve gone back and forth with this through out the first semester, but I think handwriting works better for me. Transposing my notes is also really helpful and having to decide in the moment during a lecture what facts are the most important to write down seems to be better than writing down everything I possibly can. It will also prevent me from getting distracted by the internet!

Overall, I feel confident in my work and am looking forward to my first set of evaluations. I’ve never been in a learning situation without grades before but I think it will be a positive experience. For now, I’m just glad to be heading into the second semester, wiser and refreshed!

The good news about finals is that after you’ve completed them, it’s vacation time! I was off from the 17th of December until January 4th, a little over two weeks. I spent the first few days relaxing, seeing friends and Christmas shopping in Boston. Then on the 21st we went to my future in-laws house for Christmas. It was really fun to spend Christmas there, visit with her friends/family and enjoy her dad’s excellent cooking! He sure knows how to keep his guests well fed.

We also went to see the venue for our wedding and booked it. Our wedding date is officially set! On May 28th, 2011 I will be married. The ceremony will be at the Unitarian church where my fiancé grew up and then we’ll head over to Wickham Park for our reception! We still have to figure out all the other details but it feels good to have checked off something on that monstrous list.

After enjoying all the Christmas festivities with her family and friends, we packed up again and headed to New Jersey on the 26th for Christmas at my house. We took advantage of my mom’s ShoTime subscription and watched the entire fourth season of Dexter. So good! How I miss TV. We also went out for dinner, exchanged gifts and got a good dose of family antics and conversation. It was a short visit but always good to see everyone since it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. On our last night in Jersey, we stayed at my dad’s house which I had never been to before, so that was interesting. Then we packed up the car and were back in Boston on the 30th, but unfortunately were without most of our presents since they couldn’t fit. Hopefully my mom will bring them up in January when she visits for her birthday. For now, we’ll have to live without our new toaster oven and food processor!

OH! I almost forgot to mention the most exciting news! After we got back from break, we adopted a great dog from the Boston organization Underdog ResQ. He's a one year old beagle mix (we think maybe with pit, lab or ridgeback) who was found on the South Shore as a stray, brought into a shelter and then taken in by his great foster mom. My fiance and I decided to name him Finley. It's really nice to have a dog in the city and we've been talking walks together, snuggling on the couch, playing in the snow, and bonding these last couple of days. He seems to be pretty adjusted and comfortable now.

Overall it was a great break and I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. The 2nd semester starts out with “Intensive week”, which means LO9 will be working full time on our social justice project. Second semester classes don’t start until the week after. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but our project is about prostitution and the potential benefits/problems that might arise in implementing a stay away ordinance. As a former Women’s Studies student this kind of project really hits upon my own academic interests so it will be especially interesting to see where it goes and what becomes of it.

For now, I’m going to enjoy a few more hours of freedom!

It’s the eve of my first final and I think I’ve studied all I possibly can. After doing every past exam, reviewing concepts with classmates, tweaking my outline relentlessly and asking last minute questions to my professor, I’m going to put it to rest. I think it might be best to just turn off my brain for the night, and get a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow at 1 o’clock, I’ll have my first 1L exam behind me. Then I’ll go watch my girlfriend graduate from nursing school, enjoy a celebratory dinner with her family and hit the books again this weekend preparing for Civil Procedure and Property. By Wednesday, my first semester of law school will be complete! I cannot tell you how eager I am for the day when my dreams are no longer spinning with exam questions. I can’t wait for the break, when I’ll get to enjoy some much needed downtime and an awesome Christmas with my family and friends before I start hitting the books again after the New Year.

Wish me luck!

Believe it or not, the semester seems to be winding down. With a month left, we are on the last page of most of our syllabi, wrapping up content and starting to review. I have already started my outlines and I can’t believe the amount of content we’ve packed into these few months. I remember thinking that the syllabi were so long when the semester started.

We’ve also been assigned our new professors for next semester. I’m really excited about Constitutional Law. I took a ConLaw class during undergrad and found the material to be really interesting so I’m looking forward to tackling it from a new perspective next semester.

In personal news, things in my life are definitely on the upswing. My girlfriend and I hosted my family for an early Thanksgiving this past weekend. We made all the usual favorites; turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, the usual pies and butternut bisque! The food was incredible, but mostly it was nice to have my family all in one place. I don’t get to see them too often since they have to travel from New Jersey, and as a special treat, they even brought along my dogs!

While they were visiting, my girlfriend and I also got engaged! We’ve been talking about it for awhile so it wasn’t a total surprise, but still really special for us. My mom even brought a bottle of champagne and a beautiful cake to go along with dessert. Afterwards, a bunch of our close friends and some people from my law office came out and continued the celebration at a local bar. It was a great night.

A few days later, I found out my girlfriend landed her dream job at a hospital here in Boston. This is terrific news and alleviates a lot of stress and worry about our finances. I wasn’t sure how things would play out with the economy being pretty bleak, but thankfully, she’ll be employed in January! This also means we might be staying in Boston even after law school ends.

It feels like everything is falling into place. A semester that seemed impossible when it started has become quite manageable and my life as a whole is starting to really take shape. I’m excited for the changes still to come, given how positive the last few months have been.

During the summer before law school, everyone told me to see my family and friends as much as possible because once law school started, I wouldn’t be able to see them very often. I worried a lot about how my relationship with my girlfriend would be affected and how I could maintain a close connection to my family in New Jersey when my work load was going to be so demanding. However, I’ve found that I really enjoy my new schedule and don’t often feel stressed out by it. Despite the rumors, I have plenty of quality time with those I care about and even a bit of down time for myself. I actually feel like I have more time now that I’m managing it well than I had during college, which often left with me with lots of actual time on my hands.

Two things I prioritized when school began were eating well and getting enough sleep each night. My girlfriend is also juggling a hectic schedule as a nursing student in her final semester, so sleeping well is something we both value. Balancing my relationship with her is obviously important and we both find that cooking dinner together each night gives us quality time together and a satisfying healthy meal. Some of our recent favorites are chicken pot pie and butternut bisque! I can’t describe how awesome fall comfort food is after a busy day.

Prospective students might wonder how I do it or what my schedule looks like. 1L classes are generally at the same time for everyone. My first class is at 10:30 until 11:50 with a break until 1:45, and my second class goes until 3:15. Although I wish I spent my lunch hour more productively, I often use it to socialize with my classmates or attend club meetings. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I tutor a 13 year old until about 5:15 and get home around 5:30. On Thursday, I have my law office meeting (I’ll write more about this soon) and get home a bit later. My girlfriend and I make dinner for about an hour, eat for a little while and by 7:30 or 8, I’ve started doing my reading for the next day. I do about an hour of reading for each class every night and spend a bit more time reviewing my notes from the prior day or outlining/briefing cases in preparation. I usually close my books and hop right into bed (after brushing my teeth of course!). Sometimes I’ll curl up with a TV show, but often I just pass out. Weekends are when I do the bulk of my extra work. Any written assignments, research, group work, etc… I try to keep my weekend evenings free and work through the later mornings and afternoons instead.

So, while law school is busy, it may not be AS BUSY as the rumors that are out there if you manage your time well. I have cut out TV almost entirely, which has freed up a ton of my time. Watching TV is an easy way to lose track of time and eat up a few hours without noticing while it’s happening. It was a hard habit to break, but when weighed against the other things, I knew I had more important things I wanted to do. I still see my family, and my girlfriend and I are spend lots of quality time together. We still go out to dinner, have gone to two out of state weddings, and are enjoying the last bits of warm weather. I feel well rested and well fed every day and have kept my stress to a minimum. Maybe the real trick is to not spend time being stressed about stress. I’ve seen this happen as time has progressed at school to other people and it just seems like a bad spiral to get caught up in. My advice is to make a plan, stick to it and try to remember what’s important; there’s always work you could be doing. Eating, sleeping and having some fun are just as important as studying.

I'm really excited to finally be blogging. As a prospective student, I read the NUSL blogs quite a bit and found them to have some really helpful insight about the school and what life in law school is REALLY like, so I hope to provide some of that as well. If anyone reading ever has any questions about anything law school related, please feel free to ask and I’ll get back to you in a future entry. If I don't know the answer myself, I will pass it along until an answer has been found!

A bit about myself. I’m originally from Oakland, NJ, a small suburban town just outside of New York City. I moved to Boston in 2005 to attend Simmons College and then to Jamaica Plain in 2008, as I finished up my last year of undergrad. I was a double major in Philosophy and Women’s Studies there and loved every minute of it. I knew during my junior year of college that I wanted to attend law school right after college.

The things I was certain I wanted in my law school; a smaller student/faculty ratio, a decent number of female faculty, near equal numbers of male and female students, a strong representation of students of color, and available financial aid. As a student who is the first generation in my family to attend college, I knew I wouldn’t be able to attend law school without some help. It was important that my law school had an understanding of this, could help me wade through the financial process and that I would find other students from a similar background. I thought it would be nice to have some active LGBT students on campus, but I had not really figured out a way to determine this. Even with that information, I still felt mostly clueless.

When I decided to apply to law school, Northeastern was an easy choice because of the great reputation of the coop program. It was also so close to an area I already loved and was familiar with. Once I was accepted, I attended an open house that really closed the deal for me. Something about the school just felt right and I knew it would be a good match for what I was looking for.

The other quality that made me chose Northeastern was that I felt they had thoroughly read my application and accepted me on more than just numbers alone. I was impressed to learn that students read applications and have a say in who their future classmates will be. Now that I’m here, I really enjoy collaborating with a diverse group of people who were really consciously chosen. And with the time I’ve spent at NUSL, it really helps to like the people I’m learning and hanging out with.