Law School Daze

West, a friend from law school, contacted me today. Hearing from him again brought back memories of that period in my life when everything seemed to be right on track, even though it seemed I lived through it in a daze. A happy kind of daze...at times. The type of daze in which you have to pinch yourself every now and then to believe what's happening to you, even during the sometimes awful situations you're thrust into. Law school daze.

Law school. When I think about it, sometimes I look back fondly. And other times, I cringe. A whole lot of shit happened then. So much that I'm a new person because of it. Of course, NYC helped just as much to bring me out of my shell. It was a time and place that needed to happen in order for me to find myself. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Where do I begin? It's been a little over four years since I graduated from law school in the Big Apple. I was so happy and full of pride when I accepted my diploma. I made it. Finally. To think that three years earlier, I was a small town plantation girl with big dreams, hoping to pursue those dreams in the bright lights of the biggest city. It happened. I'm sure it did. I have the scars to prove it. Sometimes, I still have to pinch myself.

Law school is every bit as difficult as everyone perceives it to be. Difficult and then some. I got through my first year with flying colors. I passed. Simply passing and ensuring your seat for the following academic year is the best thing that could ever happen to a 1L. There's nothing more or less to expect than simply passing. You see, I dreaded each class during my first year, worried that I didn't study hard enough and frightened that the professor would choose to blind me with the spotlight this time around. When you're under the spotlight, you're dead. It doesn't matter if you're on the right track. Somehow, the professor's sting will derail you. It all depends on the professor, of course. I believe that the ones who have actually practiced law are less likely to have a gavel stuck up their ass. It's the real professors (i.e., the ones who never actually practiced law, but wished they had) that you have to worry about. They're the ones you have to walk around on eggshells for. They take their rage out on law students to make up for their own incompetence. But don't get me wrong. Every legal professor should be feared. They have the power to wield the Socratic method over your head and cut you down whenever they want to for whatever reason. I remember the time my secured transactions professor screamed at the top of his lungs at a fellow student, inquiring menacingly "Are you stupid?!" And it's not only the professor's wrath you have to worry about. You also have to worry about the hyenas (i.e., arrogant law students) that are waiting to eat you alive as they snicker over your downfall. Your falling is the perfect excuse for them to step on you as they climb the ladder to success. Anyway, I hated the Socratic method. Sometimes, I still cringe when asked a question. And I hated those hyenas, who have now infiltrated the workplace. But I'm sure they're unhappy and paying for their sins. No doubt.