Law school officially starts in a week! So with all of the excitement, there are obviously some last minute jitters that I have as well. This is a huge life change and there is a lot that is about to happen. In order to make myself feel better, I've decided to blog about my worries. So without further ado, here is my list of 4 things I am nervous for in law school:
1. Moving
This is the biggest "duh" item on this list, but of course I am nervous to move across the country. Not only will I be 1,000 miles away from my friends and family, but it will also be entirely new. How will I like living in my new apartment community? Will I like my roommates? Where is the best place to buy bagels in my new city? These are the important questions that I ask myself.
2. Being Young
I don't know if I have mentioned my age on my blog before, but I am only 21 years old. A very new 21 - I turned 21 a month ago today. Most law students are a little older than me. Among my peers, I have always been young because I started kindergarten when I was barely 5 years old. Recently, I graduated in 3 years instead of the normal 4, so therefore I am about 2 years younger than all of my law school peers. So that will be an interesting experience.
3. Not Having A Job
This is another weird one, but I have had at least a part time job since I was 14 years old. The last two years I have been working even more, having a couple full-time internships and then working 30-40 hours per week at my part-time job when I wasn't interning. However, the ABA and most law schools themselves discourage working while you are in law school, especially during your first year. So today starts my first day of unemployment, and it is weird. I like how balancing work and school forces me to be focused, prioritize, and be eternally busy. This sounds hectic, but I am worried about that change.
4. The Schoolwork, Obviously
Lastly, I am nervous about actually getting through law school. Everyone keeps saying this is different than any school I have done before. This means harder work, more intense studying, and probably a lot of tears. I am up to the challenge, but it makes me nervous nonetheless.
Despite any of these fears, I am excited for the challenge that law school will bring. What are things you are nervous about for law school?
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Oh I have so been there. I moved from Washington State to Florida for law school two years ago. Moving sucks and I personally never want to move again. However, the very nature of law school (sections, meet and greets, socials, etc) all lead to you meeting so many friends in an unnaturally short amount of time. It definitely helps in the "I'm so far away from my friends and family" department.
ReplyDeleteAs to your second fear, in my section, we had two people who turned 21 during our 1L year. So they started law school at 20! And that was just in my section of 60 or so classmates. Two years isn't really that big of a difference anyway. I turned 29 my first week of law school and even that wasn't too big of a gap. We're all too busy to worry about age anyway. LOL.
Which leads to the job worry. Your first year is BUSY. It's not just classes but it seems like every other day there is a pro bono thing (does your school require a certain number of pro bono hours?) or career services meeting or networking event that you have to go to. You will definitely be balancing class and other things. And after the first year, you totally can and probably will have a part time job or internship so you'll only be jobless until May or so. Trust me, it'll go by incredibly fast!
As to your last point, yes, law school is way different than undergrad but it is still school. If you did well in undergrad, you already have half the skills you need. You'll undoubtedly need to study more but it calms down after the first 7 months or so. I'm starting my last year and my classes are a lot more like undergrad classes. Still harder but much more similar.
Good luck in your first week and try to enjoy what you can!