4:33:00 PM in ,

6 Little Ways to Become a Better Law Student


Unless you're ranked first in your law school class, have a perfect GPA, have never messed up when you were called on, never missed a class, and have done the impossible of being a perfect law student, chances are, you're always looking for a way to be a better law student. Some of these ideas might have you saying "duh!" or might not be the newest and most innovative tips, but if you follow all these little things, you'll be a better law student before you know it.

1. Brief. Every. Case.

The other day, one of my friends texted me and said "Bailey, help me! How do I study?" At first I laughed and asked if she was joking, but it turns out, she was serious. She told me that I always seem so prepared in class and asked what I do to be so sure of myself. I gave the absolute simplest answer, which is the cold, hard truth. Do all the readings, and brief every case.

Now, some of you are wondering, Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing anyway? Well, yes. But how many of you actually do it? Which trust me, I totally get it. With the amount of cases read each day, briefing every single one on your own is a lot of work. It might seem so much easier to grab a brief online, "book brief" using different colored highlighters, or simply jot down the rule of the case in your notes and call it a day. But nothing will prepare you better for getting cold called by sitting down and writing out your own brief for the case. Even if it's a simple brief, thinking about it on your own and writing your personal version of the case will help you understand the material so much better. 

If you need help briefing cases, check out my earlier post for some help!

2. Get Enough Sleep

For God's sake, why does every law student have the absolute worst sleep schedule out of anyone I have ever met? I swear, every morning there is a handful of students in each class that clearly just rolled out of bed and came to class, and has a look on their face showing that they only got maybe three hours of sleep the night before. And it's unsurprising when you look over halfway through class and they are dozing off in class, ready to embarras themself when the professor calls on them.

So what's the best way to avoid this? Get enough sleep! Pretend you're five years old, and set a sleep schedule for yourself. I have a rule that on school nights, I have to be in bed by 10:30 p.m. No joke. This way, when my alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m., it's way less painful. I make sleeping a priority over my social life, which is probably the reason I can do this. But it helps me be a better student, which is totally worth it!

3. Find Stress Relief That You Love

Today it was a beautiful, sunny, 65 degree day and I took the opportunity to walk around campus with my iced coffee just listening to music and enjoying the day. While I've been working on writing my first writing assingment of the semester, you have  no idea how calming it was to just take an hour to myself to just enjoy the day. This is my way of relieving stress. On the worst, most stressful days, I find myself strolling around campus, or the town that I live in, and walking all of my worries away. Some days, when the weather doesn't cooperate, I resort to other stress-relief methods. Things I really enjoy are crocheting, yoga, coloring, and calling my friends. Find what works for you and  I promise it can make a huge difference in your day.

4. Take Notes Online

Imagine this - on your computer you have the most exquisite set of notes that you have ever seen. Contains every definition. Links to the Restatement. Textbook page references in the footnotes. And any, and every piece of information you need for the final exam. And then, because technology is excellent, your computer crashes right before finals, and everything is lost. Including your notes. Believe it or not, this will happen to someone you know every semester. Don't let it happen to you - this is completely avoidable. 

I think I've mentioned before that I use Evernote to take my notes for class, and I absolutely love it. It stores all of my notes online, saves in real time, and this way I can access them from anywhere on any device without taking up storage on my computer. This is especially nice, because the truth is that sometimes, shit happens. Your computer crashes, or dies, or files get deleted. If you use an online note-taking platform, your notes will be immune from such disasters. Plus, it's a great way to organize your notes by class, keep folders, and share notes with your friends. Some people use OneNote or Google Drive, which work just the same - but I highly recommend you use one of these.

5. Get Involved!

Now, I know what you're thinking: Bailey, if I'm already overwhelmed with the load of law school work, why would I want to take on more stuff? Well, for several reasons actually. The first reason is that you deserve a break from reading cases all day, and that you might as well do something fun with your time that you enjoy. Secondly, you need to have a well-rounded resume to get jobs and internships. And lastly, it will teach you to priortize and force you to schedule your time better. I'm not saying you should go to some club event every night of the week - and God knows that you probably could if you wanted to, with the amount of events held on campus. I'm in two clubs on campus, and I probably only attend one to two events a month. I also am part of a volunteer association where I volunteer four hours a week. None of these extracurriculars take up that much of my time, but I have fun, gain experience, and have an awesome resume because of it.

6. Set Goals for Yourself; And then Reach Them!

One of my asummers in undergrad, I spent my days interning as a sales representative for a marketing company. It was absolutely awful. But one good thing did come from it - I became an expert in goal setting. I had to set daily, weekly, and montly sales goals for myself and my team, and focus on how I could acheive those goals. So I've had a lot of practice, and now goal setting is a huge part of my life.

Setting goals is important because it gives you something to strive for and a bottom line of what you are working for. In law school, I have a goal for the semester, a goal for each school year, and a goal for graduation. These are small, attainable goals - but it doesn't mean they are easy. But I know that I will stay motivated and focused to reach this one thing. I mentioned before that my goal for the semester is to get one more "A" than last semester. It's specific, acheivable, but also not easy. I'll have to work for it, but if I want it bad enough, I can do it. I highly recommend you sit down, make a goal for yourself, write it down, and then make it your focus each day to acheive that goal.


All in all, being a good law student is a summary of all the little things that you do to make yourself better. These are a few little tips, and there are tons more out there. But if you make little, positive changes each day, you'll be on your way to a better you in no time.



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6:05:00 AM in , , , ,

How To Become A Morning Person


Rolling into law school at 8:00 a.m. on a Monday morning is something that, to most people, sounds like a nightmare. To me, it's just part of my daily routine. A few months back I wrote a post on creating a study schedule for yourself and I mentioned that follow the 9-to-5 study schedule, where I treat school like a job. This means getting to school by 9:00 a.m. every day, regardless of when I have class that, and leaving around 5:00 p.m. when I'm done with my reading for the day. For me, this has proven to be an effective way to discipline myself and make sure that I always have my work done. However, for those of you who are thankful for classes that don't start until noon and think that arriving to school at the crack of dawn sounds like the worst form of torture, this doesn't seem effective. Others of you may want to be able to have this type of routine, but struggle with the idea of mornings in general. Well, this post is for you. I'm going to teach you how to transition from being someone who sleeps in as often as possible to the person that rises with the sun each day.

I haven't always been a morning person myself. At the start of my undergrad career, I would only take classes that started after 10:00 a.m. and would often find myself staying up late into the night and waking up mid-morning. However, at some point I had one of those rare days where I woke up early - and I realized how much more productive I was! I started to notice that the days where I would rise early, I would be in a better mood, get more done, and be happier with my day. So I started learning how to become a morning person. With a little bit of time and some effort, I now wake up every day before 7:00 a.m. (usually between 5: 30 and 6:30) and am a full-blown morning person. Sometimes I get more done in my mornings at school than my classmates will get done all day. Sound good to you? Well let me teach you how to become a morning person just like I did!

Go To Bed Early

The first step of being a morning person starts with adjusting your sleep schedule. If you have trouble getting up early in the morning, I'm willing to bet it's because you go to bed too late and aren't getting enough sleep. Yes, it's easy to stay up until 1:00 a.m. messing around on the internet or working on homework, but when you're an early riser, you really regret those late nights when your alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. So set a "bedtime" for yourself, just like you're five years old again. I personally like to go to bed around 9:30 p.m. and usually end up falling asleep around 10:00 or 10:30 p.m. after I watch a little bit of TV or scroll through my phone. 

Now, I realize a lot of you will have the response "But I can't fall asleep that early!" Well, duh. If you're used to staying up until the wee hours of the morning, it's going to be hard going to sleep earlier. But commit to it anyway. At least lay in bed and watch TV, listen to music, or even read earlier. It takes time, but your sleep schedule will adjust. It might be hard at first, but soon you'll be leaving social engagements early to make it home for your bedtime because you'll be falling asleep in the middle of a conversation otherwise.

Make Your Mornings Easy on Yourself

Part of the struggle of waking up is knowing how hard it is to get yourself ready for the day. The first hour of being awake can be exhausting in itself. One way to dread waking up less is making the mornings easier on yourself, especially on days where you get yourself ready for school or work as soon as you wake up. Lay out your clothes the night before. Even on days where I wear yoga pants and a hoodie to school, you can bet I picked out my outfit the night before and laid it on my counter in my bathroom so I didn't even have to think about it. Little things like this can make all of the difference. Pack your lunch the night before. Set out your breakfast. Program your coffeemaker to have your caffeine boost ready when you wake up. Make sure everything you need for the day is laid out, or in your backpack ready to go. Know where your keys and wallet are so you can quickly grab them and head out the door. If you know you're going to have a stress-free morning, jumping out of bed will be so much easier. 

Put Your Alarm Clock Across the Room

This is a little trick you can use, expecially when you're first transitioning to becoming a morning person. I don't need to do this anymore, but I did this for a solid month when I was trying to become an early riser. Whether you use your phone or a traditional alarm clock, put it in a place where you actually have to stand up and get out of bed to turn it off. This way you are forced to get out of bed when you actually planned on it, instead of hitting snooze a million times.

*** Bonus: if your phone is your alarm, this stops you from scrolling through Facebook or Twitter when you are supposed to be going to bed early.

Do Something You Enjoy Each Morning

Give yourself something to look forward to with waking up. One of the benefits of waking up early is that you have more time for yourself. If you can plan on doing something you enjoy first thing in the morning, it will make waking up a bit more exciting. Personally, I like to watch an episode of a TV show while I eat my breakfast and drink my coffee. This is just a relaxing way to start the day. Maybe you would like to make yourself a nice breakfast, or take a trip to your favorite coffee shop. Some people like exercising or yoga. One of my friends uses her early morning time to Skype with her friends and family back home. Whatever it is, give yourself a half-hour or so to yourself each morning, to make waking up feel like a treat rather than a hassle. 

Caffeinate... Seriously.

You might've guessed from the title of my blog that I enjoy coffee quite a bit. While I can wake up without it, a little caffeine jolt at the start of my day makes mornings a bit sweeter. Whether you like coffee, caffeinated tea, energy drinks, or soda, a little artificial energy can make all the difference in the world when you are a new morning person. So invest in some good caffeine and give yourself a little help in some early morning energy.

Take Baby Steps, but Commit

Getting up early each morning might be difficult, and I don't recommend starting by setting your alarm at 5:00 each morning and expect to magically be able to do it. Start by setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier each day, until you reach the desired time you would like. And then stick with it. Part of becoming a morning person is sheer determination. You actually have to get up when you say you will and commit to the plan. And yes, this includes weekends. Now, I'm not saying you can't sleep in at all on weekends - but sleeping in for me these days means getting up at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m., at the latest. I use my weekend mornings to run errands or clean, so I still feel like my early morning time is productive. Ultimately, the only way you can truly become a morning person is by committing to the goal. 


Those are my tips on how to become an early morning person, and I hope at least one of you can use these tips to make yourself more productive and wake up with the sun. Obviously, this isn't for everyone. Some people are way more productive in the midnight hours. So do what works for you. But now I wake up with the sun each day and couldn't imagine life any other way.

Happy mornings, everyone!

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10:00:00 AM in , , ,

Other Law School Bloggers


So I realized I've talked about how incredible the law school blogging community is, but I've never really given a shoutout to some of the other incredible blogs that I follow - and ones you should follow too! Check these awesome folks out:


Nikki is an incredible blogger and Brazen and Brunette is the law school blog that inspired me to write about my own law school adventure. Not only is Nikki a fountain of knowledge about all things law school (and life), she is an amazing woman and her sassy blog has been such a wonderful guide to my law school experience.

Written by Brandy Brown, you'll find The Legal Duchess to be such a fun website and you will love reading about Brandy's life. Somehow, along with all of the craziness that is law school, Brandy also is a newlywed and has got this whole 'adulting' thing down. Check out her site for more tips on how to manage law school, and check out her posts about fashion, lifestyle, and health as well.

Heather is a 1L just like I am, navigating her way through law school as best as anyone can. As I was preparing to go to law school this summer, I followed along with her posts to help myself prepare and now we are both taking on this wonderful law school adventure at the same time. Go over to Justifiably Blonde for another perspective on what it's like to be a new law student.

I just found Libby's blog not too long ago, and let me tell you - I am obsessed. She has some awesome detailed posts about law school orientation, different types of law, and both the social and academic sides of law school. Make sure to go over to blondgalese for some great tips on figuring out this whole "law school" thing.


These are just a few of my favorite blogs. What are some of you favorite blogs that I'm missing? Or are you a law school blogger and want to be included in this list? Just leave a comment or drop me an email at caffeineandcasebriefs@gmail.com, and I'll make sure to add it to the list. Happy blogging, everyone!

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5:23:00 PM in ,

Receiving Final Grades in Law School


So my last post was a little bit heavier, and I want to thank you all for the outpouring of support I received. The law school blogging community is amazing and it reminds me why I enjoy writing so much. However, to lighten the mood a little bit, I thought I would talk about something a little bit more positive - first semester grades. Now, some of you may be thinking "Well I don't know if grades are a positive thing..." and that is a very valid point. Receiving your law school grades back will likely incite one of three reactions: (1) YAY!, (2) Oh no..., or (3) *shrugs* eh. For many people, it might be a mix of a few. Whichever way you have felt about your grades, hopefully we can digest the meaning of them together.

First, the process of getting grades back is agonizing. In most of your law school classes, your entire grade will be contingent on a final exam, give or take a little bit of consideration for participation throughout the semester. So pretty much as soon as you walk out of the final, you'll check online for your grades to be posted approximately once per hour, every single day. Every 2L and 3L told me not to expect my grades back until right before I returned to school for the second semester, but that didn't stop me from checking. The waiting didn't really get too difficult until that last week, but the weight was agonizing nonetheless. Luckily, the law school was closed the week of Christmas, meaning that no final grades would be posted. This was nice because I had a week where I knew I should just relax because it's not like my grades would post anyway. However, the Monday that the school opened again I was back to checking every hour.

My torts grade was the first to post, shortly followed by civil procedure and legal research. Those all came on the first Monday. My writing grade came at the end of the week, the night before the start of the second semester. And my criminal law grade didn't post until two days after the second semester started. For those of you who aren't in law school yet, I am sure you are surprised at how late grades come back. I was too - several of us made the joke that they should really tell us our grades before, so we know whether it's worth it to come back to school. Luckily, that wasn't an issue.

Now, I don't want to publish my exact grade breakdown here, for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I think, to an extent, grades are private. I am not ashamed of my grades, and if people ask me I am usually willing to share. However, I don't know that posting every score I got on the internet is appropriate. Secondly, grades mean different things at different schools. Some schools curve at a B, some schools at a C. So if one of my grades is a B+ here, it could be in a totally different place in my school curve than at another school. And lastly, I don't want to put all of my grades out here because I don't want anyone to compare themselves to me - every person performs differently. For a point of reference though, because I know several of you are probably curious, I ended up in the top 10% of my class and am very satisfied with the grades I received.

So, after I get my grades back, now what?

It's a question a lot of students ask, and might be hard to answer. Some people just want to move on from the semester as quickly as possible and forget it ever happened. Others continuously dwell on every mistake. Another group might get caught up in either celebrating, or feeling sorry for themselves. It can be a mix depending on where you fall on the curve, how you personally feel about your grades, and what you want to get out of your grades.

The best piece of advice I can offer you is to make an attempt to actually learn something from your grades. If you're unhappy with your grades, consider the reasons why. Do you feel like you performed worse than you expected? Are you unsurprised by your low grade? Do you know what mistakes you made? You can use these low grades to change for next semester. Maybe a grade you are unhappy with is a sign you need to change your study schedule, or study more. If you aren't surprised by your low grade, it means that you know you can do better and you should use your grade as motivation to do better next time.

If you are happy with your grades, you also should try to learn from them. For example, it can show you that the way you study is working for you, so continue that. Don't let yourself get complacent because you've already done well. Remember how hard you worked for your grade the first time, and work that hard again. Hell, work even harder and show the world that you can do even better than before.

No matter how you performed, I reccomend you use your grades to set a goal for yourself. For me, it was hard to know what to expect in regards to grades in law school. In undergrad, I was a straight-A student - so I always wondered how that would change when a curve was introduced. Now I kind of know what to expect of myself and what type of grades I can anticipate if I work hard. Personally, I'm using this to set goals of how to improve. Maybe you want to increase your GPA, maybe you want to get one letter grade higher in a specific class, maybe you have a specific class rank you want to reach. 

For me, I want to get one more A this semester than I did last semester. It's attainable, but not easy and I will have to work for it. But my grades this semester prove that it's possible. I've also set a long-term goal. Right now, I'm in the top 10% of my class, but by graduation I would like to be in the top 10 people. I don't know how attainable that is, but as of right now it feels reachable and I am going to use that goal to motivate me.

So remember, your grades aren't everything - but you should learn from them because they are important. What is your goal for this semester?
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3:59:00 PM in , ,

Struggling in Law School: The Mental and Physical Toll of Legal Education



Anyone that reads my blog can look at the dates on my posts, and notice that I've disappeared a little bit, and that I've been posting rather sporadically. At first, finals and the holiday break took over my life. Then I came back to school and expected I would start posting again. And then I didn't. I don't know for sure if anyone has really noticed, or everyone just assumed that I was busy with school, or what. But here I am - back, at least for now, and ready to share with you another piece of my story.

I have debated a little bit whether I actually wanted to write this post or not. After all, my goal for this blog was to share my story and help law students and future law students get through the crazy adventure of legal education. Above all, I wanted to be encouraging and show others that you can do it, even on the hard days. So I knew if I addressed the difficult time I was having, it might have  more negative spin than the usual content I try to post. But, I want to be honest. I want to share my story - the good and the bad. I want others to know the realities of law school, so they can learn from my mistakes and my struggles to make their experiences better. So here is a piece of my law school adventure that might be a little less positive, a little scarier, but still honest, raw, and a real part of my life.

I have been struggling, both physically and mentally, due to the stress of law school.


Over the holiday break when I was back in Nebraska with my friends, family, and coworkers several people asked me "So, is law school really that stressful?" or "Is it as bad as they say it is?" My response to these questions would usually be a laugh, followed by an affirmative "Yes, but I'm surviving." And I would play it off as more than a joke. Toward the end of break, people would ask me "Are you excited to go back to school?" and with a dramatic flair I would respond with "NO! I cry every day there!" and laugh it off, even though underneath I knew it was close to the truth. Although it became easy to hide behind jokes and dramatic exaggerations about law school stress, I could feel the pressure building up inside of my and my mental health began to go downhill.

The last week or so of my holiday break, I cancelled plans with friends and family. I knew that I would miss them when I went back to Pennsylvania for school, but I couldn't bring myself to want to deal with the mental exhaustion of pretending to be happy. More nights than not, I cried myself to sleep, for no reason other than life is really hard. I began searching for ways to keep my hands busy so I wouldn't overthink things - I tried journaling, crocheting, exercising, reading, playing video games, etc. But the stress didn't stop.

Some people wear their stress mentally, some physically. Well, I'm one of the unlucky ones that experiences both. Over the holiday break, I lost over ten pounds of my body weight. I wasn't eating, and when I did, I would be so nauseous from stress that I would vomit everything. As soon as I got back to school, I made an appointment with a doctor. Turns out, I have gastritis, which is inflammation of the stomach. The cause of this, according to the doctor? Stress. No way to really get over this either, until I can eliminate stress from my life. Both the doctor and I laughed about that - we both know that isn't possible as long as I'm in school. So they put me on a medicine to heal my stomach lining and cure any ulcers I'm developing. And that's about all I can do for the physical symptoms.

Mentally, the struggle hasn't gotten any better either. I still cry, all of the time. I'll be walking to my car, and the tears will start. Wake up in the morning - cry. Sometimes I'll just be studying in the library, and suddenly I'm forced to dry my eyes and turn my head so people don't see me sob in public. Certain days, I can't make it to class because getting out of bed is too hard. Other days I can get to class, but I lock myself in my room and sleep from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. after, because sleeping is easier than dealing with everything. I'm constantly tired, sad, apathetic, and worried - even on my best days. And the worse part is - I'm stressed about how much the stress is hurting me.

The worst part about this, is I felt like I have no reason to be stressed. I did very well last semester - I ranked in the top 10% of my law school class. I have family and friends that love me, and very healthy relationships with them. Personally, I think I'm one of the best adults I know, and don't struggle with responsibility or financially. Things are good in my life, so I am constantly wondering why I haven't been able to handle things mentally. But that is how stress and mental health works, it doesn't always make a lot of sense.

A few days ago, the stress reached a new high. In a panic, where no matter what I did made me feel calm, I got online and bought a plane ticket. I did laundry and packed a bag. Then I left - in the middle of the night - and got on a plane back to my hometown. I didn't even call my parents until I was on a layover in the airport. 

When I told my mom, she began to cry. "This isn't like you, Bailey," she said to me, "I'm worried about you." 

And the only response I had was "I'm worried about me too."

So here I am, sitting in my parents' house, finally having to confront everything I'm dealing with. First things first - I've admitted that I'm struggling. Next, I had to end relationships with people that were causing me more hurt in my life. And now, I'm trying to figure out a plan to move forward and confront my issues that I've been having.

Medically, I'm already on track. I've got the medication I need. Mentally, it's a little harder. I start therapy this week. I've always been one of those people that was too proud to seek professional help. But now that I've made the appointment, I already feel a little bit more stable knowing that I'm taking care of myself and trying to get help that I need. I've bought a couple more plane tickets for trips back home, just so that I know I will have a "safe weekend" every now and then, where I can escape school, hug my mom, and see my friends. I've set deadlines for myself to decide whether or not I want to stay at school, try and transfer, or take a break from school overall. I've admitted to some key people around me that I've been struggling, like my roommates and my best friends, that way they are aware and can help me. And I'm keeping my mind on the fact that this is totally normal, and I just have to take it one day at a time.

To everyone reading this . . .

Some of you that are law school hopefuls might be thinking "Oh my god, maybe I shouldn't put myself through law school if this will happen." No. Don't let this deter you. I am determined to get through this, and show you all that even with extreme physical and mental difficulty, a person can do anything they set their mind to. I may be having a hard time, but I am far from giving up and you shouldn't either.

Some of you might be in law school, and thinking "Wow, I never thought it was that bad." And thank all that is holy that you haven't been through this. But look out for your friends. Notice who might be struggling, and be there as support and encouragement for them. You never know what difference you might make in someone's life.

Some of you who are in law school might be thinking, "That's exactly what I feel like." To you guys, know you aren't alone. Reach out to someone. Get some help, and take care of yourself. Reach out to me if you need ( caffeineandcasebriefs@gmail.com ... seriously, my inbox is always open). And know that it will get better, and we will get through this.

Lastly, I want to thank the community of everyone out there for being an outlet for me to talk about this. One thing I love about the law school blogging community is the comraderie and support we offer each other, and that is one thing I absolutely LOVE about having this blog. So thank you to everyone for the support you have given me.

Remember - things may be hard. But I am far from giving up. I'm going to fight through this, I'm going to conquer law school, and be the best damn lawyer that I can be. Depression, stress, and physical illness can be a bump in the road, but it's not something that I can't get past.

I'll be success story - stay tuned to see it happen.


UPDATE:
 3/25/2019

It's now a little over two years later, and I just went back and read through this post. And woah. I forgot how real everything was two years ago. But I wanted to share a little update on this post real quick for everyone that might be coming back and reading it, or reading it for the first time.

First and foremost, I am in a completely and totally better spot now. In fact, around two months after I wrote that post, I was already a completely different person - happy to be in law school, lots of friends, and looking forward to the future. Although I was struggling internally, I never let it effect my schooling. I still went to every class, did all my work, and got great grades that semester. I secured my dream internship and left law school at the end of the semester excited to come back in the fall. So, yeah, I had a couple of bad months. But all in all, I still handled eveything and came out stronger than I was before.

So for anyone who is reading this because they are struggling - it does get better! Reach out, get help, and tell yourself that you can do this. Law school is hard, but you are strong.

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