Keeping Stride

Thanksgiving break is over and it's officially "that time of year." No, not the Holiday season, for us law schoolers it is Exam Season. It's the time of year that we all dread and fear and give thanks that it only comes around twice a year. The holiday season won't officially begin until my last bluebook is turned in. Then I'll be able to enjoy some holiday cheer.

Thanksgiving was a nice 3 day break from law school. Many of my classmates made me feel guilty for being a slacker and actually going home for the holiday and taking a quick break from school. But I needed it. After turning in my Open Memo (which was a a piece of garbage IMHO **fingers crossed that I did better than my last one, even by a smidgen). When I arrived back in Law School City almost all the 1Ls were in the library already. It was 11am on a Saturday for gosh sake! I did not join in the frenzy. Instead I unpacked all my treasures from Mom, more specifically all my Christmas decorations. My apartment for once doesn't look like study central w/ books all over the place, instead it looks like Santa's Workshop with law book interspersed with snowmen and reindeer.

I actually took books from one of my classes home, admittedly I knew when I left that I wouldn't even open them (hence I only carried 1 subject home). I did peak at the outline I am working on and did a few edits, for a few minutes. There was just so much excitement around the house, all the siblings together again for the first time in ages and ages. Who wants to study at a time like that? Now I'm paying for it. For the next 2 weeks I'll be in outlining hell! And then I'll be in exam hell!

1L is a marathon. You have to have a plan to finish and stick to it. If you go out too fast, you'll burn out early. If you wait til the end to push it, you'll finish but you'll be running hard to catch up and when you finish you'll feel like there was more you could have done to finish better. Thanksgiving Break was "hitting the wall" for many classmates. Everyone is feeling the exhaustion and the pain and they just want it to be over. All we have left is less than a month, in a marathon most people hit the wall around Mile 20, where there's only a 10K left, but that last 10K feels harder than the first 20 Miles! This is time to be a smart studier. Time to rediscover your stride. For the law school 1L marathon i don't feel like a back of the packer/penguin, but i'm definitely not a Kenyan either. I'm a "just hope to finish and finish well"

Good Luck to all the other 1Ls! "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"