I did it you guys! I finished my first semester of law school! It truly is exciting 🙂 In fact, I am actually in the second week of the new semester. While I am still forming opinions on my new professors and how I think the semester will be, I have very strong thoughts on last semester that I desperately need to get off my chest.
First and foremost, I do not attend UC Hastings College of the Law. I attend Hastings High. Law school is high school, and anyone who says otherwise needs to tell me their secret. Like high school, it is extremely competitive, very clique-y, and without much freedom. I hated high school the first time…I never thought I would have to live it twice. I dread the fixed schedules, mandatory lunch events, and forced socializing. I miss the anonymity of college and the freedom to do as I wished that came along with it. At almost 24, I feel less like an adult than I did at 19, and that just doesn’t sit well with me.
Academically, I actually have very few protests to wage against law school. I very much so enjoy the content, and I think that my brain is well suited to this manner of thinking. However, a major practice I have problems with is the Socratic method. I genuinely feel that it isn’t an effective learning tool because it only benefits one type of student. Aggressive students eager to talk are totally in their wheelhouse. However, observant students, like me, are forced to leave their preferred learning style and participate in the Socratic method because “that’s just how law school is.” I personally don’t feel that is a good enough justification for maintaining the practice. Simply because law school has traditionally used the Socratic method, and everyone goes through it, does not mean that we have to stick with it. It isn’t a right of passage. It’s like trying to force a square peg in a round hole. For some students, it is not an effective learning tool. I personally prefer to sit back, observe class, take it all in, mentally sort through the concepts, and arrive at a thorough understanding. I wait to ask questions until the professor is done with the lecture. Oftentimes, the professor will answer any questions you might ask by the end of class because a great deal of concepts make more sense once you have the whole picture, not when the pieces are still being put in place. I did not get to this point in my education without figuring out my learning style and what works for me. Forcing 100% of students to participate in a single learning style that only benefits a fraction of the students out of tradition is simply ridiculous and ought to be reevaluated.
Finally, the cherry on top of this sundae: San Francisco. To say that I cannot stand living in this city would be putting it mildly. It’s gross, the homeless situation is terrifying, and the people who live here never seem happy. The longer I’m here, the harder I have to fight to hold on to my old LA self. Quite frankly, that is my happiest and best self. I don’t want to lose her!
While I may have very little to say about the positives of SF, I do have other beacons of light in my life that keep me going. I plan to write a few blog posts about them! After all, my recent Italy trip was easily the highlight of 2021. I know that I recommit myself to the blog often, but I truly do intend to blog more this semester. I didn’t do enough of the things that make me happy last semester, and it really showed. Going forward, a few of the things for myself I plan to do include:
- A regular workout schedule
- More weekend trips out of the city
- Read for fun (blog post on A Court of Thorns and Roses series coming soon)
- Order Postmates less frequently
- Pick up some of my old crafting hobbies
However, as much as I generally do not enjoy my time in San Francisco, this chapter of my life isn’t all bad. The academic component of law school is actually going great! My first semester grades were good, and I really enjoy the material we study in class. Doing my schoolwork is not the headache that my undergraduate economics studying one was. A lot of the classes most students feel are boring don’t bother me much at all! In that regard, it makes the whole experience much more bearable. All I have to do is get through these three years, and then I can go home, get back to my life, and build my career.
Hopefully for the last time of my 1L year of law school, I am recommitting to the blog. I learned a lot last semester about what balance works for me, and keeping up the things that are wholly for myself is more vital than I even understood. With that being said, cheers to a hopefully better spring semester!
xx
Emily
