A Day in the Life of a Law Student

My typical law school day begins at around 8 am. As I lie in bed, my bedroom door will swing open and my rambunctious daughter will storm in yelling “Dan!” (she means “Dad!”, but her 2-year old pronunciation is understandably shaky.) I will then lounge for as long as I can while my dog, toddler all swirl on and around the bed while my wife fixes her hair and make-up for work.

Then, usually around 8:30, my wife will leave for work and I’m “on duty.” Depending on when my first class begins, I am in Dad Mode until I have to leave. In Dad Mode, I’m not really allowed to read or study or do any law school related duties. I can try, but my Dad Services will be requested immediately. We play, eat, read books, watch Sesame Street. At some point during the morning I will quickly shower and maybe we’ll go for a walk if there’s time.

Not more than an hour before my first class starts, my mother-in-law will show up to take over the parenting job. I wish her “good luck” and head out to school. At school, I head immediately to class and settle in for the day. I will always work during lunch and class-breaks, because of the extra responsibilities that await me at home. After classes, I will either head home to relieve my mother-in-law, or stay behind a bit to do some reading. If there’s an excessive amount of work to do, I will stay into the evening, sometimes 7 or 8 pm. I usually make it back before “bed time” for the little one.

After she goes to sleep, I’m again free to study and read for the next day. My wife and I will attempt to hang out for as long as we can until we turn in for the night around midnight. With a heavy workload for the next day, sometimes we can’t find much free time, but usually we can hang out for at least a little while during school nights.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, music is a big part of my life. In order to scratch the musical itch, I carve out some time most Saturday nights to play at my long-standing gig at The Grove in West Hollywood with my band. Most other music-related work has gone by the wayside in favor of school. My work-life-music ratio is usually pretty balanced, thanks to the help and support of my family, especially my mother-in-law who has been a godsend. I am able to be an active Dad, a law school student and a musician and husband as well. My key has been a supportive family and working diligently while on campus.