My 2L Winter Break

Winter break is usually a really slow time for me. During the school year, law students rarely get time to sit and do nothing without the guilt that comes along with knowing that your work is never truly done. With that in mind, I try to take advantage of time to be unproductive without feeling guilty. I left school in December feeling good, but unsure about my exams. To be honest, in law school you really just have no idea sometimes how it’s all going to turn out. Needless to say, it’s an unsettling feeling, so I always try to use my break to get my mind off of it. I didn’t do much of anything related to the law and instead chose to spend time with friends and family and catch up on some new shows!

At first, it felt like the break wasn’t going to be enough time to recover from exams. Spending so much time studying and running on (lots of caffeine and sugar) adrenaline usually leaves me feeling sluggish for at least a week afterward. After a couple of weeks, though, I definitely started to get over it. I wanted to be back in school! Sometimes you get used to moving so fast that slowing down just seems boring and bored I certainly was. However, I was really happy with my grades and even saw some improvement from my first year of school which gave me the motivation to hit the ground running just before the first week of classes. I’m hoping I can carry this momentum with me through the semester!

My 1L Winter Break

Finals, Holidays and the hope of the new semester

So, finals happened. As I sit and reflect on the last month and a half of my life, the experience of finals seems an unreal, far-away memory. Results aside, exams were quite an experience. While for the most part I ran on pure and unadulterated fear, it was nice to know much I could cram into my head in 72-hour periods. As nerve-racking and anxiety-inducing as finals were, I appreciate how much closer it brought me to my law school friends. There is something about a semi-traumatic experience that brings you close to those around you.

The period following the completion of finals is also a bit of a blur. When I was studying for finals, usually around the eight or ninth hour, I fantasized about all the leisurely activities I would do during the break. I did not accomplish many of them. I underestimated how tired I was going to be and how many other obligations piled up during finals. I did however manage to catch up on sleep, cook and more importantly spend time with my loved ones. Since no one in my family is involved in any legal work, the only talk there was about law school was when I would bring it up. In the occasions I did bring it up, it was nice being able to relate the abstract concepts I learned to the realities that impact my family. It was a nice breath of fresh air before coming back to school.

As much as I enjoyed the break and playing with my chihuahuas, it is now time to turn the page on the chapter that was 2018 and welcome the challenges of 2019. I think it’s going to be fine.

Photo caption: Taquito and Tila, basking in the joy of the Southern California winter sun in style.

Winter Break: 2L Edition

Happy New Year! I hope you had the happiest of holidays.

Welcome back to the Jury of Peers blog! I can’t wait to see what the spring semester has in store! But first an update on how winter break went…

Like last year, I spent my winter break enjoying the various Christmas decorations around LA, catching up and spending time with loved ones, going on food adventures, and most importantly sleeping! With everything that goes on during the semester – all the papers, exams, projects – it’s easy to forget about taking care of yourself and taking time to do something not law related. So it’s nice to just be able to spend time to reflect, relax, sleep, decompress, and do absolutely nothing in the time leading up to the spring semester.

Here’s a look at how I spent my nearly 3 weeks on winter break….

Let’s start with the least exciting (but also most beneficial health wise) activities. During break, I made sure to catch up with all my annual checkups and go to the gym as often as possible. During the semester, it’s easy to get bogged down by stress, eating poorly, being exposed to various illnesses, or succumbing to allergies. Thus, I took the time to make sure that I was well physically so I can tackle all that spring semester has in store for me. Helpful tip from a 2L: book all your medical appointments and checkups (including going to the eye doctor and the dentist) during the break that way you don’t have to skip class or stress about getting stuck in traffic on the way to school.

Now for the more exciting stuff!

The first matter of business was to take my sister to Disneyland to celebrate the commencement of our respective winter breaks. We share a mutual love of Disney, so it was nice to catch up after a long semester, seek some photo ops with some of our favorite characters (such as Minnie Mouse), and go on our favorite rides.

 I was also fortunate enough to finally see Wicked at the Pantages in Hollywood, CA with my family. I’ve always loved going to the theatre to see musicals or plays, so it was nice that there was something really good that I’d never seen before running while I was on winter break!

 I also fulfilled one of my teenage dreams of seeing my favorite pianist from South Korea, Yiruma. He held his concert at the Dolby Theatre also in Hollywood, CA. Not only was it cool to listen to him live after being a fan for many years, but it was amazing to sit in the same room that holds the Oscars!

 So like most people, I’ve never won anything by calling the radio. But randomly and totally by chance, I won something! More specifically, it was a four pack of tickets to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Magic Mountain. So I took some of my loved ones to share in the oohing-and-aahing at the holiday decorations and the thrills of all the coasters.

The holidays also allowed me to spend more time with my dog, which included long walks and me trying to take pictures of her while she played hard to get.

For me, winter break means catching up with friends, and of course, this always means over food. This winter I tried out new foods like Hainan chicken and taiyaki (soft serve ice cream in a cone shaped like a fish that’s filled with some kind of spread like Nutella or taro; see below) and new places like Shin-Sen-Gumi (a ramen place which is seen below), Wushiland (a popular boba place in the San Gabriel Valley), Savoy Kitchen (an Asian fusion restaurant also in the San Gabriel Valley), and Maccheroni Republic (an Italian place in Downtown LA)

 Finally, my most favorite activity during winter break is checking out and admiring all the Christmas light displays and decorations. I love Christmas and the holidays, all the decorations, and the general excitement for it all. For me, searching for Christmas decorations around SoCal is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit and reflect on the year that’s just passed and prepare for the year that’s about to commence.

With winter break behind me, I’m feeling refreshed and ready for 2019. So it’s time to buckle down and get back to work! After all, there are only a few short months until I’m done with 2L, and summer break is just around the corner….

Until next time friends!

My 1L Winter Break

Exams are one of the most widely-feared parts of law school. To a certain extent, I think that their reputation is undeserved, at least for those who prepare. I had several exams in my classes this semester. Overall, my exams were tough but manageable. I had two finals and two midterms. While these exams were in different classes, each one was about 4 hours and they were spaced about four days apart. Each exam had both multiple choice and essay questions.

Everything you've learned over an entire semester is covered in an exam that lasts just a few hours, so if you want to do well, it's extremely important to practice writing exam answers. It’s also important to think through the implications of both the question and the answer that you’re going to give to the question before you begin writing your answer. The essay questions are the hard part, as one might guess. Where multiple choice questions allow you to feel secure in the knowledge that the correct answer is, generally, staring you in the face and just waiting to be revealed, essay questions are another issue altogether. Where multiple choice questions provide a rock to rest on, an assurance that the correct answer is there, essay questions are like plunging into a wave-tossed sea or the void, with nothing but your own resources and knowledge to fall back on.

But don’t panic, really. They’re not all that bad if you put some effort into preparing and come to class each day prepared to learn.

Fortunately, my exams eventually came to an end and I was able to enjoy my break. While I do enjoy law school, sometimes it's nice to take a break from the studying. I was fortunate enough to be able to go snowboarding in Big Bear and to spend a few days in New York. In Big Bear, I went down my first black diamond run, which was a huge accomplishment for me. In New York, I visited the Natural History Museum and saw American Son on Broadway. Kerry Washington’s performance in American Son was moving, and I found myself relating the play’s issues of race and police force to issues discussed in my criminal law class.

Much of law school can often feel theoretical, but it opens your eyes to viewing the world in a different light. While the stress of law school and studying for exams can give you tunnel vision, the changes in understanding and perception make the hours reading cases and studying for exams feel meaningful and worthwhile. While receiving a high grade on an exam feels wonderful, the direct application of that knowledge and the ability to analyze societal issues in a legal context is equally, if not more, satisfying.

And We're Back!

I’m officially halfway done with law school and it is an odd feeling: I can’t decide if I am happy or sad about it. On the one hand, I want to start practically applying my lawyering skills on a full-time basis. On the other hand, I love Loyola and my friends here and I cannot imagine not seeing them all on a daily basis in just 1.5 years.

So how did I make it to this halfway point? I passed my exams! Woohoo! Not that I wasn’t expecting to do just that, but you never know, it is law school. It is always hard preparing for law school exams because every professor is different, but over the last few semesters I have developed a studying plan that has worked perfectly so far: I listen to all of the class recordings in a row while making my outline for the class. I discovered that it is a good way of putting everything together once you have all of the information. Also, I almost always hear something that my professor said early on in the class that at the time I didn’t think was entirely important, but now at the end of the class, I realize it is critical. So luckily for me, I felt pretty prepared for my exams, and I think that confidence helped me perform to the best of my abilities.

Now, after drinking copious amounts of coffee, completely destroying my sleep schedule, and taking my exams, I did end up doing some fun things over the break. (And who said law school isn’t fun? We have breaks!) I spent the holidays with my family, went to Mammoth Mountain with friends, spent the New Year in San Diego, and ended up back in Los Angeles to spend some time with my Byrne Team prepping for our upcoming competition at the end of February. Now, it is literally the very beginning of the semester and I already have eight things on my to-do list. Wish me luck. Until next time!

Fall Semester Update

Attending law school is an experience much different from any situation I have found myself in before.

Every law student will tell you that the course loud is heavy, the curriculum is tough, the reading is dense, and the outlining is tedious. That is all true. Law school is hard, but I knew law school was going to be hard.

What really sets law school apart is the people. I go to class everyday with an extremely diverse group of individuals, from all backgrounds, all walks of life, and all ages. I have friends 10 years older than me and believe it or not, I have friends three years younger than me (a 19-year-old law student; I am just as impressed as you are). This creates an excellent learning environment. My classmates are well versed in a plethora of areas. Many of them worked for a number of years before law school, others traveled, or pursued additional graduate school degrees. Their experiences make my learning a unique place. We all have something to learn from each other.

I did not have many expectations coming into law school, other than wanting a law degree. While, I still have a way to go in my law school experience, the people are what have surprised me the most. Not only did I not expect to get along so well with my classmates, but I never imagined my professors would be so helpful and QUALIFIED. Seriously, the professors at Loyola are ROCKSTARS. They teach, and work, and write law reviews, and publish books, and still find the time to sit with us in extended office hours, detailing how we can succeed in their course. The people, that is what makes law school so different.

While law school is a long road, these past three months feel like they have flown by. The amount of information I have absorbed is formidable, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be here. Of course, there are times my eyes feel like they may fall out of my head from reading for so long, and sometimes I lose my mind trying to fully understand the rule against perpetuities (property law) but extending one’s mind is always an advantage that we should not take for granted.

The End of the Beginning: 1L Fall Finals

Three months into law school and the work is piling up. We have completed midterms and Graded I (our first memo). More importantly, we have received our first grades. Now we are working hard to finish Graded II (our second memo) and preparing resumes and writing samples to submit for summer employment applications. We are also setting strategies and study schedules for finals. The stress is palpable.

The summer employment options for a 1L are still a bit of a mystery to me. Most 1L positions are unpaid and few firms offer positions for first-year students; 1Ls simply don’t know enough yet. Most students are eyeing judicial externships. They are prestigious and very competitive placements in judges’ chambers. My understanding is, however, that they are more appropriate for people interested in litigation rather than transactional work. I’ve spoken with my career advisor as well as second- and third-year students about other opportunities. I have another career advising appointment next week so hopefully, I’ll soon have a more comprehensive game plan to take on the summer.

Regarding my academics, I’ve spent most of my time in the library up to this point. I hate to say but I prefer to study alone and then review in a group though I expect that will change soon. As finals approach quickly, I regret that I haven’t availed myself of professors’ office hours more aggressively but I’m quickly rectifying that mistake. Past exams are available in the library and our professors have made their additional exams available online. I’ve tried my hand at a couple of midterm essays for my first final – Contracts. My priority right now is to refine my outlines, which are essentially road maps to spot issues and answer exam questions in each class. Between office hours, outlines, and practice exams, the workload has definitely started to shift toward review. We’ll all soon see if our plans and work pay off.

Fall Semester Update

Fall semester is ending and the craziest thing is that sometimes I felt that the time was not passing at all, but now looking back I have the feeling that the semester just flew! It seems like yesterday that I was walking – so afraid – to the first day of orientation.

Although I had been to law school before, in my country, here I felt I was starting all over again - and I really was. But during those three months, I relived many feelings that I had during my law school in Brazil: fear of failing the tests, anxiety waiting for the notes, tiredness after reading countless pages, feeling sleepy all the time because you do not even remember how many hours you are sleeping a day…. But now, at the end of the semester, I'm also reliving the feelings of: relief because I have gotten here, and gratitude for all the opportunities that Loyola allowed me to live during this semester.

Despite the obstacles that appear along the way from time to time, I can say that there is nothing that I did not like about law school, because even the difficulties teach us something, and we can grow from that. And what I liked the most was, without a doubt, the fact that I feel at home in Loyola – and this feeling is not easy to find, but when we find it, it's the best thing to feel.

I believe that my biggest challenge so far has been to organize my time so that I can do everything I have to do. This is a difficulty that I always had and here I realized that it was time to finally overcome it, so I took the time to write down everything I needed to do and from that I set up a schedule, and I forced myself every day to comply with it.

At the end of the day, you realize that without willpower, nothing gets off the ground and comes true, and that's something I always keep in mind to stay strong on this long road that is law school.

Fall Semester Update

Time flies when you’re having fun, right? While law school isn’t the particular kind of “fun” that most people are referring to, it’s hard to believe it’s been more than three months since the beginning of Fall semester.

Transferring to a new school, I didn’t really know what to expect. I considered myself a friendly and outgoing person and was confident that I’d acclimate in no time. While I have slowly been able to immerse myself into everything Loyola has to offer over the past few months, I definitely was forced to step out of my comfort zone. Looking back, my experiences this past semester have closely resembled 1L life in quite a few ways: meeting people, getting to know the campus, and learning how things are done at a new school. Thankfully, however, some things about law school are the same wherever you go.

While law school curricula doesn’t seem to vary all that much, one of the most interesting things that I immediately noticed about Loyola was the enormous amount of extracurricular and experiential opportunities. From clinics to law reviews, there seems to be something for everyone. In fact, there were so many more choices it was hard for me to pick just a few. I ultimately settled on DSBA and Law Review, but plan on exploring other opportunities in upcoming semesters.

That leads me to my next point: Loyola’s committed alumni network and the job opportunities that come with that network. Even though I did not plan on working my first semester at a new school, it was hard to resist checking the Symplicity job board every few days. Eventually I got a great opportunity to work at a small firm in Hollywood and decided to take the position. I have been able to gain tons of experience and put my in-class learning to good use. Without the connections that Loyola has created within the community, I would have never been able to get my current job.

I hope everyone has had as great a first semester at I did here at Loyola. Good luck with finals and I’ll see you all in the Spring!

Fall Update

The fall semester of my second year of law school is definitely dramatically different from my other semesters. For one, I’ve consolidated all of my classes onto two days so that I can free up some time to work and have more flexibility in my schedule. I usually end up on campus at least 3 days each week, but it’s definitely nice to have the option to only be here two days on weeks when I’m busy!

I’ve also made it a point to spend less time stressing and more time doing. This has freed up a lot of time for me to pursue other things — like actually reading for fun! I read at least 30 minutes each night during the week of a book of my choosing. During my first year of law school, I accumulated a long list of books I wanted to read but felt I didn’t have the time to. With proper time management and less self-induced stress, I’ve been able to chip away at that list which is actually pretty cool! This is just one of the many ways I’ve found greater balance in law school. Another way I find balance is by exercising. I workout everyday and also go on walks outside throughout the day to clear my mind. With these tools, I’ve had a great fall semester thus far.

Three Months In....

I have now been a law student for three months and honestly, time has just flown by. We are just three weeks away from exams. I am hyperventilating a little.

The last three months have been challenging and enjoyable. I have amazing professors who have made the learning process fun. I was pleasantly surprised to discover law school is much kinder than Hollywood depicts. Cold-calling is scary but at the same time there is a sense of support and shared doom that reduces the fear and shame around the room.

My biggest challenge has been learning the precise language of the law. Many people say learning the law is like learning a new language. As someone who learned English in my teens, I have to say this is absolutely true. During the first weeks of school, I just stared at pages for a long time, dictionary in hand sporadically recognizing a few words, and trying to make sense of what was happening. With time, words and concepts are starting to make sense. At this point, I am just trying to make sure they fully make sense by the time exams roll around.

I can also see the new language of law starting to seep into my everyday life. My use of the phrase “per se” has increased to a level that only other law students would be able to appreciate.

Notwithstanding the challenges of law school, I am really enjoying the Loyola community. After being in a large school, I love being in a place where students, staff and professors know each other, and you are not just another face in the crowd. I particularly appreciate that from day one everyone at Loyola, from current students to long-time alumni, have offered themselves as resources and mentors.

The main downside: I wish I had more time and energy to explore Los Angeles. I did not realize the thought of finding parking in the city combined with my sheer exhaustion would eliminate my resolve to explore.

Well, that is all for me for the rest of this semester, I will see you all at the end of the tunnel known as law school exams!

Fall Semester Update

The past few months have gone by so very quickly. It barely seems like I had my first class yesterday. As I have looked back on my first several months of law school, I’ve realized that it has been mostly similar to what I had expected. Prior to law school, everyone that I spoke to told me how much reading there would be. I have found the classes and workload to be demanding and that there is a lot of material to learn. As I also expected, I have found cold-calling to be rather nerve-racking, but I have also found that this method of instruction keeps me constantly alert and engaged during my classes.

However, it has also not been what I expected. The professors as well as everyone that I have encountered around campus seem to take a genuine interest in helping 1Ls to succeed. Students who are 2Ls and 3Ls are quick to offer 1Ls advice about how to approach a particular class, where to find outlines, or sometimes just offering much needed words of encouragement.

I have to say that I am enjoying law school so far. There are so many intelligent and driven people here and the ideas and cases covered in the coursework have kept me on my toes, to say the least! I would say that the coursework has been the most challenging aspect of law school so far. Because of the sheer amount of material that is covered, I would say that effective time management skills are very much a necessity when it comes to being successful in law school.

Fall Semester Update

I know, I know…. You’ve probably heard this a million times before: law school is like a full-time job. Your mornings are booked with classes, your afternoons with meetings and study sessions, and your evenings are reserved for pouring over books and fretting over getting cold-called in class tomorrow.

While this is not far from the truth, I’m here to say that it’s still possible to have a healthy, normal life outside of the law school bubble!!! It’s all about balance… that and a lot of planning and making sure that your “work” time is being used to its fullest potential. What I mean is: if you find a free hour or two during the week, rather than using it to do nothing (or mourn your pre-law school life… it’s okay we’ve all done it at some point), use it to get ahead in the reading or get started on that next research assignment. This in turn will free some of your time during the weekend when you need to take a breather, see your family, hang out with friends, do something fun, attend that birthday party you thought you were going to have to skip because you had to study, or sleep. Work smart not hard (you know what I mean)! If you develop this habit early on, you’ll find that you’ll be able to accomplish more and have time to do non-law school related activities too!

That being said it’s still important to make sure you take care of your physical and mental well-being. Every once in a while, remind yourself to take a break. It’s okay you deserve it! Spend a little time on yourself: hit the gym, go for a walk, take a nap, put on a movie and cuddle on the couch with your dog, grab a meal with a friend you haven’t seen in a while, or spoil yourself and take yourself out for a nice meal! Whatever you choose to do, remember that you have three years to be a law student and an entire lifetime to be a lawyer… You deserve time to yourself every once in a while, to sit back, relax, and enjoy your life! Trust me, it makes all the difference!

Until next time friends!

Update, Update: Read All About It!

How is the fall semester already almost over? I swear it was just August yesterday.

So far, the first couple months of 2L have gone as expected: lots of coffee, not enough time. My time has been mostly dedicated to the Byrne Trial Team and staying on top of my classes, but I have also had time to attend a few bar reviews. In comparison to this time last year, I am feeling much better!

My typical day as a 2L is both similar to and different from my typical day as a 1L. I still have class everyday (except Friday), but this year I was able to choose my own classes, and that means I was able to choose my start time. As a self-professed non-morning person, I was able to make certain that none of my classes start before 1 PM (in comparison to having 8 AMs everyday last year). It has made my life significantly more enjoyable. I still study and have tons of reading to complete, but now I am able to complete it at night and sleep in a little bit more the next day.

Although law school is a lot of work, I have found that it is easier to balance if you do not attempt to deprive yourself. If you want to watch some Netflix, watch some Netflix. If you want to go out of town for the weekend, go out of town. You always know what work you are responsible for that week (law school syllabi are pretty clear), so just get it done a little bit earlier and you will have more than enough time to have a life as well. Unless it is finals time (those are hard, don’t mess around with them)!

My Summer Before 1L Year

For me, this summer was filled with a mixture of anticipation and worry. I have been looking forward to starting law school for a year now, but I never expected the application process to be as overwhelming as it was. Between the LSAT, applications, and waiting, I had a lot on my plate. Eventually, I got the news that I had been hoping for and the waiting and worry of the past few months suddenly seemed worthwhile.

Aviation is my passion – for me, flight is freedom and gaining a pilot’s license is a priority that is only somewhat less pressing than successfully completing law school. I spent the few free days that I had sandwiched between worrying and trying to get everything ready soaring aloft and free. Those days are over for awhile, but I believe that an experience that is even better is beginning. The first few weeks of law school have been both challenging and exciting, and I look forward to what awaits. I believe that the education I receive at Loyola will help equip me for what lies ahead.

As things stand now, it seems like some level of knowledge about the legal system is required to understand the news at all. The headlines are dominated by stories on issues on which we focus squarely in class – including police practices, a Department of Justice living in tension with the White House, adherence to international treaty obligations, and more. My education is not only helping me to understand the news, it is helping prepare me to take part in it some day.

My Summer Before 1L Year

I hadn’t spent a summer at home in four years. Home for me is Arlington Heights, Illinois, which is in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. I went to undergrad at Saint Louis University in Missouri, where I played on the Division I Woman’s Basketball team. As a woman’s basketball player, I was required to spend my summers at school, working out with the team and taking summer school classes.

I pretty much took this summer off. Yes, I read a book on what to expect going into my first year of law school, but besides that I tried to pack in just about everything I was unable to do during my summers in Missouri.

I learned how to bake Traditional Swedish coffee cake with my second cousin twice removed. I spent time with all my relatives and I went to 6 different Greek Islands. I did yoga every single day of the week to juxtapose my tight muscles from basketball training. I spent countless days acting like a tourist in my own city of Chicago. I coached a youth travel basketball team and I forced my poor father to drink green smoothies with me for two weeks straight (he was a good sport about it but hated it nonetheless). It was the best and most bitter sweet summer of my life thus far, knowing I was going to have to leave again soon.

I thought I would be in tears as I boarded the airplane that would take me from Chicago to L.A, but instead I felt a sense of renewal. Being home gave me a much-needed detox and by the time summer ended, I was beyond excited to start my new challenge at Loyola Law.

My Summer Before 1L Year

“Case brief, IRAC, outline, hornbooks…what the heck are you talking about?” This is a pretty typical reaction for most people entering law school; it certainly was for me. I had learned some jargon from attorneys at work and I had found some surprisingly helpful YouTube videos about case briefing, but I had never actually understood, let alone practiced these skills before. It was therefore only natural that I enrolled in Loyola’s Summer Institute (“S.I.”) program to start that almighty task of learning to “think like a lawyer” and, more basically, to learn what the heck I was supposed to do once classes started. I discovered, however, that the true value of S.I. is in learning about your class and your Loyola support system.

From the start, it was clear that all of the professors who ran the S.I. program were going to be wonderful people. Everyone was exceedingly positive, informative and supportive. On top of that, one of the first assignments was to “get to know your class.” We were to talk to anyone and everyone before, during and after every class. Before we ever even looked at a case, the top priority was clearly to start our legal network. This was not the kind of assignment that I was expecting right out of the gate, but in retrospect, it makes sense.

The practice of law is social and referral-based, but more importantly, it is just plain hard. You WILL need help. There is an understandable tendency at the outset to focus on facts, jargon, and study tricks. The skills are important and (I’m told) they will come with time, but if you want to know what the heck you are supposed to do once you start law school, start by being open and sociable.

My Summer Before Starting the LLM Program

In fact, my summer break was not a break at all – I had the Summer Institute Program for three weeks before classes started. Yes, I am an LLM student, so that is my very first time living the experience of a law student in the US. On my first day of Summer Institute, I was so nervous.  Luckily, soon I felt so secure and supported by all the faculty of Loyola Law School. During the 3 weeks, we had classes about Introduction to American Law, Legal Writing and even about outlining – because none of us knew what an outline was before. At Loyola, each class is inspiring in a different way and that is why I wish I could take all the classes Loyola offers.  There are so many interesting subjects. 

After I finished Summer Institute, I knew how the next months were going to be – a lot of reading, assignments and studying, but on the other hand, I knew it would be with a great and supportive faculty. Although all of us, LLM students, already have a degree in law in our countries, the feeling we have is that everything is starting over again.  Since here in the US, the system is different than what we were used to, it makes us more excited about what is to come!