How I Spent My Summer

The summer before my first year of law school, I tried my best to relax, enjoy my final months of freedom, and mentally prepare for the next three years. Every online law school forum, or incoming law student blog, always stressed the importance of relaxation during the summer before 1L. And it makes sense- you want to enter law school with a cool and calm mind, ready to absorb any material the professors may throw at you. But for me, relaxation didn’t mean lounging in the sun or binge watching Netflix. To fully relax, I first needed to plan accordingly for the upcoming year. That meant I needed to arrange my housing, develop a budget for the year, purchase or rent my textbooks, and stay in touch with Loyola for news and updates. Law school is already an extremely overwhelming transition, so I found peace by efficiently preparing in the weeks and months leading up to the first day of classes. Although mapping out my first year of law school was helpful, I tried to not let it consume me. There’s a reason why the blogs and online forums stressed the importance of relaxation- because after I was finished preparing for school, I NEEDED a break. In the final weeks before moving to Los Angeles, I spent time doing the things I love most. I road-tripped down Highway 1, hiked through the Sierra Nevada mountains, baked cookies with my mom, and stayed up until dawn reading my favorite novel. Now, with about a month of law school under my belt, and with little time to do the things I enjoy, I’m very grateful for those relaxing moments I experienced this summer.