Learning and gaining new experiences
About three months have passed since the fall semester of 2L begun and I still feel like a 1L. LOL
This year is different in a lot of ways but the biggest difference is everyone independently has a lot going on. For myself, I’m typically on campus Monday and Wednesday, with three classes each day: Con Law, Ethical Lawyering, and Business Associations. On Thursday, I have a clinic meeting from 9 AM to 12 PM. The clinic itself requires about 10 hours of work, aside from the 3 hour Thursday meeting. This particular schedule keeps me very busy throughout the week, including weekends. However, after 1L year I learned that neglecting self-care and time away from work is not the way to be a successful law student. Neglecting yourself will lead to burn out which will then take away from your law school experience. So, during a typical day of this semester, I leave to school at 12 PM, Monday and Wednesday and stay on campus until 10:10 PM. I have a three-hour gap somewhere in between, so I try to use that time to read, study, and have lunch. The remainder of the week, I run personal errands, prepare for my classes, work on my clinic’s clients’ cases, and REST. Thankfully, my current schedule has allowed me to continue painting, which is my hobby. A painting can take me anywhere from 2-6 hours or more, so I have to block out specific periods of time to create a balance between my schoolwork and my hobbies.
Planning ahead has definitely helped keep this balance but I am human and not every week goes as planned… and that’s okay! Finding balance looks different for everyone, but if you’re like me and you need specific guidelines to do anything…definitely create a list of priorities for the semester and model your to-do lists after these priorities. In creating a list of priorities, do not forget that you and your wellbeing are also priorities. It’s all trial and error, really, but the most important thing is to keep going!
TOPICS: 2L, Campus Activities, Health & Wellbeing, JD Day, Student Life