Hopes to make a difference in her community and be an advocate for those in need
In three weeks, I’ll be halfway done with law school. Even typing that out doesn’t make it feel real. As cliché as it sounds, time really has flown by. Now that this semester is almost done, I thought I’d share a bit of what a day in my life looks like.
Usually, my mornings are used to work on client work for the Juvenile Justice Clinic. This is when I’ll schedule court hearings, meetings with my clients, or work on motions, looking through discovery, or anything I need to do for my cases. Having this time blocked off for the entire semester is super important because you never know when you’re going to have an emergency visit or court hearing.
Around noon, I always try to take a break for myself to eat lunch, recharge, and break up my workday. This portion of the day is so important for me to be able to separate my clinic work from my classwork.
In the afternoon, I am either in class or working on doing readings for the next class day. If I need to, I’ll also review the material for my evening classes so I’ll be prepared if I get cold called. I also take a few minutes in the afternoon to call my family. They live in Texas, so with the time change and how busy I am it’s hard to find a time to talk to them. We’ve found that late afternoon when they’re getting off work and I’m getting ready to head to class is best. Talking to them is so important to me, so I try to set aside any time I can to FaceTime them.
Then, I have class every evening. I won’t lie, evening classes can be kind of draining, especially after working all day. But this is the best time to schedule classes because the courthouses are closed, so I am usually able to just focus on class instead of client work.
After class, I try to not to any class or clinic work. During this time, I’ll read a book, play a video game, or do self-care. No matter what I’m doing, I try to keep my mind off work. In law school, setting aside time to relax and do something that is not work related is so important for my physical and mental health.
Overall, my days are long and filled with a lot of work. And I’ll be honest, that was super scary to me at first. But I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was in high school, and now I am so close to accomplishing that goal, so the work is completely, 100% worth it.
TOPICS: 2L, Clinics, Exams & Finals, JD Day, Student Life