Something that is great about law school is that you take a lot of different classes, especially as a 1L. You take the basics: Criminal Law, Torts Law, Property Law, Contract Law, and more. You get a little taste of almost every basic area of the law, and that allows you to get an idea of what really interests you going forward. For me, Criminal Law and Torts Law really stood out. Property and Contracts, not so much. So, I knew the two areas I wanted to explore further.

It is the same way for networking around campus: there is a club representing almost every area of law. They bring practicing attorneys onto campus and have them give lectures, so you start to get an even better idea of what people in that field do. You also get the chance to meet and network with those people, which is even more invaluable. So many people I know have gotten interviews or even mentors in this way or just because of a lecture they attended on campus.

Before starting law school, I heard about how cut-throat all of my peers would be. I was told so many horror stories about students giving each other the wrong answers on purpose and how people were so competitive that they would do literally anything to get ahead (I literally mean anything). I have asked a couple of my friends and they’ve all said they also heard several terrible stories before coming to law school.

Luckily, I am here to tell you that this is purely a myth at Loyola. When someone gets cold-called in class and clearly does not know the answer, people are there to help them out with a whispered hint. Someone is always around to answer questions (correctly, I might add) and people are always willing to study together and bounce ideas off each other. I just had my first midterm on Monday and when it was finished, there was collective relief that we had survived and joy that we had all made it through the first half of Property Law. We are competing for grades (the classes are curved and people who want to be lawyers generally like to win), but no one is out to get you or ruin your chances. If we all succeed, Loyola succeeds, and if Loyola succeeds, our degrees continue to help us get jobs (which is really the goal).

So do not worry if you have heard stories about people removing library materials or one of the many cut-throat law school rumors. People are far more focused on bettering themselves rather than tearing others down. It is a lot easier to get ahead by studying than by becoming a master saboteur!

The phrase “So tell me a little bit about yourself” has always given me minor heart palpitations. What kind of personality do I have? Are those actually my interests? What have I even accomplished? I live with myself 24 hours a day, yet get thrown into a panic as if I don’t even know my last name (did you read that as Carrie Underwood?). So, although I’ll have second-guessed this introduction of myself 32 times by the time I am finished writing, I will try my best to “tell you a little bit about myself” without giving up.

I graduated in December of 2016 from my undergraduate university with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in English and History (anything scientific gives me more heart palpitations than introductions, so just know you are my inspiration if you are surviving or have survived a B.S.) and was heavily involved in my sorority. While an undergraduate, I completed a legislative internship in a Congressional office in D.C., which, although an amazing experience, showed me that a career path in politics was not completely for me. After I graduated, I worked for the public school district in my hometown of Elk Grove, CA for the 8 months before law school started.

Although I have a background in both education and politics, as a law student I have found that I am most interested in Consumer Law. This may change (I am only a 1L), but I do believe that I will ultimately end up in the field of litigation even though my Criminal Law class is incredibly compelling. Something I have already realized about law school is that even if you are focused on one area of law, all of the areas are so engaging and expansive that it is hard not to be interested in all of the fields.

On the non-legal side of my life (which still exists, though barely), I enjoy spending my time reading, watching television, clothes shopping, and trying new foods. All of those interests seem so unoriginal, I wish I could tell you that I am a certified sky-diver, but I’ll give an accurate representation of myself. I cannot survive without 2-4 cups of coffee a day, I hate caramel, I will not choose between being a cat-person or a dog-person, and I highly recommend naps.

Most importantly, I am so excited that I will have the opportunity to share little pieces of my life here! I think that it is incredibly important to know what you are getting yourself into when you commit to law school, so I will try my best to accurately illuminate the details of law school life over the next year.