Elizabeth Williams is a first-year student at Loyola Law School focused on exploring the intersection of law and the entertainment industry.
Everything about exams is long. The hours spent actually taking them. The weeks devoted to studying. And perhaps worst of all, the wait for grades. In college, exams were packed in a single week. There was only five days of immense stress followed by the relief of heading home. Law school is different. Exam stress stretches over a full four weeks, not including the additional weeks spent trying (and failing) to push the thought of my grades away.
The week before returning to campus feels like knowing a massive wave is coming, you just don’t know whether you’ll dive beneath it or get knocked to the shore. It’s the classic impending doom of grades being released. Before exams, professors reminded us not to let our grades define us, but that’s far easier said than done. What felt even stranger was the expectation that after being knocked down by that wave, you’re supposed to be excited about jumping right back into the water. I hadn’t opened a textbook in weeks (they had collected dust!), and on top of schoolwork, I was expected to apply to summer jobs. Re-entering all of that at once felt daunting.
A few days before the second semester began, I went on a walk around Los Angeles to reconnect with my “why.” Why did I decide to take the LSAT? How did it feel when I got my acceptance letter? Who am I doing this for? Reflecting on those questions helped me gain perspective beyond the letter grades I received and allowed me to rediscover joy in returning to campus.
The truth is, I love to learn, and I love my school. I came to law school to learn the law and pursue a fulfilling career. Loyola is a community where I’ve always felt supported, and that reassurance carried me into the new semester. I know the resources are there for me to grow, improve, and feel more confident. I’m ready to begin again.