Learning and gaining new experiences
The end of the semester is the perfect opportunity to not only reflect upon your performance on the immediate semester, but also the ones of years past. As a first-year student, when you are in the thick of things, and learning with a whole new set of style and demands, it can be hard to reflect. But looking back on my first-year experience, I am overall proud of the obstacles I overcame, but I do believe I could have done things differently. So, I would like to take this opportunity to pass on some advice to the incoming students and the 1L class. One of the greatest pieces of advice I would take as a 1L student is not to be afraid of practice too early. Many students are used to mastering the material first, but there’s a lot of benefit to early practice. Don’t be afraid to start working on practice problems and essays even before you are comfortable! Continued practice can solidify what you already know, and identify the weak spots early. It’s not about getting it perfect, but seeing the improvement over time. But the single best piece of advice I would give is to adopt a growth mindset. To put in concisely, the growth mindset takes our thinking from “I can’t do it” to “I can’t do it… yet”. Seeing struggles as an opportunity for improvement is pivotal to enduring the marathon of law school. It acknowledges that these struggles can be hard, but that they are not impossible. I encourage all students to look into the growth mindset in general, as it really can apply to any aspect of life. I wish all students going into finals the best of luck and happy holidays!
TOPICS: 1L, Exams & Finals, Health & Wellbeing, JD Day, Student Life