Lia is a second-year student at Loyola Law School with a strong passion for civil litigation.
When people ask how my exams went, the most honest answer is complicated. Law school exams are never just about how much you studied. They are about endurance, strategy, and managing pressure in a way I had never experienced before. This round of exams felt slightly different though. Not easier, but more familiar. I understood the rhythm of exam season better. I knew when to push and when to step back. That alone felt like progress.
My last exam was Evidence, and the very next day I was back at work. While winter break is often described as a time to fully unplug, returning to work was actually something I was looking forward to. Being back in a professional environment reminded me why I chose this path in the first place. I enjoy learning from the attorneys I work with, seeing how the law operates outside the classroom, and continuing to grow through hands on experience. In many ways, going back to work felt grounding rather than exhausting.
Being 1.5 years into law school feels like standing at a strange midpoint. I am no longer new, but I am far from done. Law school has changed me in ways I did not fully expect. For the better, it has sharpened how I think. I am more confident in my ability to analyze complex problems and advocate for a position, even when the answer is unclear. I trust myself more under pressure. I also understand my limits better and have learned that asking for help is not weakness, it is strategy.
At the same time, law school can be consuming. It has a way of turning everything into an internal critique. It can make productivity feel like self worth and make rest feel undeserved. I have had to become more intentional about separating who I am from how I perform on an exam or in a single class.
Balancing school with work has helped me keep perspective. It reminds me that law school is part of my journey, not the entirety of it. At this midpoint, I feel more resilient, more self aware, and more certain that I am capable of handling challenge and growth at the same time.
Law school is not just teaching me how to be a lawyer. It is teaching me how to show up consistently, learn from the people around me, and keep moving forward even when things feel demanding. At 1.5 years in, that lesson feels just as important as anything I have learned from a casebook.
TOPICS: 2L