Finals week arrived. It was inevitable.
I’m not quite sure where the time went. Can you believe it’s been a year? This 1L is nearly finished. And, well, I don’t know about you – but I am exhausted.
I completely understand how tired you are. Tired of reading, writing, and thinking. I get it. Your classmates get it.
Trust me.
Everyone feels like a squished lemon, completely out of juice.
So let me tell you a secret. You have a bit left in the reserve tank, kid.
Need some motivation? Here’s a little Pep Talk:
Advice to keep you on the right track:
Set up your study schedule. Let your friends and family in on it – so they DON’T bother you during those time frames.
Order in, or meal prep. You don’t want the hassle of cooking and cleaning, and getting distracted by Pinterest recipes.
Settle into a good study spot. Find your little corner of the world with great lighting, perfect ambiance, and enough desk space for several snacks, books, and your laptop.
HYDRATE! Make sure to have some water or some darn good sweet tea (you know, Texas’ drink of choice).
You’ve got finals in the bag.
Keep Studying, loves.
Last month, the ABA sponsored a Mental Health Day.
At UNT Dallas College of Law, the faculty and staff made a HUGE effort to focus on the importance of total-body wellness; Camp Gladiator visited and signed us up for CAMP!
I was super honest up front and told the trainer that unless the Beau could come, there was just no way this derriere would find its way to an outdoor gym.
Thinking the trainer would just give up and move on to the next law student dreaming of getting a work out in, she sucker punched me with – “Oh, your sweetie can tag along. We’ll give him 4 free weeks of CAMP too!”
Well, damn. Now there’s motivation to go. Because, it’s free. And…did I mention we’re going to a beach wedding in JUNE?! Yeah – my current shape is ROUND. All I have are excuses: clerkship, internship, class, extra-curricular meetings, walking the dogs, feeding myself, remembering to shower…
There’s no set reason for not being in better shape except that I start and don’t ever finish. I get through a week of working out, feel completely sore and just overall pissed off about eating carrots instead of chips, and decide to give myself a break.
The boys don’t help, either; when I make a super healthy meal, this is pretty much their reaction:
I basically have to trick them into thinking they are eating an unhealthy dish. That’s virtually impossible without adding butter or — you know — flavor! Which means I can put together a great meal, but then they’ll inevitably want fried flautas or chicken wings for dinner the following day. It’s a vicious cycle. A deliciously vicious cycle.
Now that I have an actual goal, and will be in wedding photos, I’ve got NO CHOICE but to work out. A big ol’ THANKS to CG for making my soreness a reality. I’m thanking you now, because I’m pretty sure I’ll be cursing your name tomorrow.
We’re signed up for a 5:30AM class. UGH!!?!?!
Which means I’m prepping our breakfast, lunch, and snacks for tomorrow because I’ve been promised by other CG campers that my arms will likely be limp noodles.
But hey – I’ll be able to see my abs again soon — that’ll be nice. 😛
Usually, I meal prep on Sunday. However, I was quite disenchanted with the mere thought of cooking then, and the kitchen passion didn’t quite hit me Tuesday, or today either, hence – I continued to procrastinate. [law school daze, right]
Put if off until tomorrow…I was happy with this decision.
Until I opened the fridge in the morning to pack my lunch and realized – I didn’t have lunch! Well, damn. Joke’s on me.
What was I expecting?
With assignments, study groups, reading, and trying to have a semblance of a social life (let’s face it – this one is definitely on the back burner right now) – time quickly passes. I chose to be law school lazy. My couch called my name, the dogs begged for tummy rubs, and I simply refused to cook.
Here I am, Wednesday evening, running on a cup of coffee, a bagel, and a pack of plain m&ms…the tummy grumblings arrived.
You know all too well how difficult it is to study on an empty stomach.
Sometimes it’s easier to pick up a meal on the way home; that option (for three adults) racks up a pretty penny, and fast!
Most weeks, I meal prep. Our pantry is stocked with everyday basics: rice, beans, pasta, risotto, polenta, cereal, Triscuit, bread, tuna….the list goes on with pretty much any canned or dried good you can imagine (even baby corn – yep, I make sure we have it in case a stir-fry craving hits)! But Finals are upon us – which means I’m in study mode and too nervous/busy/panicked/tired to spend that much time in the kitchen (aside from sress baking, of course)!
Thank goodness for meal prep services!
Last week, we opted to give FRESHLY a try!
We got to pick 12 meals, FRESHLY cooked and pre-packaged them, then delivered them directly to our front door.
Is this unbelievably convenient? YES.
Will we splurge on this every week? Likely, no.
However if the meals are good – then we can order them for busy weeks!
Tonight we tried two of the meals: [Jerk Chicken] & [Southwest Chipotle Bowl]
Pros: The food was not disgusting. I’ll be honest, I was terrified it was going to be awful. Then, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the plated meal. I was not over-the-moon about my meal option, but I’m glad I tried it.
Cons: The meals are drastically different in calorie count. :/ This was a major bummer. The meal I chose (Southwest Bowl) was 740 calories, while Angel’s Jerk Chicken meal came in at 500 calories. What. The. Heck?!
I ended up storing half my meal for lunch tomorrow, which means there’s a little bit of a “pro” in the “con.”
The mango salsa was a nice touchAdding Cilantro to a dish does not make it “Southwestern-style”Not a “pretty” dish, but still tasty.
Overall, this first round was not half-bad. I’m excited to try the rest of the meals we ordered. I truly appreciate the convenience of this delivery service, but I’m not completely sold on the flavors or the price. Further recon necessary.
THIS read made me realize how lucky I am. This semester has been grueling (more-so than last semester) for many reasons – but not one of those reasons stems from feeling alone. In fact, for my wonderful classmates who read this blog (and for those peers far and wide going through the same law school struggle) please know there are resources available for you. Talk to student services at your school. Reach out to TLAP, or the appropriate lawyer assistance program in your state. There is a support system waiting to help you – all you have to do, is call.
Law school is hard, breaks you down, and makes you question your life-plan. That’s right – it’s not just you! Everything is harder for you. Before law school, you were a great writer, logical thinker, skilled speaker. Then, the world crumbled beneath your feet and you probably feel like nothing you do is right.
Give law school your best effort. Your grades are important, sure, but they do NOT define you. The sum of your cumulative experiences matters more. Yes, you should strive to earn high marks, but sacrificing your health is not an option.
Just know – you are better than you give yourself credit for! We all feel shaken, battered, and a little worse for wear. You are not alone.
I cannot speak directly for my campus, but I can say they have provided multiple opportunities for us to reach out to them. Our professors and campus staff have done a great job explaining how our Texas Bar resources apply to law students. They opened the channels for us to discuss good ways to deal with stress, rather than the stereotypical (and, quite frankly, more common) substance abuse methods used by attorneys and law students across the country.
I deal with stress in these healthy ways:
– Bake for my family and classmates
– Sing in the shower
– Run a mile (or two) while listening to music
– Work Out
– Dance It Out
– Scream into a pillow
Okay…maybe the last one is not the greatest, but it’s certainly not destructive. Sometimes a good ARGHHHHHHH does the body good.
Find something that works for you. Relaxing, cooking, dancing….anything that could help you relieve stress in a healthy way – find your stress relief.
If you need to talk to someone, PLEASE DO.
You’ve been chugging along, gobbling up every nugget of wisdom the professors have to offer. Everything is ok. You’re fine. Law school is finally feeling right and then – POW!
Your first oral argument comes bounding around the corner and you have no freaking clue what to do. This is the point where you realize one of two things: 1) Well damn. I don’t like to speak to crowds and this is going to suck; or 2) I’ve totally got this and I’m confident, so I really don’t need to prepare – right?
You’re wrong in both scenarios.
If you’re in the first group, then you need to give yourself more credit. You were accepted to LAW SCHOOL. You MADE IT THROUGHyour first semester.
This oral argument is going to be another feather in your cap of amaze-balls. Don’t think it’s going to defeat you or break your spirit. The point of the exercise is to give you a little taste of how it feels to be a zealous advocate. You need to feel the rush of what it is to be a competent attorney, otherwise, your efforts to earn high grades in class fail to relate to the real world.
Trust me when I say this: If you can speak and write eloquently, you will have a much easier time winning a Judge over.
Now, if you’re in the 2nd group, listen here, child. Bottle up that confidence and store it away for the actual argument. You need to strut your stuff to impress the Judges, but if all you have is confidence – it’s not going to get you far. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you can get by with a few quick glances to the case facts and a few briefs of the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Do not be the one caught unprepared!
Your argument should be mostly drafted by the time you get here. Why? This is because you will likely have been asked to draft either a motion for summary judgment or an opposition to an MSJ (or other Motion brought in front of the Court).
Set up your argument! Write like the wind, and be FIERCE. You’ll want to practice your argument multiple times before the real deal. Feel free to use your family members, or even pets, as an audience. [If you were told not to collaborate with ANYONE – follow directions!]
True, but we love it.
Now, you’re going to set up your already written argument! Get your notecards and give them titles. I needed to create arguments for each of 3 elements, as well as have an introduction and a roadmap (to let the Court know where I plan on taking them).
So, extra? No – soooo prepared!
Use the tape and flags to organize your argument and keep everything in place. On the front of your cards, include what you want to say. Only tape the TOP of each notecard, so you can flip it over when you’ve made your point. BONUS – Write the case names and facts you need to have on hand (on the back of the notecard where your point is), in case a Judge asks you for them!
Notice, I also used the extra space on my folder to write key points and notes to myself. They’re in smaller chunks, so that I can catch them easily when I glance down.
Remember – DO NOT read directly off your notecards.
I prefer to write my entire argument down because it’s basically a security blanket!
By reciting it often, the argument morphs into information that is easier to remember and feels much more natural discussing out loud. Ideally, your argument should not sound as if it is coming from a robot – you need to add flair and passion to your style!
I rarely get to post recipes anymore. This cheesesteak post was a long time coming, too. I made these for the Beau and his besties for boys night a while back. They gave rave reviews and demanded I make them again soon.
These Philly cheesesteaks are so easy to MAKE!
They’ll taste like they took forever, but you’ll have them on the table in under 45 minutes.
Truly, the majority of the time goes into the fact that this recipe makes 2 entire 8×11 pans worth of buttery goodness.
What You’ll Need: 3 lbs. of shaved rib-eye (ask the butcher to shave it, this way you cut down your prep time)
3 large green bell peppers (slice, about 1/4″ thick)
2 medium-sized onions (thin slices)
1lb. of Provolone Cheese
2 packages of Hawaiian Rolls (slice horizontally to separate tops and bottoms)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 stick of butter, halved.
1 T of Olive Oil
Alright. Prepare yourself.
The Cooking Part:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Add the oil and half 1/3 of the butter stick to a large pan
Add the shaved rib-eye to the pan + the salt and pepper (I add about 1T of each)
Brown the rib-eye, then remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl; KEEP the pan drippings in the pan though!
Add onions and bell peppers into the pan that has the drippings, sauté until soft
Place the bottom halves of the Hawaiian bread into two separate baking pans
Melt the other 2/3 of the butter and brush a light coat onto the Hawaiian bottoms
Lay down a layer of provolone cheese on top of the brushed Hawaiian bread
Add a layer of the ribeye, distribute evenly
Distribute the onions and bell peppers evenly over both pans (make sure to include the drippings!)
Add another layer of Provolone cheese.
Place the tops of the Hawaiian buns over the glorious feast you’ve already assembled
Brush some more butter over the tops
Pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until tops a crunchy golden brown
Yes, you can swoon over me….and the amazingness you are about to devour!
My grandmother didn’t appreciate my answer when she asked what I would be giving up for Lent.
“My social life.”
I’m pretty sure she was thinking:
The sunburn I got from her glare was almost enough to shrink a bit. Maybe before law school I would have. Maybe.
By this point in the semester, you’d think I was comfortable with learning to ignore family and friends in order to make the grade. Constantly running away from family functions, friend hangouts, and bookstores is the worst bit of law school. Before law school, I hosted friends at our home nearly every weekend. The beau and I enjoyed galavanting around the city, trying new restaurants and exploring Dallas every chance we got.
A few weeks into my 1L however, those experiences faded away. I knew it would happen, my professors said it would happen, but I had no idea how angry my support system would get. Truthfully, I thought they would understand .
It should come as no surprise that being ignored feels bad. Funnily enough, most law students (including myself) don’t realize that our reading for class makes you feel ignored. The fact is – for me, at least – I am doing everything I can to keep my own life in balance.
This week alone is jam-packed with assignments, work, presentations, and a butt-load of reading for class. Now, with the few minutes of free time I was enjoying, I will be working out in order to win my FIT BET. [It’s a competition…so, I plan to crush it!]
But some of my favorite people in the world feel ignored. What can I do?
Not a damn thing.
“This is your time to be selfish.” – UNTDCOL Professor said this to my class during Fundamentals week. It sounds harsh, I know, but those words are what I cling to when someone tries to guilt-trip me into going out for a drink or just lunch.
When your friends and family ask you why you’re “ignoring them” please feel free to say this:
I wish I could be more lax sometimes, but the reality is that I am working toward earning a degree and I need to bust my butt to earn the grades to accomplish my dream of becoming an attorney.
It’s my job to excel in class and work (clerkship + internship this semester). This is my career. Which begs the question – do I sidetrack you in your career? I don’t think so. But maybe I should drop by your house unexpectedly, or call and yell at you for forgetting to send you a birthday card, or invite you to dinner and then text you ten minutes before the meal to say I can’t make it.
[The advice I have for my wonderful family and friends is] – learn to deal with me not being around all the time. I miss you too. I miss being able to just jump in your car and head out on an adventure. I miss impromptu travel plans, late nights laughing and early work days. I miss movie nights and wine nights. I miss it all. I miss you.
But right nowit’s about me. Not you. I have goals and dreams and hopes for my career. Right now I need you to be strong, for me, because sometimes my want to push an assignment aside outweighs my want to actually complete it. Sometimes, I find myself wondering if law school is worth the struggle. And if you find me in a weak moment, I need your help to drag me back to my desk and tell me to get to work.
I need your support, but if you feel like my attending law school is too much for you to handle – then maybe this is where our paths diverge. I plan on becoming an attorney and I wish you all the best.
Succeeding in law school is all about balancing your life. Do what makes you happy, but make sure not to let anyone mess with that happiness.
I’m channeling Jen Lancaster here. Because I’m such a fan…and I think she gets me.
Fo’ real.
Weighing in at 174ish and trying to be healthier is tough. The things I like to eat are actually pretty healthy, like broccoli and pasta and chicken…but then I add butter and make a white wine sauce and the entire meal is delicious now like 1000 calories per serving. Which, I’m told, is not entirely good for me either. Life can’t be perfect, right?
Well, what if getting into shape didn’t have to be so damn hard? Or, at least, could be fun?
As a law student, you should just assume I’m competitive. You’d sure as hell be right, too! So you can only imagine how giddy I got when my Aunt bet money that she could lose more weight than I could in the next month. Challenge. Accepted.
I decided to kick off Spring with a DIET BET! It’s a weight loss challenge where the winner gets some monies. Losers are hopefully not as fluffy as before.
This is going to be a great painful way to engage my muscles because, let me be clear, if studying made me ripped – I’d have rock hard abs by now. Alas, briefing cases only makes me smarter. Annnnd, since I haven’t gone to the gym more than 5 times this year, I’m basically a lumpy meat package.
My hope is that the $20,000+ pot (seriously, it’s a huge sum of money) will be part mine by the end of 28 days. I just have to lose 4% (or roughly 7 lbs) of my body weight in 28 days. Don’t you dare doubt me just yet. I can totally do this. It will be interesting to see how following an actual diet (consuming roughly 1300 calories per day), limiting my sugar and coffee intake, and working out will affect my performance in law school. This may be the worst funniest idea I have all year…
Coffee plays quite a [venti] role in my life. My morning routine includes at least one cup every morning…depending on which class I have first, if I’m being real honest. I grew up in a household kick-started by a little cafecito, which means even a whiff of good java makes my day happier.
This morning was a particularly great start. I crossed off several action items and snuck some good study time in before the beau and our two pups woke up. The three of them tend to sleep in which – with me in the house – doesn’t tend to happen often. What can I say? I’m a bit of an early riser and I can be reaaaaally annoying. Or, so I’m told.
To kick-off a great day of studying and meal prep – I am giving away a $20 Starbucks gift card! WOO!
Make sure you post your picture by 11:59pm CST on Sunday, March 19th! (Of this year [2017], in case you thought you’d try to out-lawyer me).
The Rules: 1. Using Twitter or Facebook, tag @cerebellumchef; AND 2. Post a picture of either your (Study Space) or (one of your latest meals)
I’ll select ONE winner at random and DM you the gift card! Simple as that!
Sometimes my study is neat and orderly, other times it’s as if my hair is on fire. That’s just the life of a #1L student. <3 I’m sure you’re used to it by now.
You have less than 2 months of classes left. I only have 6 weeks of class left. Did you hear me?
Less than 2 months. That’s it.This is Defcon 2, y’all. [Fast Pace] You are either thrilled, or practically in a full-blown panic. Halfway through the semester, running low on brain space, trying to keep studying…but you’re also losing steam. Right?
No need to hide it. I am exhausted.
Let’s be real – there’s only so much coffee a girl can drink. Which got me thinking…aside from living on Starbucks and Hope, what’s my plan to get the the finish line?
I’m going to share it with you.
This is not the time to mope about your midterm grades or – on the flip side – get too comfortable with them. You’ve still got 50% or more on the line with your upcoming finals. You’ve got to focus! You can still make the grade you want, but it’s going to take some effort.
Make a STUDY SCHEDULE!
People, we’ve talked about this. In your second semester of law school – you should have some sort of schedule! Task lists, time frames…create your own way of getting stuff done, but DO IT!
Search for [and apply to] Scholarships
Ok, if you’re just drowning in money and have no cares in the world – feel free to skip this one (or send some cash my way, I’ll put it to good use. 😀 ). But if you, like myself, need some assistance with tuition, then look for scholarships! Make sure you’ve got an updated resume and cover letter.
This is the fun part, where you get to make yourself look damn good. Brag about yourself, but not too much. It’s a fine line…and I’ll be sure to post some tips on this soon.
Apply to Externships/Summer Internships
Summer plans are important. Some students choose to take a break from the struggle of sleepless nights and the constant flurry of assignments, but not this girl! I will be working for either an attorney or a judge this summer.
If you haven’t already applied to JIOP or spoken to your local DA’s office, then take advantage of reaching out to other attorneys in your hometown (or somewhere else, if you can swing the living expenses).
Be prepared to take on an unpaid internship as well. Sometimes a great opportunity may call to you, but the funds just aren’t there. Keep an open mind. It may be the perfect learning experience.
Complete your Readings & Case Briefs
Do not get lazy!
You still need to put in maximum effort to end up with the grade you want (or need, if you bombed a midterm).
Getting your assignments done is half the battle, but it’s also the “low-hanging fruit.” Make sure to get the cases read and briefed because you will have an easier time applying the law on your FINALS!
Keep Your Goal in Sight
The semester is winding down, but you still have bundles of work to do. Law school is only 3 years (4 if you’re a trooper working through a full time job and evening classes – props to you!) The time goes by fast, so this trivial bit of stress will be a funny story to tell to the law students you mentor once you have a bar card.
You only have to do this for a little while. Chin up, love. You’ve got this!
