In case you don’t already know – Law School is difficult. It’s an experience no one can understand until they’ve been through it. Yeah, you’ve heard that before – but it’s completely true. I feel that in order to get past the crappy parts, you need to pick a point in your near-future and focus on it like your entire life depends on getting there. If I break my concentration, letting other minutiae get in the way, then I not only derailed myself, but I get too lax with my thinking. It’s important to remember: the goal comes first.
The problem with that thought though? My goals are not wholly my own.
My entire being revolves around the existence of my other half. If I forget that he is part of my goals, then my anchor is missing. That just will not do.
Before beginning my legal education, I met with multiple professors (and Deans even) – all of whom said something about how relationships fail, in fact, “it’s expected!” Many of them had a horror story or two tell me about their own romances; each one left me more bummed than the last.
It didn’t help that we were required to read “1L of a Ride.”
No siree, that little gem only made me feel worse about beginning my legal education.
As midterms are fast approaching, I felt it prudent to dish out a few ways the Beau and I make our relationship work because, let’s face it – there will be no cooking, cleaning, organizing, or much talking from me for the next two weeks. Lord knows you’re going through this too, which means you may need to pass this to your significant other so they can get a glimpse of the madness that goes on in the mind of a law student. Or, you know, so they can see they’re not the only one being neglected…
- We work to make each other laugh. He’s an engineer and I’m in law school – which means that we have healthy debates about everything from furry socks to download internet policy law (seriously). But, in between the long talks and coffee runs, he makes me laugh! The deep down, belly-ache type of laughter that brings tears and snorts to my daily life. By comparison, he might catch me talking to the vegetables or dancing with chicken in the kitchen (yeah, I have some flair).
- Set time aside for the people you love. I plan my life around campus activities, meetings, classes, and study time – but there’s also brunch, coffee runs, and gym time! I’ve said this multiple times….ORGANIZE your LIFE!
Sure, adding calendar events may seem tedious, but having the reminders to work on assignments (or even to eat lunch) are crucial to acing your legal education. As an added bonus, your family will appreciate the time you make for them in your crazy-hectic law school soap-opera lifestyle.
- This last one is the most important. You need to remember that even though your end goal is to become a badass attorney, you also need to make time to build yourself up. It is necessary for you to carve a few minutes out of your week to do something that makes you insanely happy. My happy place? Anywhere, surrounded by books.
No, I don’t lurk around our law library (okay…sometimes). I enjoy walking around Half-Price books, Barnes and Noble, or even the local Dallas Public libraries. My heart feels happier when surrounded by the magical tales and giant encyclopedias.
You need to find your happy place. Make time to focus on yourself, for a few minutes a week. The reason this helps (your relationship and your studies) is because by focusing on what makes you happy – you are physically and emotionally re-centering your life. Balance is a key to any major endeavor; in law school, you need it in spades.
Now go out there and be amazing.
