Orienting Myself

This is it!! Today was my first day of Orientation!!  I am writing a little out of order here since I still haven't completed my super interesting, page scrolling saga of what has gone into the law school process leading up to this point, but I want to express every last awesome detail of what went into my first day while I have it fresh on my mind.

So far this week, I have taken care of all the bland things that go into getting ready for a new semester.  I paid about $800 to get the books I needed (for a few months, good lord), got my parking pass, meningitis shot, student ID photo, etc.  I read the book that was required previous to orientation (that's right, assignments are due before you officially begin classes) and did all the necessary exercises.  I also went shopping with the intention buy grown-up clothes (I have had to wear black at my job for the last two years and I don't think pajama bottoms and AC/DC shirts are in style at law school), but I walked away with about $200 worth of body products and some Nike Plus shoes...pretty productive, I'd say.  I even cut my hair, which is a HUGE deal to this lady since I haven't done so in over a year (don't judge).

For the entire summer as well as this last week, I have been cool as a cucumber.  I was confident in my abilities and I was ready for whatever school had to throw at me.  This morning was a completely different story.  I got my full 8 hours of sleep and woke up to do the normal routine, but there was a rock in my stomach.  I had this terrible feeling that the LARW (Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing) class that I would be attending at orientation would be facilitated by the devil himself.  I didn't like the first three outfits I put on, they made me seem to casual, too pretentious, too Elle Woods.  I just couldn't get it together.  The morning routine which usually takes me about 30 minutes took me over an hour, putting me behind schedule.  Finally, I found something that would do and my face looked less like the beast and more like Beauty.  I was as ready as I would ever be.  Since I dabbled in Sephora products instead of over the stove, I grabbed some junk out of the fridge, poured lukewarm coffee into my travel mug, and headed out.

I arrived almost 30 minutes early and thought I would beat all the other chumps, but I headed to the back of the line behind 50 other people.  I signed in and headed into the lecture hall, where I was met with a pool full of people who apparently knew at least one other person in the crowd. I sat by myself near the front.  I opened up the folder that was given at sign in, and on a flourescent sheet of paper in the inside pocket was a notice that there was a serial rapist on the loose whose victims were literally on the corner next to the law school.  He targets caucasian females.  Excellent start. I managed some small talk with the people around me, then sat in anticipation of the first speaker. Though I conisder myself an extremely social person, I am not the type to introduce myself to total strangers in such a large crowd.  It's awkward and I probably won't remember their names anyhow.

First speaker was up, exactly on time down to the second.  I learned later that day that the ABA (American Bar Association) has requirements set out by minutes of courses, not hours, so most people in the profession are extremely time conscious, not beginning or concluding a minute early or late.  Our speaker was the Dean of Student Affairs, who welcomed us and explained the importance of checking emails and alerts sent out by the school.  After a little small talk, we broke out into our sections to attend the first class.

I found room 107 and sat in the front row (yep, I'm one of those).  As people started filing in, I spotted him -  a guy I completed undergrad with who was also part of Greek Life.  Ok, so maybe we weren't super close but I'm sure we had played each other in beer pong at least once in the past.  After several awkward minutes of small talk amongst ourselves and with our professor (awkward because of the long pauses and blank smiling faces we all had), we broke up into groups of 4.  Our professor had us write an anonymous note about who inspired us to enter the legal field and then had a little ice breaker game between the groups of 4.  Though these are generally lame, these are the students who I will be taking most of my classes with and also the ones whom I will have my advising hour with. I need to learn as much about them as I can, make friends, and decide who is worth studying with and who isn't.  The other students are varied, from different places in the world, different ages, and different backgrounds. Some of them were married, some had been in their careers for 10 or more years, and some, like me, had always set out to be lawyers. I suppose this is also a good time to mention that wearing bright yellow pants, torn up jeans, or multiple gold chains is not the best idea when you're going into your first day of anything.  I'm all about expressing yourself, but save it for the '80's dive bar.  Sigh.  We watched a film clip that introduced the Socratic method, then our professor began to employ it.  We dove into the exercises as a group, and the class concluded.  It was not worth the fuss I had made over it.  Everyone was nervous, just like me.  Everyone gave a wrong answer, just like me. Our professor anticipated that and didn't strike us down nor call us idiots.  She was kind and patient, but made it clear that studying and being prepared was not an option.

Ready for school bitches!

For anyone considering law school, I can tell you just from this hour and a half experience, it is not a place where you can swallow a chapter and regurgitate the facts for an A.  You will be challenged.  You will be asked questions that are not in the book.  You will be called on by surprise and you had better know your shit. If you don't, the professor will not simply move on to the next student, he will continue to ask you until you are embarassed and flustered, and probably make you find the right answer right there in front of everyone.  If this terrifies you, change or consider other paths.  That being said, I am so ready.

After the class, we filed back into the lecture hall.  We were given a lesson on case briefing and then we were introduced to our TA's for the semester.  There are 2L or 3L students (this is the lingo for the year of law school you are in, 1L being first year, etc.).  We meet with them once a week for tutoring and general guidance.  After a few closing comments, we were free for the day.

I left feeling accomplished.  I was finally where I wanted to be for my entire life.  My classmates are cool and just as scared as I am.  During one of the speeches, the professor mentioned that we are now part of the club; over 20 presidents, most judges, political activists, Supreme Court judges, and several other notable people had been in the exact position we were in at least once in their lives.  It could have been the excessive caffeine or my body trying to speed up menopause, but I got a little glossy-eyed.  This is it.  My life is changed from this moment forward.