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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Is Law School Stressing You Out?

Ask yourself, "Why am I in law school?"

If you answered, "I don't know," then you have a big problem.

Going to law school is not easy. It's like a jealous mistress/paramour and you will need to invest your time reading books and analyzing cases for you to succeed. No matter how bad our mood is, we can't escape studying. No matter how sleepy we are, we can't stop reading. And for the working students, no matter how busy and stressed we are at work, we can't skip our night classes.

If you're still on your first year of law school, you might need to adjust to the new environment: new school, new classmates, and new professors. Sometimes, students have graduated 5, 10, even 20 years ago and found themselves enrolled again for a law degree. Students might think that their professors are their biggest opponents in law school for assigning hundreds of cases and daily recitations but believe me, your attitude is your biggest opponent in law school.

If you think that you will stop reading once you become a lawyer, you're wrong. Each case is different and you need to study to prepare for trial. Even your daily recitations would help you build your confidence for those times when you will be required to talk in court. You might say that it would only be applicable for litigators to talk in court but then again, you're wrong. As a lawyer, you might be required to appear in court not as counsel but as a witness. Do you know that even witnesses have courtroom jitters? 

So now, if you think that law school is stressing you out, think again. The level of stress that you're facing as a student will multiply a dozen times once you become a lawyer. So take things easy, relax, and manage your time well. Organize your priorities in life. If you've read this article through a facebook link, then you really have to minimize social networking for now. You might have to limit your online presence if it compromises the quality time that you should have been spending reading your books.

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