Thursday, April 28, 2011

Law School Memories

I'm still reading Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde, but it's been pretty slow going - not because the book isn't fascinating, but because I don't start reading it until I fall into bed exhausted at the end of the day and I only get through a page or two before falling asleep, and having horrible stress dreams (like the one where I'm a waitress and I can't seem to get everything done - a pretty obvious metaphor for my life right now).

It's my final set of finals at law school, so, my literary life will have to be put on hold for awhile - and I suspect it will be quite awhile. After finals I get a 4-day weekend to spend with my family, including my in-laws, who are all coming down for my graduation. Then I'll immediately start studying for the California State Bar Exam which is in late July. So I predict that the only books I'll be reading this summer are these:


But as the end of law school draws near, I'm becoming more and more nostalgic. I've been posting one law school memory each day on Facebook, but I'd like to keep them in a more accessible place and so I'm going to put them here too. Sorry if this seems redundant to the 10 people who actually read my blog, but this is more of an organizational thing than a need to share my memories with even more people. I often think that I could never forget the sweet pain that is law school, but as I sat down to write a list of 21 memories, I found the details to be a little dim, so I'm glad I took the time to do this.

April 23, 2011: Three weeks from today I will be graduating from law school. I am feeling particularly nostalgic and I plan to spend the next three weeks posting a law school memory each day. Today's Memory: Getting law school acceptance letters, choosing a school and realizing that I was about to make a huge, life-changing decision. I knew it was big then, but I never could have guessed just how life-changing it would turn out to be.

April 24, 2011: Today's Law School Memory: Terrified at orientation, I gathered up every ounce of courage I could muster and sat at a table with a cool-looking girl named Lauren Cross. She instantly made me laugh and has become one of my best friends. Other orientation highlights: my "tacky" green purse (thanks Rio), free In and Out, getting lost on the campus tour and Professor Leary's mock class.

April 25, 2011: Since today was my last day there, Today's Law School Memory is: Working at Aitken Aitken Cohn. It was one of the highlights of my law school career. My coworkers and bosses were really kind, and I was given the freedom to learn, grow and to realy take responsibility for important cases. I will miss everyone!

April 26, 2011: Today's Memory: The Socratic Method. Being called on in class was terrifying - even when I knew the answer. It's not just the public speaking aspect and 45 pairs of eyes all on me (hoping I would mess up so they'd seem smarter). It was also my lack of confidence in my ability to get the answer. The cure: being forced to stand up and suffer through a Mark R. Matthews inquisition. Thanks for that!

April 27, 2011: Today's Memory: Studying abroad in Spain and France, Summer 2009 - it's a vague, ambiguous and overly broad statement, but the experience as a whole needs to be recognized. I went to London, Spain and France, met a lot of great people, saw a lot of great things, read about 25 books and lost 15 pounds. Greatest summer of my life.

April 28, 2011: Continuing with the study abroad theme, Today's Memory is seeing London for the first time. I bookended my summer with short London visits, and it was a dream come true. Highlights: sharing the tiniest hotel room ever with Brian Kruid and Teresa Stanford, my first authentic fish & chips, Hampton Court, The Tower of London, reading in Hyde Park and the coolest picture ever:



After posting the last memory, I was reminded of the time Brian and I stood on the sidewalk outside a pub at 4 a.m. "practicing" our British. We were (are?) obnoxious, drunk Americans, but it was also really funny - at least at the time.

4 comments:

  1. You mean your favorite summer ever wasn't the one after Army, when you tried to hide your back tattoo from Mom and Dad?

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  2. HAHAHA! No, that wasn't a fun summer, although I did enjoy having lunch with dad in the control room at the plant. Thanks for bringing up that embarrassing tidbit. While you're at it, why don't you give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it!

    I think in all actuality my favorite summer was the one where I invented the Alligator game.

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  3. P.S. the proper term is "tramp stamp."

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  4. heh, call me a good brother or whatever, but I guess I just didn't want to call you a tramp, nor belittle the pain you must have experienced to get it to merely a 'stamp'. Nonsensical as that must seem.

    The summer with the Alligator game was probably my favorite one too. I must have enjoyed it, or I'd have gone and done something else.

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