So did the summer break fly by for anyone else? It feels like I just took my summer final exams yesterday. I guess since the break was only 3 weeks...it really wasn't that long, but it went by FAST!
The Fall semester starts on Monday and I will be taking Remedies, Constitutional Law II, and Constitutional Criminal Procedure. 2 of those courses will be with professors that I have had in the past so I have some idea of what the semester will be like with them, however my Remedies course will be slightly different as we will have four 2-hour zoom sessions as well as the 2 residencies during the semester. Normally, we only have the pre-recorded lectures along with the 2 residencies, so I am hoping that the additional 4 sessions will help things go smoothly and not be as stressful as I feel it could be. As a side note...I am a little worried about Constitutional Criminal Procedure, because the Professor and I don't seem to mesh well on teaching styles...but we shall see what happens! LOL 🤣
In my previous post I discussed a very short list of things I wanted to do during break, and I am proud to say that I knocked a few of those things off the list. We had a beach day at a cute little beach near in Ventura County. It was hazy, but I still got a major sunburn and the boys tired themselves out playing in the water and throwing the football around on the beach. 🌴
G.R.A.D.E.S ➡️ Hear me out... I think that talking about grades is kind of like talking about money, it is something that you probably shouldn't do. However, when I started this blog I knew that I wanted to be transparent in this journey and include not only my highlight reel but also those trips on the struggle bus. The summer 2023 semester was a long semester of struggles...almost one after the other it seemed. As I mentioned before, I almost immediately felt lost and behind in Evidence, which was the class I was looking forward to the most as I am VERY interested in criminal law (specifically defense work). I can honestly say that I started off feeling lost and I ended the semester feeling lost. It wasn't until a few weeks before finals when I stopped doing the "stuff" on the syllabus and started off on my own study path that I began to grasp the material to some degree.
Constitutional Law was another course that I struggled with but I can't really say why. The material was dense, but most of the things that we went over in class was not really testable, if that makes sense. I feel like we learned about a lot of things that we will never see on an exam and the sheer amount of information was a little overwhelming...but I survived. I am looking forward to my 2nd semester of Con Law when we get into the more interesting topics such as freedom of speech, civil rights, etc.
Business Associations threw me for a loop all semester. I went in thinking it would be one of the easier classes, and while I did receive my highest grade of the semester in BA, it was a hard fought battle. All the different rules ----- RUPA, RULLCA, DLLCA, the MBCA...and don't even get me started on Delaware. It was all just confusing LOL. 🤦🏽♀️
Anyway... grades posted on Tuesday, a day earlier than I expected which caused a little panic (if we are being honest). I just knew I had until Thursday afternoon to continue to wait and wonder, and hope that I did well. So here is what I will say... I did not get a single "A" this semester LOL (duh)! I also didn't get an "D's" or anything below a "D". So what 2 letters does that leave? Because that is what I got LOL. Basically I did average. At first, I was a little bummed... I don't really know why because I knew the semester was rough, but at the same time I set very high expectations for myself to do well, and when I fall a little short I am very hard on myself. But at the same time, getting B's and C's is NOT a bad thing!! This is law school we are talking about and I do work a full-time job, I have 2 active kids, and then there is life outside of school and work which can take over sometimes, so I had to cancel the pity party for one and give myself a pep talk! ⤵️
I did my best! There was a point in time where I told myself I didn't care what grades I received as long as I didn't have to take the class over. At the end of the day we are often our own worst enemies, our biggest critics. We set unrealistic expectations for ourselves, psych ourselves out, and then feel bad and guilty for not doing as well as we expected. I mentioned in a post this week that we shouldn't be in competition with anyone but ourselves...but even that competition needs to be realistic/healthy. At the end of the day I passed all my classes, and I am one semester closer to graduating law school!!! Which sounds crazy to say, but I am making it happen...and so are YOU!
We can do hard things! No one said it would be easy, but it will be soooo worth it when we walk across that stage and it will be REALLY worth it when we receive those passing bar results...and get that first attorney job! The journey is tough but so are most things in life!
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk!
Moving on to the Fall Semester ➡️ what will I be doing differently (if anything)?
I feel like this past semester I went through the motions. I didn't start memorizing or making flashcards/Anki cards until the end of the term and I didn't faithfully use my supplements like I should have. This semester I am going to start early...like as in the first few weeks with getting my notes condensed down into outlines and working on those weekly so I don't fall behind and have to catch up at the end when I should just be studying. I am also going to try again with handwriting my notes and then typing my outlines...but we shall see what happens there. I type extremely fast so I find that I take dictation type notes which takes away from the learning process (for me), but I write very S L O W so it will be a balancing act because I don't want to waste hours of study time pausing lectures to handwrite simple notes...unless I find that taking the extra time is beneficial and I am retaining the information and then the time would be well spent...we shall see.
I am also going to spend more time at the library studying. I love being at home where I can interact with the boys, play with the cats, make a snack, do laundry, watch YouTube, do the dishes, clean up any random messes, take a walk, make breakfast/lunch/dinner...you see what happens??? I end up doing everything except studying. I think for the fall I will pick a day (either Saturday or Sunday), get up early and study while everyone is still asleep, and then dedicate at least 2-3 hours to doing work at the library where I am forced to focus without the distractions. I think creating these routines now will also be helpful when it comes to studying for the bar exam when we will be expected to spend 8-10 hours a day studying...without getting distracted (LOL).
I also plan on building time for self-care into my schedule. I did NOT do that enough during the summer semester. Whether it is taking a walk, going to the gym, a trip to the sauna, getting a wellness IV, or just a coffee date outside of the house, I am going to make time to do things that bring me joy and that does not involve work or studying. And maybe if I can stick to my study schedule I will not feel guilty for taking the time for myself because I will know that I have worked hard and deserve the "ME" time.
Eating right is also something I want to focus on this semester. During the summer months...I ate pretty much anything and everything. I was often times exhausted, bloated, downing way too much coffee which just gave me the jitters and frustrated. I also want to move more. I have debated about either getting another gym membership or getting a Peloton. I feel like either way, if I am going to spend the money I also have to dedicate the time to do the workouts and make the investment of not only my money but also my time into my health and getting back into shape.
I also really want to learn to say NO to things that do not bring me joy or value to my life...and to situations where I cannot make a positive difference. Have you ever been in a situation where you are expected to fill a role (think like a volunteer position), but your voice is never heard? You can't make positive changes because no one hears what you are trying to say...or, even worse, they don't care? I want to avoid those types of situations and get myself out of the ones I already find myself stuck in. Which might sound selfish on the outside looking in, but I assure it is far from that! If it isn't the job that pays me, I only want to volunteer my time to "things" where I can make a difference...even if that difference is just picking up trash or running a concession stand. I don't want to participate in foolishness (if that makes sense) LOL, so I am going to try to focus my energy on getting out of the positions I currently find myself in, and steering clear of future obligations where I can't either: (1) actually make a difference, or (2) I find myself doing things that I don't enjoy or am not passionate about. Why? Because life is too short to be miserable, and I am determined to not only graduate law school but pass the California bar exam next year...so I need to clear my plate! P.S. this applies to people as well! If you have someone in your life that is toxic and draining your positive energy...you can say "no" and "goodbye" to them too! 👍🏽
Well...that is all I have for now. If you are starting the Fall semester soon...GOOD LUCK!!! 🍀 You've got this! We've got this!!
I plan on keeping up the regular posting schedule...as I am sure I will need to take my mind off of studying and do something a little more relaxing, so make sure you are subscribed and follow me in Instagram, so we can cheer each other on and get through this semester together! ⚖️🖤
