The Hurricane Known as "Year Two"

Famous law school adage: Year one, they scare you to death; year two, they work you to death; and year three, they bore you to death. I am blessed to be beginning year two and am well on my way to being worked to death, for sure.

It's hard to believe that this is the beginning of the third week of the semester. I have been busy with school and related activities every day for the past three weeks, including Saturdays and Sundays. Simply put, there just are not enough hours in the day. Last night I slept four hours; that was a blessing!

I will admit that some of my work is self-inflicted. For instance, I volunteered to work for Westlaw as the student representative. It only requires five to ten hours per week, and that commitment seemed inconsequential when I made it. Learning point: No commitment of time is inconsequential in law school.

I also have continued working as a Research Assistant for the law school professor. The work and hours are not too demanding. Obviously the professor knows the demands of a 2L student; however, I still feel compelled to push myself and work the maximum number of hours per week on his various projects. I have resigned myself to the fact, though, that before I work myself into delirium, this will be the first responsibility that I relinquish should my grades (or health) start to suffer.

As I have mentioned in a prior post, I am also working as a law review candidate. Within a few short weeks I will submit my proposal for my fall writing commitment to law review. This will take up a great deal of time the remainder of this semester, but the goal is to complete a Note that is publishable (even if not published) and to be invited to join as a law review "member" during spring semester.

Today I will appear in court at 5:00 p.m. to be sworn in as a CASA Volunteer. Afterward, I will be assigned a case involving child abuse or neglect. It will be my responsibility to investigate the case and prepare a report for the court. I will also make court appearances on behalf of abused or neglected children.

Most recently I have added one more extra curricular activity that I am most proud of: I have been invited to mentor a group of law students. At LU SOL, mentors "volunteer" for the job, but they are only "invited" to mentor based upon their class ranking and maturity. We have a new Student Affairs Liaison who has some wonderful ideas for the mentoring program. Her basic idea is that no student "drifts" through law school. Instead, we grow together, we lean on each other, and we learn from each other. Our mentoring program kicks off later this week, so I'll have to keep you informed of how it progresses.

And, when time permits, I will blog about an upcoming job interview.

Yikes! My life, my schedule, and my commitments are so insane. If I were to get a satellite view of all of it, I fear it would look like a hurricane--definitely a Category 5 that we will name Year Two. Growing up near the coast of North Carolina, I have ridden out a few storms in my life. I think they will pale in comparison. This one is going to be ferocious! But I'm too stubborn to move out of its way, so bring on the storm.