Thursday, February 25, 2010

Lies They Tell You at HLS

I don't want to give you the wrong impression. Attending HLS is great. I (sorry SB) would not have gone to another school, even a "better school," had I known at the time I was picking schools what I know now. Still, there are some things that they tell you at HLS that are flatly not true. Specifically:

1. "The competition is over." This was told to me, and every other 1L on the first day of orientation by no less a paragon of truth than Elena Kagan. I am 100% certain I have never been in a more competitive environment. It's possible that a more competitive environment exists, but I don't know of one, and I would not voluntarily be part of such an environment if I did discover it.

2. "1L year is the hardest year of law school." This, actually, may not be a lie, but if it's true for you, I don't think you're doing law school right. 1L year is the boring year where they make you take a bunch of things you're probably not interested in. I am confused by people who work the hardest in 1L year, because it seems unlikely to me (although I admit, not impossible) that anyone really wanted to come to law school to learn a lot about feudal property systems and how to sue someone for a slip-and-fall. I'm taking harder classes 2L year, doing more activities, and sleeping less than I did 1L year. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, now that I've given you two lies, I'll list a truth. They are right when they say Harvard is the "New York City" of law schools - both in that it is exciting, dynamic, populated by people with very very different interests, and has an incredibly wide range of opportunities, but also in that it can be impersonal, hectic, and lacking in a support system. There's not a week that goes by, though, that I'm not grateful to be here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

However charming 2L might be, boring is the last adjective I'd pick to describe 1L!