Among the selection of TV stations available to me in my overseas hotel room, only two are in English: E! and CNN. CNN keeps showing this horrible preview for an interview with Tarantino about his new movie, and in the soundbite he says something about how he didn't want to submit to "elephantitis...or epic-itis" in doing a movie about something "so big." I guess he was tooting his own horn, claiming to have shown restraint? Not particularly something he's known for, but...eh.
In any case, I obviously don't want to over-state anything about 1L, but it was honestly pretty big in all sorts of ways. I knew that my classmates would be amazingly accomplished and intelligent, but I was (and constantly still am!) incredibly surprised by how nice and interesting they are. I knew that my professors are foremost in their field, but I have been blown away by just how completely they've mastered the content and how compellingly they can make their point...while at the same time being gracious and compassionate. I had heard that YLS was an extremely caring small community, but I never expected to have built relationships with so many staff and administrators or to honestly feel as though everyone is so invested in others' successes.
Of course, that doesn't mean that things weren't overwhelming at times. As a former science student, I'd never been expected to do so much reading - so closely - every night. I'd never before had an assignment that I honestly felt I'd completely blundered. I've never felt so over-committed by everything I had to do, for things both in and out of class.
Given all that, I guess I'll follow in Cat's footsteps and give a few bits of advice:
(1) Don't spend your 0L summer trying to "get ready" for law school - it's not really worth it: it'll be hard to nearly impossible to predict exactly what will be helpful, and you should use the time to relax (read non-law books, travel, hang out with your friends, etc.) because you'll need all your energy for the semester.
(2) Do cultivate some non-law interests. Sign up for an art class, explore your new city-home, volunteer. Just do something that doesn't involve the FRCP or the Constitution or a Restatement.
(3) Similarly, have some non-law school friends: pay attention to your pre-law school friends, and try to make new friends who aren't in law school. When you need a break from the madness, they'll be a great asset.
(4) New school, new city, new classmates = a new chance to "start over," if you want. Feel free to explore new interests, redefine yourself a bit. If you think you've been unfairly typecast before, you can most likely break free from that and try again in a way that suits you.
(5) That said, don't feel compelled to create a new and improved version of yourself...more specifically, don't think that you have to conform yourself to any stereotypes of what kind of student attends your school - if you're not an aspiring academic, don't pretend to fill that mold just to fit in. Do what makes you happy: take classes and join clubs that are fulfilling, not just ones that will look good on a resume. Chances are, you'll do much better in things that you enjoy.
(6) Like Cat said, put effort into making friends - especially people that you wouldn't normally find yourself befriending.
(7) Eat well. Free food at lunch lectures and dinner meetings is great, but there are only so many food pyramid blocks that get repeated again and again.
Okay, back to vacation...as Cat said, we'll be writing periodically over the summer as we feel inspired!
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