Swamped

HLS has many many amazing opportunities. Too many opportunities. So many, in fact, that some version of the following scenario will arise inevitably during any HLS student's career:

The scenario: A friend of yours who plays some important role in an organization on campus will approach you. He/she will have a particular look in his/her eye that is hard to describe but impossible to mistake once you've seen it. You know that organization has a particularly annoying and large task to accomplish in the near future. You also know that if you add one more thing to your To-Do list, you will Low Pass all your classes.

The solution:

1. Run in the opposite direction. The problem is that in a class with 500 people, many of whom will know you and also play important roles in institutions on campus, this gets physically draining after a while.
   
2. Practice what you learned in D.A.R.E., and "just say no."

Trust me, I know. Over the course of this semester, I failed to say "no" sufficiently firmly. Several times. Low passes here I come?

Choosing Battles

Today has been a day unlike any other. Partially because, well, every day around here is different...and partially because it was full of some great highs (the possibility of an exciting part-time job as a teaching assistant in Yale College; anticipation of an impending reunion in DC this weekend; dinner with a good friend) and some obnoxious lows (a difficult phone call with a clinic client; a piece of news uncharitably delivered via Facebook newsfeed). For some reason, the first couple weeks of a semester are a time for reconsideration and rebirth - both good and bad - and the past few days have been no exception.

One of the challenges of 2L is the realization that "1Ls do all the busywork, 2Ls are in charge, and 3Ls tune out" is often truer than one might like to believe. Most organizations are run by 2Ls, and while some of the groups I'm involved in are a huge source of positive energy, others tend to be a bit of a drain. A few times, I've found myself thinking, "Why did I sign up for this again?!? How did I let someone convince me to be in charge of this??"

It's always been hard for me to say no when asked to help out...and to acknowledge that I can't and don't want to do everything is certainly a positive change that I'm trying to make for myself. I was trying to explain to a 1L friend of mine today that 1L fall is all about trying lots of new things, but that you shouldn't feel obligated to do *everything*...and I felt like I should have been giving myself the same advice. As my calendar fills up with color-coded obligations from morning till night, it gets harder and harder to prioritize class reading (which, let's face it, is almost always my lowest priority), clinic projects, journal work (honestly, I'm scared to check my journal's email account that I've let languish for at least two months), and research & other part-time work...especially against spending time with old friends and nurturing new relationships. One of my goals is to be more purposeful this semester - thinking seriously about how I use and commit my time, both to myself and others.

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Too Much to Do in 2L

Classes have been going for just under a week around here, and things are already moving quickly. Of course, we had FIP way back in what feels like a past life (really only two weeks ago...really?!), and now everyone is scattered to the wind trying to do callbacks as quickly and efficiently as possible [unlike at HLS, here at YLS we don't have a dedicated "fly-out week" so everyone has to make their own callback schedule]. On any given weekend, a good number of people have been out of town.

I myself just got back from visiting Cambridge (with a brief foray into Boston on Saturday) for a few days...though this trip was strictly for fun. It was great to see Cat - and her new bike - and a handful of other good friends, especially since the New England weather cooperated with us so nicely as we walked around Cambridge and played badminton in a parking lot. I was so exhausted from all the weekend's fun that I slept the entire train ride back to New Haven, even though some Yale undergrad thought it smart to watch a movie without headphones right behind me.

The weekend was great to rest up before what promises to be a busy week full of classes (I'm taking one black letter class, my clinic, a couple fun-sounding courses, and probably a reading group), clinic meetings, club meetings, and an interview trip later in the week. I'm also really looking forward to catching up with a few new 1Ls that I haven't had a chance to meet up with yet this semester. All in all, if this semester keeps moving as quickly as it has, interviews will be done and finals will be here before we have a chance to enjoy the autumn colors.

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Activity Avalanche

I had thought law school was a bit overwhelming from week 1, but we've shifted into hyperdrive and exams aren't even on the horizon yet. Like SB, we're picking which activities to join. My section-mates seem to all be members of three journals, two student practice organizations, and are doing another six things on the side. After recovering from a miserable headache I got at the student activities fair, I have concluded that there is no way I am capable of that. In fact, I'm not sure I'm capable of doing anything besides school and some coaching, but I'll take a stab at it.

Although....things are not looking too good. Already my tea intake has jumped from one cup a day to four. Plus, I keep having these horrible dreams about ordinary activities that weirdly become competitive. Like last night, when I dreamt that in order to eat lunch I had to get into a pizza eating contest. I lost, obviously (although I guess I got lunch regardless). Is this some Greek-style omen darkly portending my future? I don't know, and I think I need another cup of tea.

Can Men Be a Part of Law Women?

Over the past week or so, we've been bombarded with invitations to participate in various activities: secondary journals, pro-bono legal assistance projects, volunteer projects, mentorship programs, ethnic/religious affiliation groups, music & drama clubs...the list goes on and on, and at a big university, there are also myriad things to get involved with in the other graduate & professional schools. Next Saturday, I'm participating in a Day of Service event, where I'll be helping with a community art project at the city's public library. Helping people = good. Getting up at 8am on a Saturday to do it = hardest part of the day, I predict.

In any case, quick update: WE FINALLY HAVE INTERNET SERVICE. After a bazillion hours on the phone with a very nice woman named Denise, we finally have uninterrupted, legally-gotten DSL in our apartment. Thank goodness. We were about to go crazy. We quite seriously contemplated telecommunication terrorism in the form of pulling all the other apartments' cable/Internet wires from the central hook-up, just to incentivize their servicemen to actually come to our building to set up our service. Luckily, before that happened, the red light magically turned green - and here we are, 100% more connected to the world, 85% less productive than before, at least as far as law school reading goes.

In the process of getting situated and choosing from among the various groups open to us, I've found myself in a very troubling place. Suddenly, the academic workload, at least as far as time out of class goes (for reading or whatever) is head and shoulders above what I've ever experienced before, at least if I want to actually understand anything that's being written. Why can't law scholars write like scientists?!?!? I never thought I'd actively miss reading science journals, but here. I. am.

The problem arises then: What to sign up for? What to commit to? What to pass on this time [unfortunately, in the midst of the Internet debacle, I wasn't able to apply in time for one thing I had kind of wanted to do...maybe it was just a sign that I'd be over-extending myself??]?

If there's one thing we've learned so far, it's this general rule: Don't rule out anything that offers free food. Luckily, almost every single symposium, lecture, and student group meeting offers lunch or dinner - if you're lucky, it's of the non-pizza variety. I've made or bought food maybe once during the past academic week, and I probably won't need to for the rest of this week or next, based on my current plan. Best of all, at this point, since most of the student group meetings are just informational, there's no commitment, and still - lots of free food.

One group for which there was literally no commitment: Law Women's annual welcome dinner. All you had to do was be a woman. That was easy! We all got on buses and drove to a professor's house out in the suburbs...there was great food, good drinks, and fabulous dessert - just for having been born into (or, you know, currently claiming membership in) the near-half of the population that is female.

Great quote from the dinner:

"When you're sitting in class, not saying anything out loud, and some *guy* raises his hand and says something stupid, you're probably thinking, 'That's wrong!' Well, let me tell you, we professors are thinking he's saying something idiotic, too! We just can't say it. So, please, raise your hand and point out his stupidity!" - Host Professor

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