The past week has been an up-and-down ride...from feeling confident about exams, being scared out of my mind by the professors (they seem to have a knack for doing that to me), studying furiously, and becoming completely consumed with the minutia of the law. Thankfully, with two exams down, my time in the caves is almost over, and I can feel myself returning the state of a normal human being. Although I am not quite done, please allow me to reflect on my very first set of law school exams...
Our last day of classes was last Wednesday. In order to prepare us for exam week, our Intro class's theme for the day was "How to Take a Law School Exam." The advice was not limited to the art of actually taking an exam, however. Rather, my Contracts professor proceeded to tell us that we should go grocery shopping, do laundry, and call our friends and family to tell them that we were "cutting them off" for the next week and a half. And no, I am not exaggerating - those were the exact words that he used.
This was followed by a lecture from our Intro professor about how our generation has too many distractions - cell phones, facebook etc....and laundry and grocery shopping are excuses not to study. He also told us that we should be studying from 7am until midnight (in 4 to 5 hour chunks, to practice mental stamina) - but make sure to get a good night's rest because the tests are performance-based!
Although I recognized that my professors were probably exaggerating (and even if they weren't, my hope is in Christ, not my grades), I walked out of class feeling a sense of urgency about my preparation. It was actually a good thing - until that point, I had been feeling fairly confident about my ability to prepare, and finding motivation lacking. The scare was thus a nice kick in the pants to get busy! MaryLou and I went grocery shopping that night, and basically reacted as if a snow storm was coming. One gallon of milk was suddenly inefficient, and I grabbed everything I thought I might reasonably need in the next week and a half. :)
Thursday and Friday I spent nearly every minute studying, with small breaks every couple of hours for running or allowing myself to check my email. I probably logged around 10 hours of studying each day. However, by Saturday, my ability to focus for long periods of time was waning, and I had to start giving myself breaks more frequently.
On Sunday, I started feeling quite anxious. As time ran short, I suddenly felt as though I didn't have enough time to finish studying. This feeling, however, was completely irrational. I was ready, and I think I would have gone crazy if I had had to wait any longer. At this point, I would like to thank those of you who have been (and hopefully still are!) praying for me over the last week. On Monday morning, I woke up completely calm and ready to go. I can only attribute this to the numerous prayers that I know were being brought on my behalf!! THANK YOU!! My nerves on Sunday which much more severe than the nerves I experienced on Monday morning.
I think my Civil Procedure exam on Monday morning went alright. The multiple-choice section was extremely difficult (our professor said that students always performing terribly on it), and there were definitely a good number of questions on which I had to guess. However, I know that I prepared to the best of my ability, and I will be happy with whatever grade I get.
My Torts exam was yesterday (Wednesday) morning - and I think that one went really well. I LOVE this class!!! Although the amount of tiny details was overwhelming at times, I find the subject matter extremely interesting, and much easier to grasp than the others. I feel very confident about my performance - hopefully the results will confirm this feeling!
At the current moment, I am sitting in Panera Bread, where I have been for the past 4 hours, listening to Owl City (who is my new favorite artist). I am trying to prepare for my Contracts exam tomorrow...and once again motivation is severely lacking. First off, I don't enjoy the subject matter. Second, I find myself thinking that it doesn't matter if I'm not spectacular on this exam - since I don't want to practice Contract Law anyway, my future employers won't hold it against me, right?? I know...somebody slap me for being completely lazy.
Well, I think that my break has unfortunately too long, and it is time to get back to work. One last thing...please check out this version of "In Christ Alone" by Owl City. And if you've never heard anything besides "Fireflies," go check out his other stuff - it's wonderful!!
Sorry this post is so incredibly long!!
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