Easy, Simple, Healthy Lunch Ideas for the Student (or Intern) on the Go

Good morning! Today we are talking about quick, easy lunch ideas that are actually healthy for you but aren't too involved. I don't know about you guys, but I am ALWAYS on the go. It's either bouncing between classes and work or my internship through the summer... just go, go, go. I am usually pretty good about prepping and meal planning for our dinners and having something quick in the house for breakfast but I tend to forget about lunch. In undergrad, my lunch was usually a thing of Easy Mac or Taco Bell... it was quick but definitely not healthy.

As I get older, I am more conscious of my health and during law school, I realized just how unhealthy my lunch habits were. While in law school, I have pretty much no money to eat out so I pack my lunch 99% of the time. It has taken a while but I have finally figured out some good lunch ideas for when I am on the go and need something quick without sacrificing my health. So here they are!!

A Full Recap of My Experience on Law School Moot Court

Morning all! Happy Monday!

Today I am going to talk all about my experience as a member of my law school Moot Court team throughout my 2L year. Spoiler alert, it was the best experience and I loved it. It challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone but in the best possible way. For those wanting to work in a courtroom and do litigation at some point in their law career, the experience you gain in Moot Court is invaluable (or at least it was at my school). I can't speak to how Moot Court works at every school but hopefully, there are enough similarities for this to be helpful to a variety of people.

A Simple Semester Study Schedule

I know it is still July but school is going to be here before we know it. I have already started prepping for my 3L year; ordering books, buying supplies, getting binders organized, etc. I kind of love back to school time and back to school prep so I am loving it.

As I am getting my binders ready for Fall semester, I usually write down a few of the important assignments, due dates, etc on a sticky note in the front. After years of doing that, I finally decided to just make up a printable to insert in the front of all of my binders to keep track of all that important info in one quick, easy to read place.

The Simple Ways I Save Money

One thing that really sucks about being a law student is that you have pretty much no money. This is due to a variety of reasons: can't have a job, casebooks are outrageously expensive, loans only cover just so much... Law school makes you budget and save money wherever you can.

I have always been thrifty with my money. I was raised in a family full of love but a little tight on money so I learned from a young age to be frugal. Today, little has changed for me; I love nothing more than a good deal and I absolutely hate to pay full price for anything. I have all sorts of little tricks and tips I use myself to save money. So now I am sharing them with you!

What the First Day of Law School will Really be Like

It's that time of year... back to school supplies are in stores and that means school will be here before we know it. For all those out there enjoying their last summer before starting law school, I am going to hit on a lot of the questions I get about starting 1L year in the next few weeks. First up, what is the first day of law school like?

Let's be real, people... my first day of law school was a while ago... like almost two years ago. However, it was a pretty monumental event so I remember it pretty clearly. I was so stressed out going into 1L year. I tend to be an anxious person by nature and I overthink everything. So naturally, starting law school had me all in a tizzy. In reality, most of what I was stressed about was not really cause for concern... but it sure didn't feel that way at the time. For all those out there who are gearing up for law school this fall, I hope this helps to ease any anticipation jitters or nerves about your first day.

I stressed myself out about every little detail of starting law school: what should I wear, what bag should I use, handwritten or computer notes, would professors cold call, would the other students be nice, should I pack a lunch... and so on. When I say I stressed about everything, I mean everything. It is partially my nature to stress about every little thing and it was also partially because law school is such a huge undertaking and the doorway to my chosen career. I read everything I could find about what the first few days would be like to try to prepare myself. Thankfully, all my stressing was for almost no reason and my first day of law school was pretty painless (you can read all about it here: My First Day of Law School).

For all those who stress about the details just like me or those just wondering, I am going to outline what to expect from your first day. I polled some of my law school friends, as well as taking my own experiences and observations, to get this. I am sure that I will not cover everything and some people will have or have had very different experiences but I am going to try to hit on the big and general stuff to expect and be honest about it.

Books Worth Reading as an Adult

I have always been a HUGE reader. When I was in middle school, my parents used to take the bulb out of my bedside lamp because I would stay up until the middle of the night reading and not want to wake up for school the next day. I used to get in trouble in high school Math class for reading under my desk. As I have gotten older, my reading has slowed down a bit just because life has gotten so busy through college and law school. I still relish a few hours to devour a good book though. Few things make me happier than a soft chair, a cup of hot tea and a new book to read.

My taste in books has changed a bit over time as well. I moved on from young adult fiction and veered toward more heavy reading. A lot of my friends say that they don't know what to read as an adult. Today I am sharing a few of my favorite adult reads. There's a little something for everyone; fiction, historical, science, mystery, and romance. My reading interests are very diverse so my recommendations are as well.

The Evolution of My Law School Study Habits- Everything I do to be Successful

Hi all! I have had a few requests lately to do a post about how my study and note-taking habits have changed since my 1L year following my post about how I have been able to raise my GPA. I am now in the summer before my 3L year- my last year of law school. I have learned so much over the last 2 years in regards to studying, time management and productivity. A lot of my study habits and note-taking strategies have changed and a lot has remained the same. I will outline what has changed and what has remained the same in addition to all the tools I use to be successful as a law student. Buckle up folks, this is going to be one long blog post.

The Road To Law School Explained By Hermione Granger

Time for little relateable humor friends! 

I have known I wanted to be a lawyer since I was a little girl. I am not sure if I just woke up one day and said, "I want to be a lawyer," or if I was highly impacted by Elle Woods, but there has never been another career path on my mind. Going from a starry-eyed little girl to a law student has been an interesting road full of twists and turns, good times and bad times and a lot of times asking myself if this is really what I want to do with my life. In the end, I know this is the right career for me, and I am only I academic year shy of graduating law school which both excites and terrifies me. But for all of you out there with the same goals, here is a fun little post about the road we take to pursue that legal education- both good, bad and ugly and all the thoughts I had along the way accompanied by memes of the queen Hermione Granger. 

Bar Exam Survival Kit + FREE Printable's

I am officially a 3L now which means I am only a year away from studying for the bar exam. It scares the crap out of me. For all those studying for the bar exam right now, I wish you the best of luck and my thoughts are with you!

I have a close friend who just graduated from law school and is studying for the bar. We are going to a concert together tomorrow and I wanted to do something for her because I know she is super stressed about studying and getting ready for the exam. I decided to make up a little "Bar Exam Survival Kit" for her. I used the "Final Exam Survival Kit" examples on Pinterest as a template and made adjustments specific to the Bar Exam and my friend in particular.

Here is what I put in her basket:

• Flashcards in fun colors 
• A legal pad because lawyering isn't possible without one
• A Post-It pad full of inspiring quotes for each day she has to study
• Bubble Wrap for stress relief 
• Chocolate for emergencies 
• Advil for when staring at a computer gets the best of her
• Emergen-C because no one studying for the bar has time to get sick 
• A To-Do list pad so she doesn't forget anything 
• A little frame to put on her desk for motivation 
• Face masks to "treat-yo-self"

I got almost everything at my local Dollar Tree and TJ Maxx so it was super cheap to put together. The friend I made this for isn't a big coffee drinker and she also doesn't really drink alcohol. For other friends, I would have made a few additions:

• A Starbucks gift card or a big off coffee
• A few mini Wine Bottles 
• CHampagne to celebrate being done 

I made a cute little list to put on top explaining the contents. I made the printable available for free: click here to print. 

I also made the little sign that says "If Britney can survive 2007, you can survive studying for the bar exam". I put it in a little 4x6 frame for her to put on her desk. I also made the printable available for free: click this link to print. 

For the "Emergency Chocolate" bar, I used a regular Hershey's chocolate bar and put a cute little sleeve around it. I found that at this website and was able to print it for free. 

The little sticky notepad has a motivational quote written on each page for the number of days she has remaining to study. My thought was that she can post them up around her desk area and each day she gets a little dose of motivation and inspiration. 

So that's what I did today. I hope my friend likes it when I see her tomorrow. Oh and we are going to see Shania Twain which is SO exciting! 

Once again, for all of those out there studying for the bar exam- GOOD LUCK! You can do it!!!

How to Make Failure Positve in Law School

You know that part in A Knights Tale when William's dad tells him he can change his stars? Go from pauper to Knight? Well, had someone told me after my first semester of law school that I could change my grades and standing in my law school class, I would have said they were crazy. But, thankfully I was wrong. Just like William Thatcher, I was able to change my stars. I was able to go from a very poor first semester to getting the highest grade in one of my classes this spring. A little bit of hard work, trial and error, and probably a little luck got me there.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should explain just how bad my first semester of law school was. I failed one of my classes and had to retake it. I had the lowest GPA of my life by a landslide. My research and writing professor told me I would never be a good legal writer. The only thing worse that could have happened that semester would have been to fail all the way out of law school. I almost quit right then and there. But thankfully my family and friends convinced me to keep going. My second semester was leaps and bounds better. My third semester was even better. My fourth semester is my best to date- I got my highest GPA ever in law school and somehow, I even got the highest grade out of my whole Legal Ethics class. I am certainly not top 10 in my class but just knowing that with hard work and determination, I was able to go from the bottom to the top of at least one class is very rewarding.

I want to share this story to encourage any other who have a rough first semester or a rough class. It is not the end of the world and it does not mean you will never be a good lawyer. Despite the trials I encountered early in my law school career, I know wholeheartedly I am on the right path and this is what I want to do with my life. I figured out how to move past my failure and use it as a learning experience to improve.

So how did I do it?

1. Turn Failure into a Positive Thing
Failure of any kind sucks. We all know that. Whether it is having a poor performance in a class or failing at a job or any of the above... it's not fun. My mom gave me great advice after my horrible first semester: I could either let failure get the best of me and quit or I could use it as motivation to work so hard that I never fail like that again. I chose the later and I urge everyone to do the same in these kinds of situations. I used my failure as a drive to improve, to learn how to be better and do better, to push myself harder and prove that it was a one-time thing. I turned my negative failure into a positive source of motivation because I never wanted to have that happen to me again.

2. Make it a Learning Experience
Failing at something sucks but the good thing is that it teaches you what not to do. You can always make it a learning experience. Figure out what you did wrong and then never do that again. Talk to professors to find out what you could have done better to get a better grade. I studied so ineffectively my first semester... it wasn't that I didn't study long enough or hard enough... it's just that what I was doing was super ineffective and not helpful. I figured out what I did wrong and studied much smarter from then on out. Study harder, study smarter and work so hard that failure is not an option.

3. Don't Let it Define You 
One failure does not define you but how you handle it moving forward does. Don't let your subconscious talk you into forever being "that person who failed a class". Instead, think of yourself as "that person who improved" or "the person who is strong enough to move on from failure". You have the ability to improve and move beyond so make sure that mentally, you move on. Build yourself back up. One failure and one bad grade or one bad semester do not define you.

4. Don't Forget
When I say to move on, I don't mean ignore or forget that you once failed. Don't forget about it because then your one-time failure stops motivating you to do better. When I received word that I received the highest grade in one of my classes this semester, I was elated at the honor and to see my hard work rewarded. I also felt humbled- in that class, I was on top but I know where I started. I know how hard I have worked to improve and prevail past failure. I know that I have to keep working hard and pushing myself to keep myself from going back to a place of failure. So I don't forget or sugarcoat the past, even when it is an ugly moment of my past. Once I failed a law school class. Once I received the highest grade in a law school class. Failure did not define me but neither does success. Both events shaped me, pushed me and affected me. If I had never failed, I may never have learned from my mistakes enough to improve my study habits and rise to the top of another class. Everything happens for a reason.

I hope my story is helpful to others who have had a rough class or rough semester. Never ever let something like that define you. Grades are not everything. Your value as a human being does not rest upon your GPA in law school. There are many great lawyers in the world who were not top 10 in their law school class. I wish everyone the best of luck in law school and beyond!

Summer So Far

Hey guys... I promise I am actually going to produce some quality law school related content soon. But first, a little life update.

Summer is off to a great start and there is a lot of fun still coming: trips, weddings, 5K's and summer days full of sunshine.

My husband and I just got home from an amazing cruise to the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean. We stopped in St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. I ate way too much, got a bit sunburnt and ready a whole pile of easy, breezy summer books. It was fantastic but we are now back to reality.

We have been busy with our house doing some projects. We ripped out the carpet in our master and are currently laying down a new floor in the evening. This means we are living out of baskets and the guest room but the final product will be worth it. We also plan to put in the backsplash in the kitchen and I am redecorating and redoing the furniture in the guest room. It should keep us busy on the weekends!

In other, much more fun, news, I have two exciting concerts coming up: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill this weekend with my husband and his family and Shania Twain next weekend with my law school mentor! I cannot wait; these are some of my favorite artists and they should be fantastic shows.

I have settled into my clerkship with a local judge and I am really enjoying it. I learn a lot, everyone is super nice and it is an interesting perspective on the law. I love spending my days in a historic courthouse helping justice in action.

My grades from spring semester are all in and somehow, despite how busy it was, I got my highest GPA to date in law school this past semester while taking some of my hardest classes (Evidence, Secured Transactions...). I was very pleased with how the semester turned out even though it was exhausting thanks to competing for Moot Court, organizing an intra-school competition, working in Admissions, re-starting the criminal law society at my law school and having night classes 4 days a week. While I am happy about my GPA boost, I am SO glad that semester is behind me and I am looking forward to a less stressful 3L year.

Following our cruise and all the amazing food, I am really ready to get in shape and eat healthier. I downloaded a meal planning app, charged my Fitbit and make a work out schedule. I am shooting for a 5K later this summer so I need to get my butt in gear. I am trying a semi-ketogenic diet along with running and yoga to get feeling better and to hopefully tone up. I am also trying the Teami Tea detox for a few weeks to clean out my system.

I am planning out some quality law school content so check back for that. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

A Recap of 2L Year

Well.... I have been away from the blog for a bit. This Spring semester just kicked my butt. Thankfully I am done now and officially a 3L! I cannot believe that... time is flying.

First semester of 2L year was hard- I took 18 credit hours, competed in our interscholastic appellate advocacy competition, started a job in admissions... but I got through it and pulled decent grades.

This semester was especially exhausting.... My moot court competition was super time consuming, I had two of the hardest classes of law school, I was working, participated in a mentoring circle, took on leadership roles in three organizations... there was a lot going on and the motivation to blog just wasn't there.

But now it's over and the wait for grades begins. I have two grades back already and I am very pleased- I got an A in one of my hardest classes of the semester. Next Monday I start my summer internship clerking for a local judge. I am so excited for the opportunity to learn and observe- it is bound to be a great summer.

At the end of May, my husband and I are going on a Carribean cruise and I cannot wait for sun, sand, and relaxation! Other than that, I am enjoying my homework-free days full of puppy snuggles, reading novels for fun and getting some projects done around the house. Just one more year of law school and that thought blows my mind. It had flown by so far.

I wish everyone finishing up finals the best of luck, congratulations to those who are already done and I hope everyone enjoys your summer!

Nailing a Law School Internship Interview

Hello friends... it's been a while. This semester has been kicking my butt.... I am on my last day of Spring Break and just now feeling a touch caught up on life and school. Blogging has been on the backburner lately but I am back at it for today!

Today I am talking interviews- law school interview season is in full swing. Internships are so important but they can be so hard to secure- especially after your 1L year. Below are my tips for nailing your law school internship interview. Interviews and securing an internship is so important for your career so it is best to nail it!

1. Dress for Success
First impressions are EVERYTHING. Dress in a way that presents the image you hope to project: polished, professional and confident. A few things I do whenever I am dressing for an interview or first day of a job:

• Iron everything- nothing makes you look frumpy faster than wrinkles
• Light perfume- you do not want to leave them in a cloud smelling like flowers
• Lay everything out the day before and do a trial try on- I hate to leave ANYTHING to chance the day of my interview
• Make sure your bag doesn't clash with your outfit 
• After you are dressed, ask yourself this question when you look in the mirror: would my gradisagreer disgree with anything I am wearing? If the answer is yes, change. If the answer is no, proceed to the interview.

What to actually wear? Here is a handy chart to help both the ladies and gentlemen!

2. Do Some Homework 
Make sure you know something about the firm/company/office you are interviewing with. Look up the people you will be interviewing with and make sure that you have some background. It is important to understand what you are walking into and some of what to expect. This can also help you to prepare some questions for the interviewers because they very well may ask you if you have any questions for them and it looks good to have a few.

3. Firm Handshake
Seriously, if I shake one more hand that feels like a dead fish I am going to scream. Practice a FIRM handshake. I do not mean crush the bones in the hand you are shaking but you need to have a little grip and show through this handshake that you mean business. It projects confidence and strength which is especially important as a woman in a field often dominated by men. Once again for the people in the back- FIRM handshake!

4. Be Yourself 
One of the worst things you can do in an interview is fake it. It is not worth it; you will slip up and make a fool of yourself. Or the fact that you are faking something will come across as unconfident and weak. Be yourself and project your professional self to the people interviewing you. They either like you for you and hire you or they don't. If you misrepresent yourself and get the job, eventually the misrepresentation will come out and you will look bad. Be honest, be real and be you.

5. Be Nice to Everyone 
A story my career services office always tells is of a law firm who would send a limo to pick up students for interviews. After the interview, the hiring attorneys would ask the chauffeur for their opinion of the student and how they treated the chauffeur. This is an important reminder that you must be nice and courteous to everyone you encounter be it the secretary, security guard or a partner in the firm. You want to leave a good impression on EVERYONE you encounter. In my first internship during my 1L summer, the secretary was married to the chief of the office. Had I left a poor impression on her, it very well could have been the difference between getting the internship or not.

6. Thank You Notes are Still a Thing 
After your interview, a great thing to remember is to send a short thank you note or email. This shows that you care and are thankful regardless of if you get the position or not. It may help to set you apart from the pack as well. Either way, it only takes a moment and can have a huge impact on the recipient. You can get a pack of Thank You notes super cheap at walmart or target and just keep them on hand.

Best of luck on the interviews!

How to Improve Your Law School Reading Skills

I feel like it is no secret that law school requires a ton of reading. It is a huge part of being a lawyer so naturally, it should be a big part of the process of becoming a lawyer. I have always been an avid reader. I was not uncommon for my middle school self to check 20-30 books at a time out from our local library because I would buzz through them so fast. My parents had to take the nightstand light out of my room because I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning reading. When people warned me that law school was largely about reading and lots of it, I thought, "bring it on".

Even though I knew I would be doing a lot of reading going into law school, the sheer amount was still a surprise and took some serious getting used to. 30 pages per class per night doesn't seem that bad at face value... but it is so much more than just 30 pages. Not only is the reading super long, it is super dense, it is often full of words you need to look up, footnotes that need to be referenced and sometimes cases that should be skimmed because they are mentioned within the reading. You also need to take notes as you go and sometimes read a section more than once to grasp the full meaning. Reading for law school is a skill that improves over time with practice. In my time in law school, I am certain that my reading skills have improved substantially. Below I have outlined a few of the tips and tricks that have helped me to improve my reading for law school to make it go faster with better retention of the material.

1. Practice Active Reading 
This is my number 1 tip: practice active reading when in law school. I cannot stress this enough. Staying engaged in reading is very easy when it is Harry Potter or your favorite trashy romance novel. Staying engaged in reading when it is a case about hunting foxes from the 1700's is a different story. I had a teacher in middle school preach about how important learning the skill of active reading was... I was already a nerd and a straight A student so I largely tuned her out because as a typical 13-year-old, I thought I knew everything. When I started law school and came to a very sudden realization that my reading skills may not be up to snuff, something in my brain reminded me of that 8th-grade teacher and active reading. I did a little research and my life has never been the same. Active reading simply means reading something with the determination to understand and evaluate it for its relevance to your specific needs. Passively reading and re-reading the material isn't an effective way to understand and learn anything (especially in law school). Actively and critically engaging with the content the first time you read it can save you so much time in the long run. When my middle school teacher taught us active reading, she said the best thing to do was to push your self to read it as fast as you possibly can while still reading and comprehending each word. Making yourself speed up and focus on the material keeps your mind from wandering. My teacher always said that if you finished a paragraph and had made a grocery list in your mind, you were not practicing active reading. Some of the best strategies for actively reading are:

• Ask yourself pre-reading questions. For example: What is the topic, and what do you already know about it? Why has the instructor assigned this reading at this point in the semester?
• Identify and define any unfamiliar terms in your notes
• Bracket the main idea or thesis of the reading, and put an asterisk next to it. Pay particular attention to the introduction or opening paragraphs to locate this information.
• Put down your highlighter. Make marginal notes or comments instead. Every time you feel the urge to highlight something, write instead. You can summarize the text, ask questions, give assent, protest vehemently. You can also write down keywords to help you recall where important points are discussed. Above all, strive to enter into a dialogue with the material instead of just passively highlighting.
• Write questions in the margins, and then answer the questions in your notes. Try changing all the titles, subtitles, sections and paragraph headings into questions. For example, the section heading “The Law of Gifting Personal Property” might become “What are the laws for gifting personal property?”
• Make outlines, flowcharts, or diagrams that help you to map and to understand ideas visually within your reading notes.
• Read each case carefully and then determine “what it says” and “what it does.” Answer “what it says” in only one sentence; this is basically your rule statement from an IRAC style case brief. Represent the main idea of the case in your own words. To answer “what it does,” describe the cases purpose within the section- why is this case important? Why is it in this part of the book?
• Write a summary of a section or chapter in your own words. Do this in less than a page. Capture the essential ideas and perhaps one or two key cases that are used. This approach offers a great way to be sure that you know what the reading really says or is about and can offer a quick and dirty summary of the reading.
• Write your own exam question based on the reading.
• Teach what you have learned to someone else! Research clearly shows that teaching is one of the most effective ways to learn. If you try to explain aloud what you have been studying, (1) you’ll transfer the information from short-term to long-term memory, and (2) you’ll quickly discover what you understand — and what you don’t. Meet up with your friends before class and teach them what the case was about or what alegal term from the reading means. 

Loosely adapted for law school from https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/active-reading-strategies

2. Take Notes 
As I mentioned several times in the first part, I take notes while I read. It helps to keep me fully engaged in the material as I practice active reading. It also provides a crutch to use when answering a cold call in class. My reading notes are generally pretty messy because I know I will be making adjustments during class. I make sure to include in my reading notes the main points of the section, any law mentioned, majority/minority rules, rationales of public policy, definitions for any words or phrases I do not know and of course case breifs for every case. I generally write my reading notes in black on about half of the page and only on the front side. Then my class notes are added in a contrasting color and I have plenty of space thanks to the back side of each note page and the space on the front- this helps me when I go back to outline and review because I know what information was from the book and what was from the professor in class due to the colors. Sometimes I will type up my reading notes and leave space for class notes in a contrasting color... it just depends on what I am feeling like doing when I am reading. Taking notes while I read is more beneficial for me than highlighting because I actually have to pause, think about how I want to write that in my notes and then proceed to write it down- it is a much more active process and helps me to synthesize and understand the reading better than if I was just highlighting passively as I went through and never really pausing to consider the material.

Reading notes

Reading notes + class notes in a different color

More examples of my reading notes with class notes added in a different color: both typed and handwritten 

3. Have a Plan
I always like to plan out my reading into chunks. I pick out a number of pages or a "chunk" I want to get read before taking a break. I write this down on a sticky note and cross off each chunk completepelte it. This way I have a set break time and it helps me to focus and power through the dedicated chunk of reading because I know there is a short break on the other end. If I do not do this, I end up pulling my phone out after every few paragraphs and my reading will take three times as long because I am so distracted.

I also strategically plan out when I will do my reading during the week. Sunday afternoons I read for my Monday and Tuesday Classes. Monday morning I read for my Wednesday and Thursday classes. This way, I do not stress about when I am going to fit my reading in because I already have time allocated for it in my weekly schedule.

4. Atmosphere is Key
Understanding what time during the day you are at your best will help you read better. If you know you are most awake and focused in the morning, plan your reading for the morning. If you are a night owl and don't come alive until 10pm, read from 10pm-1am. If you have neighbors who always blare music in the afternoons, make sure that your reading is not allocated for afternoons because it will likely be very hard to focus.

As for location, you know best what locations makes you the most productive. Some people study best at home; some have to be at school. Some people prefer a quiet coffee shop and others like to be outside. Whatever works best for you to be focused- do your reading there. If you like pure silence while reading, invest in earplugs or noise canceling headphones. If you need some background noise while reading, I highly suggest websites that play white noise like waves/falling rain or instrumental music without lyrics such as Hans Zimmer movie scores Pandora station (my personal favorite) or any classical music. Make yourself as comfortable as possible: have a comfy spot with good light, not too warm or too cold, ample water and snacks, make sure it is clean and tidy, have all your materials within arms reach and get to work.

5. Refresh Before Class 
Whatever reading you do, give yourself at least five minutes to refresh it before class. This way, you know where everything is in your notes, you are comfortable with the material and you will be ready for any cold calls. Flip through the reading in the books, read through your notes and have your materials ready to go when class starts.

Helpful printables: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LegalDuchessShop?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Best of luck with your massive amounts of law school reading. I hope this is helpful!

How I Forced Myself to be a Morning Person

Good morning friends! Mornings are the topic this morning. (Let's see how many times can I use the word morning in this paragraph...). I have always been a night owl. When in doubt, I stay up late and get up late.... it's just the way I am wired I guess. However, this semester, my schedule has forced me to adjust my habits. I have night class 4 days a week and morning classes 3 of the days. My night owl tendencies would leave me with zero sleep if I continued to follow them. Therefore, I made a 2018 resolution to become a better morning person. So far, it's going pretty well.

As much as I hate waking up in the morning, I love how productive it makes me feel. I get so much more accomplished. This is a good habit to set now because it will serve me much better in the professional world... there are also studies about how the most successful people are morning people. Let's hope they are right... Without further ado, here are my tips on forcing yourself to become more of a morning person.

1. Go to Bed Earlier 
Yes, this is a no-brainer. However, it is also the first step to being a better morning person. I have always been a night owl. That is when I am naturally most productive. However, the older I get, the more I have realized that being a morning person is a great habit. With my schedule this semester, it pretty much forced my hand. I had to be productive in the mornings because my evenings are filled with night classes and if I saved all my homework for after my night class, I would never get to see my husband during the week. I have slowly worked my bedtime to be earlier and earlier. I start winding down around 9:45 and I make lunches for the next day, lay out my clothes, take the dogs out, do my nightly makeup routine and settle into bed. I have found that my humidifier with a few drops of a soothing essential oil really helps me to wind down. I usually read a few chapters of a novel on my kindle ( I avoid my phone because the blue light will keep you awake) before my eyes grow heavy and I am usually asleep between 10:30 and 11:00. This means that when my 7am wakeup comes, I have gotten a full 8 hours of sleep at least.

2. Have Breakfast Prepped 
I hate cooking breakfast when I first wake up. When in doubt I just skip it which is really unhealthy or eat something really unhealthy like sugary cereal. I have found that having breakfast prepped and ready to go helps me to get up and get a good breakfast even though it's early. My favorite thing to do is to make a huge batch of steel cut oatmeal in the crockpot on Sunday and portion it into daily breakfast sizes. Then in the morning, I just heat up my portioned oatmeal and a hearty, healthy breakfast is ready to go in just a few minutes.

3. Workout First Thing
Ahh workouts. I have a very love/hate relationship with working out. I have been doing better in 2018... the treadmill in my basement has been a gamechanger. I have been making a point to wake up 30 minutes earlier so I can knock out a run before my day really gets started. It helps me to wake up and get moving. I also feel so productive and positive if I start my day off with a work out- I feel so accomplished! Hopefully, I can keep it up and fulfill my goal of running a 5K in 2018! Some mornings I don't feel like running and I will do a short Yoga session instead. Either way, getting a workout in first thing has been a great way to start off my mornings and make my mornings easier.

4. Save Some Reading for the Morning
So this may seem like a weird tip but it has been working for me. I save a little bit of my reading for the morning before my classes. While this seems "last minute" it basically forces me to get up early because I know I HAVE to finish my reading (and I am terrified of going into class unprepared so it is a great reinforcement of getting out of bed and hitting the books). It also serves as a great little review before my class so the information is fresh in my mind.

5. Plan Things for Morning Whenever Possible
In the same vein as saving some of my reading for the morning, I plan meetings or appointments in the morning whenever possible. This forces me out of bed first thing and then I have the rest of my day after that engagement is completed. This keeps me from falling into the temptation of staying in my cozy warm bed because I have nowhere to go. I am not a natural morning person so I tend to have to trick/force myself into being better at it.

I am still working on being a better morning person but these things have certainly helped me improve!!

My Opinions on 1L Core Classes

I am just getting started in my fourth semester of law school. Thus far I have taken 15 classes and I am in the process of taking 5 more. Throughout all my classes, I have had some favorites and some that I did not enjoy. I am going to touch on the highlights of both for the 1L core classes everyone has to take. While everyone is different and enjoys different classes or concepts, my hope in doing this is to just give a little more insight into what law school classes are actually like: the good, bad and ugly.

Contracts
I took Contracts in two installments 1L year. Overall, I found Contracts to be extraordinarily boring. I felt like it was mathematical... a good contract requires filling in a formula of sorts. You have a formula of law to create a contract and a formula of law to breach one. Though this made the class relatively easy for me and I did very well, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I have never been a math person and I think that is why contracts didn't click with me either. For others in my class, they loved the formality of contacts. I think it is a class you either love or hate.

Property 
Oh Property... it's a love/hate relationship. This was another class I took in two installments 1L year. I LOVED some parts of Property law... I loved how historical it is and how the law has changed little in hundreds of years. It is precedent based.  It brought out my inner history nerd. I also loved how it is so applicable to real life- as a homeowner, I could relate to Property law because I had used it. However, some concepts just blew my mind and I could never quite grasp them (and yes I am talking about Estates and Future Interests... and mortgages...). Though I genuinely enjoyed Property law class, I found studying for and taking Property exams to be some of my biggest challenges 1L year.

Torts
I took Torts my very first semester and it was my highest grade first semester. I LOVED Torts. I think it is such a fun class. The concepts are conceivable- we have all heard that if you slip in a store, you could recover damages. You can wrap your head around the laws easily. The cases can be so ridiculous they are hilarious- one I always remember is a claim by a woman that her car trunk should have had a release from the inside because when she locked herself in the trunk of her car to commit suicide and it didn't work because the trunk wasn't airtight, she should have been able to get out on her own; instead she was in there for 5 days until someone opened the trunk by happenstance (she lost because it was decided that suicide was not the intended purpose of a car trunk). The utter ridiculousness of this case makes it impossible for me to forget, along with the accompanying Tort law concepts. I love Torts so much that I asked to be a part of the Products Liability Moot Court Team when given the option.

Civil Procedure
Civil Procedure is a great first-year class because it involves cold, hard, black letter law rules. There is no guessing and arguing- there are just rules. Though this made it a great class to learn in and was easier to study for than some others, it also felt a bit stale and stifling at times. I had a great professor who made it as fun as legal rules can be but it still is just very stale. I know that it is a very important class for those who want to go into civil litigation and trial work and if that is your focus, I suggest making Civil Procedure a priority!

Constitutional Law 
Con Law is a very important class. I know not everyone will agree with me but I truly believe it is. The Constitution is the basis of our country and its legal system. As aspiring attorneys, the legal system is going to be our bread and butter. Knowing where the laws came from, why they came to be and how they came to be may not always be fun but it is integral. Con law seeps into all other classes because a constitutional issue will inevitably pop up in every other law class. I always felt there was something extra important about learning the law of our country through the frame of our constitution... it is just so important as an American. I also enjoyed the historical aspect because I am and will always be a self-professed history nerd.

Criminal Law 
Crim law is my absolute favorite. I have always said I wanted to go into criminal law but I really didn't what that entailed until taking this class in the spring of my 1L year. Two weeks in and I knew this was the only law I wanted to practice. I just love the challenge each case presents- you need to find out the truth of the case and fit it into the elemental boxes of a crime and then argue for or against conviction. My professor taught us criminal law by assigning us defense or prosecution and letting us argue our way through class according to the statutory provisions and facts of a case. I just loved every minute in that class. Criminal law is unique because you are applying statute to facts to determine if there is a crime or not. It is a bit different than other classes that have laws based more on the decisions of precedent cases and the common law system. After finishing Criminal Law, I knew this was the field for me... and it was my highest grade in law school to date which certainly made me happy.

Legal Research and Writing 
Legal research and writing is such an important class. It is truly hands-on and simulates what you will do in practice as an attorney. However, it is also technical and at times very frustrating... and it is easy to put on the backburner during the hustle and bustle of 1L year. By the end, I wanted nothing more than to burn my bluebook. I did really well with the appellate brief because it was persuasive writing. But I struggled with objective writing for the memorandum. A lot of the things they made us do in LRW just felt like busy work... I never want to hear the words "Core Grammar" again. But all of that aside, I did learn to be a better legal writer and when I went to my internship after 1L summer, I was armed with a group of skills to complete any research or writing assignments they gave me. So no matter how annoying and boring it was, legal research and writing is so very necessary and a class that should be taken very seriously.

Well, there they are: my very honest opinions and thoughts about 1L classes. I know everyone is different and has very different opinions about which classes they enjoy and which they hate. I just hope this helps to give some insight into what to expect in these classes so you can go into 1L year with some understanding of what to anticipate.

Also, I am happy to have no classes today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day but I want to take a moment to remember why we have no classes. Today we honor a man who worked tirelessly for justice, equality and rights for all- the three things I think lawyers should strive to protect and uphold. Today, I remember a great man with a dream for freedom and I will work extra hard toward my own dreams so that someday, my license to practice law can help me to provide justice, equality, and protection of the rights of my fellow citizens.

Springing into Spring Semester

Well, friends, it's my 24th birthday! It's hard to believe I am almost to my quarter life milestone because I still feel like I am too young to really be an adult. My hubby made me a delicious breakfast and we have a quiet day planned but he is taking me out to a fancy dinner later... I am a lucky wife to be married to this guy.

In other news, I start my 4th semester of law school on Monday. It's hard to believe I am halfway through law school. It's actually pretty surreal. I have a busy tough semester ahead of me: 5 classes (3 super challenging ones)  plus working and my Moot Court competition will take place this spring. I am vowing to get off on the right foot in 2018 and I want to rock this semester. I know... those who have been following for a while are probably thinking I say this before every semester... and you're right. I do try to motivate myself at the beginning to do my best... throughout the semester I do tend to run out of steam because well, law school is really hard.

Following Fall semester, I am mostly pleased and yet still a little disappointed in myself. A few of my grades were great and I was super proud of myself. A few others.... not quite so proud of myself. it's all relative I suppose and balances out in the end. I still hope to further improve my GPA this upcoming semester and get one step closer to finishing my law degree. In order to do this, I have set some goals to work towards as I spring into spring semester (yes I know, terrible puns but I can't help it).

1. Start Reviewing Earlier
It pains me to write this but it's the truth... I always seem to think I am going to start getting ready for finals nice and early and I still always start later than I would like which leaves me working like a mad person for the week before and weeks of finals. With only three in-class exams this semester, I really think I can manage to start reviewing for those exams much earlier. Fingers crossed that my willpower stays strong. I hope to have my outlines done plenty early and be able to start practice problems, practice essays, flashcards and study group a full month out from final exams. I think this will set me up for better exam success in two of my toughest classes this semester: Evidence and Secured Transactions.

2. Do All Weekly Reading by Monday Night
I do not have class on Monday until 5:55pm. I am going to utilize my mostly open Monday's to *hopefully* crunch out all of my reading for the week so I can spend my time revising class notes, working on Moot Court and outlining after classes. I tend to run out of steam for reading and taking good reading notes as the week goes on so if I do it all by Monday night, I will be fresh and ready to read well and take excellent reading notes. I will then do a 15-minute refresher before class to make sure the reading is fresh in my mind before class. I hope this will make my weeks more productive and leave me with more time to work on goal one, reviewing earlier.

The longer I am a law student, the more I am recognizing my faults and the more I am trying to overcome them to consistently improve my grades and performance. Both these goals are a result of that.

3. Make Law School more "9-5"
I have always had a weird schedule in law school. I tend to sleep in, go to class, take a few hours to relax and then pick up my work and study late into the night. I know it sounds insane but it is the schedule that worked for me because I am a total night owl. This semester, I have early morning classes three days a week and night classes until 8pm four nights a week... this forces me to change up my normal schedule quite a bit. I hope to stay productive and adjust my schedule into more of a "9-5" law school schedule. In between classes and work, I will work on my school work, moot court problem and reading. Then when I come home from night classes, I can relax with my husband a little bit and do some Yoga before going to bed at a normal time. My goals of completing my weekly reading by Monday night will also help with this I think. I hope this new schedule will work out and make my weeks productive while still getting enough sleep.

My busy spring weekly schedule (or at least what I hope it will look like so long as I can be organized)

4. Outline Every Friday
I did so much better with outlining last semester! I was very proud of myself for having them done well before exams. I plan to keep that up this semester by outlining my classes weekly each Friday when I have no class. I work Friday mornings and I can come home and outline all afternoon while I throw in a few loads of laundry. This leaves my weekends a little more open for having a life, lol.

There we go! My spring semester goals. I hope everyone has had an enjoyable break and is ready for another great semester. Best of luck to all of you!

2017 Reflection and 2018 Goals

2017 was a good year. My husband and I were just talking about how nothing terribly exciting happened- it was just an average, good year for us. I really can't complain about that; generally, our family was healthy and happy and we made a lot of great memories.

Early 2017 started off exciting when we rescued our sweet Annie. This dog reminds me of all that is good in the world. When we adopted her, she was 1.5 years old and had already had a litter of puppies, had been shot in the shoulder with a pelleted shotgun which it healed poorly without medical attention and the pellets are still in her leg encased in a large amount of scar tissue and leaves her with a small limp, and she was found running stray on the streets of Kentucky. After all of that, this dog is still the sweetest and happiest dog I have ever had the privilege of knowing and has a trademark smile for whenever she gets excited. She fits perfectly in with our other two dogs and has meshed into our life like she was always here. We simply cannot imagine our life without her now and we are so thankful we got to adopt this sweet little angel. #adoptdontshop

  

January also featured me getting reared ended in a hit and run which lead to two weeks of my husband and I share a car and a rather big bill to get my car fixed. Not very fun but I am just thankful I was not injured and the car was fixable thanks to good insurance.

Most of my spring was just busy busy busy with law school. Over spring break I had an emergency root canal which put a little damper on my vacation time. I did finish spring semester strong with a big improvement on my GPA and my first A in law school. Soon after, I found out I made the Moot Court Products Liability team which was a big dream of mine in law school.

I spent my summer interning at my local prosecutor's office and I loved absolutely every minute. I had the opportunity to work on murder cases, write official briefs and memos and attend and assist at several trials. I have officially decided that criminal prosecution is where my career plans lay and I can't wait to continue forward in my career path by interning with a local Judge this coming summer.

At the end of the summer, my hubby and I took a vacation to Maine. Maine is one of my absolute favorite places on earth- my dad grew up there and we have visited almost every year of my life. It is one of few places I can visit over and over again and love it just as much every time. We had a wonderful and relaxing week full of ocean views, mountain hikes and family time. If you are looking for a vacation spot, mid-coast Maine is one of the best.

School started back up in August and I embarked on my busiest semester to date. I started working in Law School admissions as a student ambassador and I absolutely love it. It is the best job as I love helping new law students (hence the whole point of this blog) and I have the best bosses! I enjoyed most of my classes this past semester: I took a Criminal Adjudications class with my favorite professor which I absolutely loved, I took an appellate procedure writing class to prepare for my moot court competition in the spring which was so informative and helpful and I surprised myself by getting through a very challenging commercial paper class despite my lack of natural ability in those type of classes. My grades are trickling in slowly and thus far I have been very pleased and my GPA is rising. In between the craziness of school and life, I did get a chance to go to two amazing concerts: I saw the legend himself, Sir Paul McCartney, and he was just as fantastic as I expected. I also saw my favorite artist of all time, Garth Brooks, and it was the absolute best night.

During the early Fall semester, I competed in my school interscholastic appellate advocacy competition. This was fashioned in the format of Moot Court and involved weekly head to head argument sessions that eliminated one person each time, bracket style. I made it all the way to the final four in my class which involved arguing in front of three federal judges and my entire school. It was a grueling experience on top of all my regular school work and my job but it was such a wonderful opportunity and I grew so much as an advocate through it.

We had a lovely, quiet holiday with family and enjoyed a white Christmas for the first time in years. The snow is still hanging around and I am hoping we can sneak in a ski trip sometime soon.

That brings me to now- winter break. I have been lounging around the house, reading novels, drinking too much hot tea and completing some various little projects and cleaning/organizing around our home. This time to relax, reflect and rejuvenate had given me some time to think toward the new year and all that I want to accomplish. 2018 will bring another semester of law school, my first moot court competition, a new internship, a Carribean cruise in May and I am sure many other adventures. I did sit down to make out a few goals.... we shall see how I do with those.

2018 Goals

1. Make My Health a Priority 
I recently purchased a treadmill and I am absolutely determined to get in shape and run a 5K in 2018. I have a Fitbit, I have a jug of lemon water in the fridge and I am ready to get in shape. I am tired of spending my days hunched over a desk and feeling like a bump on a log. I am also starting the Tone It Up 5 day Detox tomorrow (you can still sign up and it' completely free!) and even once that ends, I am vowing to eat healthier and improve my overall wellness in 2018.

As a part of improving my physical wellness, I am working on my mental wellness as well. I have been on a mission to remove as much negativity from my life as possible- cut out toxic friendships and toxic influences. I am trying to make an effort to seek out the positive in every day... something I have always struggled with as I can be a somewhat glass half empty type of person. But I am vowing to try see the glass half full from now on. I am vowing to be a better friend, a better daughter, sister, wife, dog mom and overall better and less negative person.

Also, I am working to make social media a little less toxic. The beauty of social media is the connections and relationships it fosters. The ugly side of social media is that it encoruages comparing yourself to everyone else and only seeing the highlight reel of peoples lives. This can feed into my natural propensity for not seeing the positive so I am trying to delete any negative influences through social media and make a constant effort to see the best out of social media and not compare myself to the highlight reels of seemingly perfect Instagram feeds. I know guilty of this as much as anyone else- as a blogger, I tend to carefully select everything that goes on my blog or social media and it becomes a bit of a highlight reel... I try to strive for transparency and try to keep it real but I, like most, fall into the trap of only showing the best parts of life on social media. In the new year, I am going to try to keep in mind that behind every gorgeous, jealousy-inducing Instagram feed, is a normal person who has struggles and ugly moments just like me... letting that jealousy from comparing myself eat away at me is just silly so I am going to try my hardest to avoid that from now on.

Similarly, this is true in law school as well. It is a competitive environment. It is easy to compare your grades to others, be jealous of someone else internship or job... this is not helpful. In the new year, I am doing all of this for me. The only grades I am trying to be better than is my grades from last semester. The only internship I care about is my own. I am getting this law degree for ME and the accomplishments of everyone else is irrelevant to that goal.

2. Professional Networking
As an aspiring attorney, networking is so key in getting jobs in the future. In fact, both my internships thus far in law school have been the result of pure networking and had nothing to do with my grades or anything else. In the new year, I am setting a goal to increase my legal contacts through networking and start setting myself up for the post-graduation job f my dreams.

3. Be a Better Wife
In the hustle and bustle of life, I have realized I often forget to put my husband first. Remedying this is one of my goals for the new year. I am blessed to be married to a thoughtful, sweet, patient man who goes out of his way to make my life easier and works so hard to support me through law school. My goal is to remember to thank him more often, send a surprise note and cookies in his lunch more often and make at least one evening a week a date night where I turn off everything else spinning around my mind and focus on my husband and my marriage. After all, we are still technically newlyweds LOL.

4. Explore
It is easy to get caught up in the day to day routine and forget to explore. When I was in Europe for study abroad, I explored: I tried new things, stumbled upon crazy adventures and had the time of my life. I am not in a place in life where exploring can be European vacations but it doesn't mean that I have to stop exploring completely. In 2018, I am going to make exploring more of a priority. I am going to explore other places through books, I am going to explore my city on weekends, I am going to explore my limits by pushing myself out of my comfort zone and eat new foods, try new drinks... basically I am going to treat everyday life like it's a European vacation and find the beauty in every day, ordinary things and attack life with the mentality of exploration.

So that's my recap of 2017 and my goals for 2018... I am really looking forward to another great year. Hopefully, I can stick with my goals! I hope everyone has a safe and fun New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2018. 

How to Rock a Moot Court Try-out or Competition

Moot Court is a big part of most law schools. At my school, and most law schools from my understanding, there are two big optional opportunities to try out for after 1L year: Law Review and Moot Court. Law Review is a more research and writing based activity where you spend your time writing and editing a not/comment on a specific area of law. Moot Court allows you to practice and hone oral advocacy skills through competition as well as practical legal writing skills through the accompanying written brief. Personally, as I want to go into criminal prosecution and trial work, Moot Court seemed like the right fit for me over Law Review because I really wanted to hone my oral advocacy skills. I tried out for Moot Court at my school, was selected for the Products Liability team and I am preparing for a national competition in March.

Throughout my process of trying out for and being selected for Moot Court and my interscholastic appellate advocacy competition this Fall in which I made it to the final four and presented my argument in front of three real federal judges, I think I have figured out a few tips for being successful in the Moot Court setting. For those preparing for Moot Court try-outs or oral arguments this spring, I sincerely hope this helps in your preparation.

1. Prepare for Everything 
Moot court try-outs are fashioned after the format of the competitions. You will write a brief or be given one, you must read every case cited and be able to competently discuss them, be fluent in the relevant law and anticipate any possible holes in the logic. Whomever the judges on your panel are, they will attack any weakness in your argument. You must be prepared for this and be able to consistently counter with your argument strengths. If you are prepared and have practiced your argument and answers to possible questions, you will do great.

2. Be Confident
This may seem silly and basic but it is simple truth. You must argue with confidence. Be confident in your argument, your material and yourself. If you can present an image of poise and confidence, you will have a better chance. Fake it until you make it they say; even if you are nervous, if you can project an image of confidence, you will be in good shape so long as you are also properly prepared.

3. Dress to Impress
Boys, wear a dark-colored suit. Girls, a dark-colored suit and low heels. I know it is formal and boring but it is the nature of the profession. I know more about what the girls should wear than the boys so I will focus on that. A dark colored suit is necessary; traditionally, a skirt suit is best but a well-fitting pantsuit is not wrong. Invest in a quality suit and if it is not a perfect fit, a good tailor can make it lok custom made. Simple hair-do's are best. No bright colored nail polish but make sure nails are clean and not chipped or overly long. Wear simple jewelry such as small studs, a simple chain necklace and a watch. Flesh colored nylons are encouraged. Low heels are best in a neutral color. Some say to wear only matte leather or suede but I always wear patent leather 3' heels and I have never gotten chastised for it. Soft makeup is best; don't overdo it. Your outfit and appearance should be classy and modest and allow your argument and intellect to shine through.

Example of what I wore during my competition this Fall: Black J. Crew Skirt Suit, a royal blue blouse, flesh-colored nylons, black patent leather 3" heels and simple hair and makeup

4. Formalities are Key
Ahhh Moot Court formalities. They are annoying but necessary. Here is a fairly comprehensive list:

• Open every argument with "May it please the court"
• Make sure to have a roadmap at the beginning of your argument outlining your main premise and your numbered points of argument
• Always thank the judges at your argument conclusion and conclude clearly with a prayer for relief (what are you asking the court to do)
• Show deference to the bench- refer to them as your honor, thank them for questions, be respectful at all times and in all manners
• For heaven's sake, have eye contact with the judges, particularly to whoever is asking you a question
• Scan the bench as you are talking; don't fixate on one spot or one judge in particular
• All the primary elements of good speaking are still necessary: speak clearly, speak up, don't say "um" or "like", don't mumble, stand up straight and don't wave your hands around all that fun stuff

5. Don't be Stuffy 
While Moot Court is a formal activity, it is also important to make the process conversational. You are not preaching; you are having a formal conversation with the judges. Smile, try to be natural and have some fun while you are doing it. It can be very invigorating and enjoyable to compete when you are prepared and can maintain your position. Try to make it a fun experience and not a scary/stressful one.

I hope this is helpful! I wish everyone the best of luck in Moot Court try-outs and oral arguments this spring.

Happy Holidays!

Well folks... it has been a while. Finals were an experience as usual. It was a very rough few weeks to get through the madness but I did it!

I am officially halfway through law school. I honestly can't even believe it! I am gearing up for a busy second semester full of moot court competition, working, some interesting classes and all the other usual stuff. I am enjoying my break by catching up on life, deep cleaning my house, watching endless Christmas movies, binge-watching The Crown, baking cookies and generally relaxing while I can... oh and checking the school website every hour for grades.

I plan to put out some blog content while I have the spare time over break. I was so busy last semester, blogging just did not take priority and I was not able to put out as much content as I had hoped and planned to.

Thank you to all who follow along with my little blog and I wish you the happiest of Holidays!