What You Have to Know About Law School Final Exams

"Your value as a person is not determined by your performance on this exam or any other exam, your performance in law school nor the bar exam. Your value is inherent and inviolate and nothing can take it away from you."

                                                    - quoting Professor Shelley Cavalieri.

Print this out and hang it above your desk. I promise you will thank me

There is so much pressure to excel on law school exams and that is okay. What is not okay is letting the need to excel, the need to beat the curve and the need to get that A becomes your benchmark on how you determine your value as a law student, as a lawyer or as a human being. A grade is just a grade. It is just one piece of the puzzle. It is not the end all be all.

A bad grade is not the end of the world. A few bad grades are not the end of the world. Let it push you and drive you to do better but do NOT let it defeat you.

Speaking from personal experience, there is nothing more defeating and heartbreaking than failing a class in law school or getting a grade lower than you wanted. I remember sitting in my bed at 2am when my Property I grade was released bawling my eyes out because I got a C- and that meant I had failed and would have to retake the class. It was one of the most crushing moments of my life. But, I picked myself up and decided I was never failing a class again and pushed myself harder until my law school GPA and grades were something I could be proud of. Now, I am getting ready to graduate. I have cords and medals to wear on graduation day. I have gotten A's, I have gotten the highest grade in a class, I have excelled in Moot Court and I have a resume full of honors and awards from my time in law school. I am not longer that girl who failed Property I... I am 2 weeks away from being a Juris Doctor and the highest educated person in my family.

My law schools grades, both the good and the bad, do not define me. Your grades do not define you. Please do not let anyone ever let you think otherwise and please don't let yourself start to believe that it is true.

You got into law school for a reason- you are good enough, you are smart enough and you can do this. If you remember nothing else from everything I have typed into this little blog, please remember this.

Good luck to all this exam season!

Friday Five 4/26

Happy Friday!

Today I am taking my last substantive final exam! ( I have one more next week but it is good faith effort/participate to pass so I do not have to study for it). My week was basically full of nothing but study study study and take exams. However, there were some bright spots: on Easter, I was blessed to welcome a new nephew, Lincoln Lee.

Here are a few fun snaps from my week:

Gracie goes to law school

And here are my Friday Five!

Book Review: The Boys in the Boat

Taking a break from exams to bring you a book review!

The April book pick for our Novel Idea Book Club was The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. This is the story of the 1936 USA Olympic Rowing Team that took Gold at the Berlin Olympics. It was a team of 8 college boys from the University of Washington who grew up in logging towns and fishing villages before making their way onto the worlds stage and rowed their way into the history books.

It is no secret that I am a giant history nerd so this book was right up my alley. 1936 was a historical time... the Great Depression was still holding America in its grasp, Germany was rising again into a monster no one could foresee and the world had not even yet recovered from the war to end all wars. It was into this backdrop that 8 tall, Northwestern boys stepped into a rowing shell and into the history books. I love a good underdog story and these boys, who had no money, no pedigree and no reason to believe that they could be Olympians were the ultimate underdogs. Rowing is an elitist sport and yet, it was the working class boys that took the day. You can't write stories better than that and yet, this one was real.

If you have not read it, all I can say is that you should.

Choosing Courses Throughout Law School

Happy Monday!!! 

This is the first Monday in my final week of academic classes EVER. In addition to sharing that happy news, I am sharing all the tips and tricks I have learned about choosing and scheduling your courses throughout law school. I have had several people request a post on this topic so I hope it is helpful. 

As most law students know, there are a series of classes that the ABA requires every law student to take in order to graduate. Additionally, there are a series of classes that will be tested on the state bar you choose to take that are highly recommended. Beyond that, you can choose to take whatever classes interest you. 

Friday Five 4/12/19

Happy Friday!

This was my second to last week of school.... ever. I am ALMOST DONE. Overall, my week was pretty full of studying, outlining and getting ready for final exams. This weekend I have a banquet for Moot Court, judging try-outs for Moot Court next year and more studying for exams. Here are a few other snapshots from my week.

I spent my weekend at my parents farm hanging out with this guy. It was amazing. 

Anna Banana living her best life

'Tis the season for iced coffee