We’re wrapping up the 5th week of classes this semester, which means time is flying by swiftly. Midterms are in one week, and there are only 10 more weeks until finals. We’re a third of the way through the Fall Semester, and the students have settled in to their daily routine of classes, homework, studying, and hopefully sleeping. It is the daily grind, and with the end in sight but afar off in the distance, it’s difficult to maintain stamina and keep a positive outlook. Students struggle to maintain a balanced schedule and remind themselves from time to time of the bigger picture . . . the real reason they’re in law school . . . namely, the fact that they aspire to the legal profession and must first pass this initial step on the road to their J.D. I’ve been there. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day drudgery and forget how everything works together.
Stay positive! When you’re feeling overwhelmed or despondent, remind yourself why you came to law school in the first place. Remind yourself that you’ve gotten this far already, and you WILL conquer and make it through the rest of law school, the Bar Exam, and beyond. When it comes to your attitude in life, you are your own worst enemy. The world may crumble to pieces around you, but you can survive and thrive if you remind yourself that this too shall pass.
If you’re dealing with failures, personal or those of people close to you, remember to learn from them. Turn those failures into educational opportunities. If you failed, admit it. Address the elephant in the room. Accept that you failed. But don’t stop there. Take that failure and figure out the lesson it taught you. Take that lesson to heart and learn from your failure. Don’t let your failures drag you down deeper into the pit of despair and despondency. Rise up from the ashes of failure and succeed.
Remember to look for the silver lining. Focus on your accomplishments, large or small. Success is encouraging. At the end of each day, try to recall ways in which you succeeded during the day. Little things like staying awake through your classes or bigger things like finishing that assignment on time. Address anything negative that happened and deal with it. The more often you actively attempt to recall positive things in your life, the easier it will become to shift your focus from the humdrum of every day life to the big picture and the reasons behind the humdrum.
We’re rooting for you!
Veterans Memorial Law Library 