And Now The Fun Begins...

So that's it. The orientation is over. You'd think I would be pretty glad to get that over with, right? WRONG. All that means is that the real work begins. Oh yea, and now it counts! I've never felt more pressure in my entire life. It is very weird. I don't even know how to explain it, but it is a very intense feeling. I mean, think about it. If I fail then I have blown over $40,000 in tuition and books, I have spent countless dollars in preparation and moving expenses, I have imposed additional stress and discomfort on my family, the list goes on and on. Never before in my entire life has the stakes been so high and the goal so excrutiatingly difficult to acheive. I'd ask you to wish me luck, but it's going to take far more than luck!

Today was pretty laid back, as far as orientation goes. We did a service project this morning and I helped out on the school farm (am I really turning into a redneck already?). We pulled weeds, dug up thistle, and harvested crops. Just call me Cletus - YEE HAW! It was good, though, because I was able to bond a little bit more with some fellow classmates.

After the farm, we went back and worked on our case briefs. Apparently, over the next three years I will be writing literally hundreds and hundreds of case briefs. That's alright with me, though. I think they're actually pretty fun and interesting.

Following that they had the hour and a half session for the spouses, so Heidi and Trey Bug came to the school for that. I know what you're thinking - what did they do with Trey? Did he sit through that? And the answer is: Are you kidding me?! Of course he didn't! I had to go relieve Heidi of her duties so she could attend the class. Unfortunately, the class wasn't quite what I hoped it would be for her. I guess they were pretty negative about what these poor spouses will have to face and only gave Heidi more fear and apprehension. She's been handling things so amazingly and I know that she's trying to bottle up all her emotions so that it won't affect me. She's the best wife a law student could ask for, and I can't imagine going through this with anyone else but her. I hope she knows how much I've appreciated her support and cooperation with this whole situation (and if she didn't, she does now!).

We had a BBQ afterwards where Heidi got to meet some of my fellow classmates, and then that was it. Orientation is over. **sigh** As I mentioned before, now the real grind begins. In fact, here's a list of the reading assignments that are due on the FIRST DAY OF CLASS! (Seriously, homework on the first day?)

Legal Writing - 23 pages
Torts - 13 Pages
Property - Two Supreme Court Cases (approx. 12-15 pages)
Legal Research - 23 Pages
Contracts - 17 Pages

And there's still one more class that I haven't heard from yet, that will inevitably be making an assignment as well. The thing is, in undergrad I could easily get away with not reading. In law school, you have to come prepared with notes, a marked up book, and they randomly call on you to explain what you read. So it's not like just skimming the pages will suffice. This requires active reading! No shortcuts here.

Well, I'll be starting that tomorrow probably. So if I find some time, I'll let you know how it goes. This post is already way too long, so I'll sign off here.

A Terrible Father Or A Terrible Lawyer

Day two has come and gone. I have a feeling I'm going to miss the orientation days once the major classwork begins. **sigh** Today was a much less stressful day than yesterday. It was more general information about how to manage stress, student services, and our swearing in to the honor code.

We had the president of the Wyoming Bar Association come and talk to us a little bit about being a lawyer and he had a really interesting comment. A girl in the class asked him how he manages to balance his career and his family. This is what he said: "I could have been a really great lawyer. But with a family, that's not possible. You can either be a really great lawyer and a terrible father, or you can be a really great father and a terrible lawyer." He claimed that he thinks (and hopes) that he's found the right balance. Although he may not be the best lawyer in the country, he also is able to be with his family more often. So I thought that was kind of interesting and applicable to me.

I also had to buy books today. Ouch. You might as well have kicked me in the groin and mugged me cause that's what it felt like! $800 later, I'm ready to begin the semester. It's unbelievable the expenses that come with being a law student, and even more unbelievable how difficult it is to actually secure financial aid for yourself. I don't know how other people are doing it, but it has been an ongoing cause of stress for me! But, I think we'll get it all figured out and be just fine in the end.

The financial aid advisor spoke to us today and had an interesting quote as well, "You should live like a student today, so you don't have to live like a student later." Point taken.

Well, tomorrow is our community service project and I've been assigned to help on the farm! YEE HAW! We also have the concurrent session with our spouses to discuss how NOT to get divorced. Later that evening is the BBQ, so Heidi will finally get to meet some of my fellow classmates. Should be fun!

Anyway, I'm going to sign off so I can go cry into my pillow about how freakin' poor we are! Just kidding (I'll save that for bedtime). :O)

Is That All You Got?

I'm feeling a bit masochistic after my first day of orientation. It was a lot to take in - they definately tried to scare me to death, and the warned extensively about how grueling the next few months were going to be. And you know what? I liked it!

Boy was it A LOT of stuff to process, but it got me really excited. Hearing the instructors use the legal lingo and talk about the law got me thinking "yea, I want to be like that!" So that's good news.

Here's a few little interesting tidbits from my nine hours of orientation today:

• We are the first law class in UW's history to have a female majority. That's right. There's more women in my class then men.
• The Dean of the school reminded us that we were all likely the top of our undergraduate class (that's why we're actually in grad school) and probably were used to getting A's. However, he wanted us to inform our significant other that we will definately need some consoling when grades are handed out at the end of the semester. The average grade for the 1L's is a C and we really shouldn't expect anything above that. Ouch. That will be a hard pill to swallow.
• We will probably be putting in 2-3 hours of study for each hour of class we have (and sometimes 4-5 hours!). Let's see...I'm no mathematician, but I have 16 hours of actual class time per week. So if I have to put in, say, an average of three hours of study per one hour of class that's... gulp... 48 hours of study time combined with my 16 hours of class time for a total of... double gulp... 64 hours per week. I hope not. But we'll see how it goes.

Well, I think that's it for now. I need to go spend some time with my family while I have it, so I'm going to wrap this post up now. I'll see if I have some time tomorrow to write about day #2 of law school boot camp.