Well I’ve officially had the worst week of law school thus far. Is it normal to reach a point during the first year when you hate life? I did last week. In fact, I just went to bed at 6pm on Friday because I was scared something else awful would happen and maybe if I was sleeping, I wouldn’t notice.
The good news is that I’m feeling a lot better and life moves on because the world doesn’t revolve around me (as much as I hate to admit it). I still need to work on outlines. I still need to do some reading for Contracts. But I’m still kicking. I redecorated my patio this weekend. I bought some flowers thinking that would cheer me up, and I found a really interesting huge rug at Big Lots for $15. And today my Southeast Texas redneck roots started to show a bit, and I found a random but perfectly good bar stool sitting next to the dumpster today… Yep, that’s right. It’s on my porch now, too. And yes, I cleaned it.
I wish I had more time to update, but it seems that in my spare time I’ve been sleeping or painting or just trying to keep in touch with friends. I’m hoping the summer quarter will be a little better because I’ll have a better idea of what I need to do from day to day. Anyway, I’m off to the library to work on a research project. Hope everyone has a good week.
April 6, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Yes, this is totally normal.
It does get better. Or you learn to find humor in the handbasket, I’m not sure which.
But regardless: this is totally normal, and survivable. Naps, cheese, and a healthy dose of deep breathing helps a lot.
April 6, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Yes, absolutely it’s normal. I’ve had quite a few of those moments this year
From what I gather from my own experience and those of 2Ls and 3Ls is that those phases of hating life/law school don’t go away after the first year, but you quickly learn how to deal with them.
For me, it’s letting myself do whatever it is that I feel will make me happy, regardless of my schedule. Often that is sleeping a lot, or maybe going to the movies with friends – doing things to get my mind off of everything. The longer I’m here, the better I learn to deal.
I agree with ImNobody – you learn to see the humor, or you at least learn that you WILL survive and that makes it easier to take the knocks as they come.
Have a good week!
April 6, 2009 at 9:47 pm
They’re right. That low point is definitely something that comes towards the end of the 1st quarter. In fact, I think I hit that same low on the exact same week last year. It does get better… Then Summer Quarter starts. And we have PC to look forward to.
April 6, 2009 at 11:05 pm
You decorated your patio with something you found in the trash… Your obligatory beer/mustard/BBQ sauce stained t-shirt will arrive in 5-7 business days.
April 7, 2009 at 9:46 pm
That actually makes me feel a lot better. At least I’m not alone. Last weekend I ended up just ignoring any homework on Friday, buying stuff to decorate my porch, and I ended up going to Austin for the night to stay with some friends. It seemed to help getting my mind off things. This week seems to be going much better.
Ben, I’m sending you my address, I’ll be waiting by my mailbox.
April 8, 2009 at 3:05 am
You laugh…
You can expect your shirt shortly.