Our winter exams are just around the corner, so I imagine this will be my last blog post for a little while. Lately, I’ve had my socks pulled up and my nose to the grindstone, which is not much to write home about. Since I’m short on anecdotes I thought I’d (once again) reflect on the some of the things I’ve learned over the last few months.

1)   There’s a list of recommended readings for prospective students on the UBC Law website, which I completely ignored until recently. In retrospect, I wish I had at least taken a peek at a book on law exams. This certainly isn’t necessary—as Graham mentioned, the December exams are essentially a trial run. We’re going to learn all about law exams next month! I’m just thinking it would be nice to have one less thing to get acquainted with over the next couple weeks.

2)   I highly recommend getting involved in the Law Students Legal Advice Program (LSLAP). LSLAP makes me want to be a lawyer. I go to clinics and I get my own clients. It is rewarding to be able to help people, plus I’ve learned so much about the law, procedure and file management. Our courses teach us substantive law and how to think about it; LSLAP let’s us apply it.

3)   Since September, my life has pretty much revolved around reading. It seems like I am either reading or thinking about how I ought to be reading. Like right now, there’s this pile of reading for my property class just staring at me.

4)   I’ve identified two types of law school stress. The first is the I’ve-got-a-million-things-to-do stress, which I would say is pretty much unavoidable. The pace is fast and the workload is intense. The good news is this can be pretty motivating and is usually followed by feelings of accomplishment when things get done. The second is the I’m-tired-and-crabby-and-feeling-super-unimpressive-oh-how-will-I-ever-make-it-as-a-lawyer stress. The best way I’ve found to deal with this is by doing something unrelated to law school. Hang out with friends. Watch a hockey game. Make dinner. Sometimes I just need a break. And there’s time for those breaks! Even with all that required reading.

5)   Hard work pays off.