{"id":443,"date":"2017-08-23T15:57:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T22:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/orientation2017\/?p=443"},"modified":"2017-08-23T16:25:21","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T23:25:21","slug":"443","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/orientation2017\/2017\/08\/23\/443\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Perspective – Cate Provan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knowing Your Values<\/span><\/h4>\n

Hi 1Ls! Welcome to Allard! We are so excited to have you joining your community in the Fall.<\/p>\n

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CSO Student Cate Provan!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I want to start by briefly confirming something that several other student perspective blogposts have said: there is a lot going on at Allard, basically all the time. There are countless clubs, sports teams, firm socials, career events, mentorship opportunities, etc. for you to get involved in. What\u2019s more, everyone around you is at Allard for a different reason, and will focus on particular activities depending on what they are hoping to achieve. In short, there are a lot of really smart people doing a lot of very different things.<\/p>\n

Now I don\u2019t tell you there\u2019s a lot going on at Allard to freak you out. The crazy amount of opportunity here is a really good thing, because it means that there is a place for everyone. The fact that students want to do different things at law school is also a really good thing, because the law school needs a diverse student body just like the legal profession needs a diversity of lawyers. I only tell you about the busy-ness of Allard because there are ways to prepare yourself for it so you thrive here.<\/p>\n

A really important part of managing the busy-ness of law school is making sure you don\u2019t lose yourself along the way. It can be easy to get caught up in what other students are doing. It can be easy to lose track of the reasons that you <\/em>came to Allard and the way that you <\/em>approach your goals.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples: perhaps a good friend of yours joins Law Students Legal Advice program and <\/em>Pro Bono Students Canada in first term of 1L, and you feel like an underachiever for not joining both too. Or a classmate sends you a Snapchat from the Law Library at 4 am during exam season (#upallnight), and you feel guilty for not pulling an all-nighter too \u2013 even though you already studied all day. Or all of a sudden you are considering a career at a tax law firm because some cool people in your class told you it\u2019s the way to go \u2013 even though you have absolutely no passion for tax. You could call this phenomenon \u201claw school FOMO” (fear of missing out).<\/p>\n

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Occasionally we have fun at law school<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I definitely struggled with law school FOMO in first-year, but I found that one of the best ways to avoid getting caught up in the ambitions and choices of others is to be self-reflexive; taking some time to think about who you are, why you\u2019re at Allard, and what you want is the best way to stay grounded. I realized the power of self-reflection sometime in the middle of first-term, and developed a fun little exercise to help me stay grounded for the rest of the year. I\u2019m going to share it here in the hopes that it helps you (at least one of you!) to stay grounded in first-year too!<\/p>\n

Step 1:\u00a0<\/strong>Go to a restful place by yourself and spend some time thinking about why you want to be at law school. Maybe you have a specific career goal, like becoming a Crown prosecutor or a partner at a law firm. Maybe your goals aren\u2019t so clear, but you know that a law degree is valuable and versatile (that\u2019s great too!).<\/p>\n

Think about what you are passionate about and what you value. Do you live for social justice? Do you love helping people? Do you love the idea of helping businesses thrive? Do you value time with your family? Is it important to you that you make a comfortable living, or have the ability to travel the world during your career?<\/p>\n

Also think about reasons you don\u2019t <\/em>have for coming to law school, and the values that you don\u2019t <\/em>hold. For example, if money has never been a factor in your decision-making, make a mental note that you aren\u2019t at law school to pursue the career option that will lead to the most Ferraris.<\/p>\n

Every single person will have a different set of goals, passions and values, so take some time to acknowledge your unique set.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Find friends to remind you of your values!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Step 2:<\/strong> Write down what you thought about. This can take different forms: maybe you want to write a mission statement for your law degree (e.g. \u201cI want to be a lawyer because I care about\/want to\u2026\u201d); maybe it\u2019s a series of one-line promises to yourself (e.g. \u201cI will not compromise my mental health for the sake of the highest grade in the class\u201d); maybe it\u2019s just all your thoughts in point form, but the more concrete your thoughts are, the better. If you just write down a stream of consciousness, it might be difficult to follow when future-you looks back at it later (which is the whole point, as you will soon see\u2026).<\/p>\n

Step 3: <\/strong>Put what you wrote down somewhere safe where you won\u2019t lose it or forget about it, like in an envelope taped to your fridge, or a nice box. I gave mine to my partner, and asked him to give it back to me if he ever noticed me getting overly stressed about school or my career. Whatever works for you!<\/p>\n

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Spending time with family = v important\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Step 4: <\/strong>Over the course of 1L, if you are feeling anxious, lost, or less-than, go find what you wrote and read it back to yourself. The fresh-faced version of yourself from pre-Orientation will have a lot more clarity and wisdom than the tired, middle-of-term version of yourself reading it back. With any luck, what you wrote will energize and re-ground you, so that you can focus on doing whatever you came to Allard to do. No matter how you feel, I recommend reading back what you wrote during reading break in February. It might give you some much needed inspiration as you head into exam prep season after the break.<\/p>\n

This year, for the first time ever, a really cool values assessment component called LawMap has been built into your Orientation Week (you should have already received an e-mail about completing it). As you can probably guess from the rest of my blog, I am SO EXCITED about LawMap! It\u2019s basically a more structured version of the values exercise that I suggested above. You can do LawMap in addition to your own reflection on your values, or you may find that LawMap is enough value assessment on its own. Whatever your self-reflection looks like, I encourage you to put some time and effort into it. It will pay-off in the short-term at law school, and for the rest of your career!<\/p>\n

You might be wondering, \u201cwhat if my reasons for coming to Allard genuinely change over time?\u201d That is a very real possibility. You might have come here wanting to be a Crown prosecutor, but after a term of 1L classes you realize that you LOVE property and contracts. Law students are always learning new things about the practice of law, and they evolve accordingly. Embrace the change!<\/p>\n

The purpose of writing down your goals and values before 1L is not to make you feel bound to them. It\u2019s not a contract that you are magically destined to follow for the rest of your life, and you definitely aren\u2019t required to stay true to them. But if your goals and values change at Allard, it should be because you<\/u> <\/em>want to change them, not because you accidentally got caught up in somebody else\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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We made it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I hope you can use this simple exercise to your advantage as you turn your mind towards the Fall, and I wish you the absolute best as you navigate the wonderful, insane first-year of Allard Law.<\/p>\n

Looking forward to meeting you in the Fall!<\/p>\n

-Cate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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