Defining your parameters
I am really glad that I have the opportunity to ease into law school with one summer course.
The first thing I notice when I walk into class is that everyone looks much older than me. Everyone sounds much smarter than me. Eveyone seems ultra-competative. I feel like I have just been cast into the path of a wild buffalo stampede -- kill yourself trying to keep up or be squashed.
My fellow students are strangers. They all seem unusually quick, witty, and sharp-- sharp enough to cut me into pieces in debate. I will not lie, I am scared. I could always expect to get A's in college, but Law School is a game played by different rules- rules I do not know yet.
The room is silent except for the powering on of 70 laptops. Enters Professor. He is not at all what I expected. His face is warm and relaxed with maturity. His steps are guided by a walker-cane with a built in chair, despite the fact that he radiates a jovial energy and enthusiasm. Unbelievable and unexpected that my only source of comfort so far is the professor.
His name is James Bond. He frequently talks about his wife and grown children. With the utmost sense of decency- he can make outrageously inappropriate remarks and suggestions as we analyze criminal cases. "Let's say someone did something illegal to me with my consent- what if I asked you to cook and eat me and you did. You would probably need to add a lot of salt to this old guy....Should that be a crime?"
We ease steadily into the purpose and skills of a legal degree and then discuss the purpose of punishment. He calls on students -- all of whom use words too big for comfort. At the end of class I still feel small, but passionate. I feel a sense of uneasiness, but deep at my core rests a usual inner sense of confidence that assures me there is nothing I can't accomplish if I work hard enough.
The first thing I notice when I walk into class is that everyone looks much older than me. Everyone sounds much smarter than me. Eveyone seems ultra-competative. I feel like I have just been cast into the path of a wild buffalo stampede -- kill yourself trying to keep up or be squashed.
My fellow students are strangers. They all seem unusually quick, witty, and sharp-- sharp enough to cut me into pieces in debate. I will not lie, I am scared. I could always expect to get A's in college, but Law School is a game played by different rules- rules I do not know yet.
The room is silent except for the powering on of 70 laptops. Enters Professor. He is not at all what I expected. His face is warm and relaxed with maturity. His steps are guided by a walker-cane with a built in chair, despite the fact that he radiates a jovial energy and enthusiasm. Unbelievable and unexpected that my only source of comfort so far is the professor.
His name is James Bond. He frequently talks about his wife and grown children. With the utmost sense of decency- he can make outrageously inappropriate remarks and suggestions as we analyze criminal cases. "Let's say someone did something illegal to me with my consent- what if I asked you to cook and eat me and you did. You would probably need to add a lot of salt to this old guy....Should that be a crime?"
We ease steadily into the purpose and skills of a legal degree and then discuss the purpose of punishment. He calls on students -- all of whom use words too big for comfort. At the end of class I still feel small, but passionate. I feel a sense of uneasiness, but deep at my core rests a usual inner sense of confidence that assures me there is nothing I can't accomplish if I work hard enough.
posted by Christy | 10:27 PM
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