Adjusting My Mind Set

Should I be worried that the reason I haven’t written in, you know, the last month is because I haven’t done a single law-related thing in that time?

I think I should be worried.

I’m worried.

Maybe I should post some pictures to temporarily take my mind off the worry.

I really just can't get over how cute these new parents are. And obviously tired, but I can't blame them. Kids are exhausting, bless their souls.

We had a big family reunion last weekend and as part of our activities, some of us opted to go to baseball game.

My family loves baseball.

I mean, we really love it. We train our kids young to love it too. 

Of course, part of the joy of baseball is to eat the food. The ridiculously overpriced, but tastes like nothing else in the world because you're eating it at a ballgame, food.

And gloating when you get to call "deuces" first. He cheated by the way. That's why he looks so pleased with himself. 

And a couple weeks prior to the game, I got to meet up with these lovely ladies and some others who are unfortunately not pictured to go camping for a weekend!

Isabelle, who will be a vet someday, caught this bullfrog entirely on her own. With bait she picked up from around the campground and a fishing pole she made out of stick... She's pretty dang impressive. We named the frog Jeremiah. Because, well, Jeremiah. He was a bullfrog. 

Sigh, at least if I utterly fail law school due to my incompetency and lack of preparation, I know I’ll always have a fun (albeit slightly crazy) family who loves me. That’s nice.

Oh, wait! I have learned something! Whew, okay, that’s good because now I don’t have to worry about completely bombing the next three years of my life and getting into thousands of dollars of debt for nothing. That’s a relief.

BYU hosted a law school luncheon a while ago, and while I couldn’t actually be there because I live and work in Idaho, they streamed the video for us to watch later. That was nice of them. And I did learn things, so many good things, from that video! (They’re hosting another one today, that I also will not be able to go to, but hopefully they’ll stream that one too. It’s all about how to survive the first year. I NEED them to stream that one…) Anyways, back to what I learned, because I learned stuff. I learned about how I shouldn’t allow law school to take over my life completely. I learned that I need to find a way to have balance. I learned that I probably shouldn’t be in this just for the money (and I’m not, although I would be 100% lying if I didn’t say that it’s a factor, because it is. I want to travel to Europe someday, so sue me. Except don’t, because I’ll be going to law school and I’ll beat the socks off of you in court. Hopefully.). But mostly, I learned that study groups will be my saving grace. 

This whole idea is a bit of a struggle for me, because by and large I don’t like study groups. I definitely hate group projects, and I’ve always kind of classified study groups into that whole genre of schoolwork. I know that it isn’t accurate, it’s just what I’ve always done. Throughout my college career, I generally preferred to grab some burritos from Taco Bell (the kind that you immediately regret the second you finish the last bite because you know you just shortened your life span by about 15 minutes, if not longer) and sequester myself in some hidden classroom, where I would stay for the next 1-5 hours, working and studying without a single interruption.* Apparently I can’t do this in law school. Apparently that would be bad for me and probably overwhelming, eventually leading me to ostracize my family and have some sort of psychotic breakdown.

So, despite my feelings about study groups, I decided to shut up and learn more about them. And I have learned that study groups shouldn’t be more than 6 people (for maximum help and friendship forming) but nor should they be less than 4, because then there’s not really enough people to make it super effective. (There’s kind of a fine line there.  Especially since 5 is generally such an awkward number, so you’re pretty much stuck between 4 or 6. Although that’s me, just making a judgement about the number 5. Maybe 5 would be a great thing. I’ll keep you posted on that.)

This means that I need to spend the next 8 weeks (it’s only 8 freaking weeks away people. I’m dying over here! So nervous. So very, very nervous.) getting used to the idea that within the first month of law school, I will need to either form or find a way to be part of a bomb.com study group. The comforting thing is, if I find a good one, not only will my life be easier, but I’ll have a close-knit group of friends to see me through the next three years! The bad news is that if no one wants me to be a part of their study group, it probably means that I’m a failure at life and no one likes to study with me because I really can be a little bit insufferable.

Just thinking out loud here, but is it a bad thing if I scope out my classmates the first couple of days and make intense judgments about whether or not they’re intelligent enough and their personalities are good enough to ask them to be a part of a group? That’s a bad thing isn’t it? I should work on being less judge-y. Man, I have a lot to work on in the next 8 weeks. Sigh.

Alright, enough self-pitying! I’ve got things to do! I’ve got greatness to achieve! Stay tuned friends, because sometime in about 3 months from now I will have a study group. I will follow the advice of those that came before me and I will be a part of something bigger than myself. And it will be great. Or no one will want me and I’ll come typing to you about it in tears. Either way it’ll be a treat. Because no matter what happens, I will still be on my way to becoming lawyered.  

*I would just like to note that I wasn’t anti-social in college. I did lots of things, with lots of people and I made some absolutely hysterical memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world. Grades were just always more important than people. Well, most people.