I'm back...and back to normal!

So, going to Maui for 4 nights, and then getting back at 1am on a Monday when you have to resume normal activities that day is kind of crazy. It's not like we intended it that way. Our plane ran late, so we got home hours later than we thought. Next time, I need a "spacer day". It took me a day and a half to get back on track. Here are a few pix from our trip.....one of a sunset from our dinner table on Thanksgiving, one of the 2 foot long puffer fish we saw, and one of our beach there in Wailea.

Waiting to greet me once I returned on Monday were 3 midterms....well, not exactly waiting, but they are next Monday the 5th, Thursday the 8th, and Monday the 12th. So, basically, my life for the next 2 weeks is going to consist of Torts, CivPro and Contracts. Thank GOODNESS Contracts is last, because that class has the most material (and we have had the least "practice"---no quizzes or papers).

But, on Monday, we did get our Torts quizzes back. They were supposed to be worth 1 point of our class grade. However, the class did so poorly that the professor decided not to count it. She said the grades started at 0, and most were in the 20-30 range. Ugh. She said only 6 in the class were 65 or over (passing). So, my awesome study group had 3 of the 6! And, I had a 70! :) Not as high as I'd like, of course, but considering all things, I am very happy with it.

My awesome daughter!

As if I weren't proud enough of her already....she got her SAT scores from the test she took earlier this month today. When she took the test a year ago (before the writing portion was added), she got a 700 on Math, and a 680 on verbal. Then this spring when she took the new SAT in March, she got a 720 on Math, 650 on verbal and 600 on writing.

Now, don't get me wrong, those are FABULOUS scores, and I would have been thrilled with those alone. But her scores from this month were: 640 on writing (up 40 points), 730 in verbal (up 80 points!), and a PERFECT 800 on Math! WOOOHOOO! Way to go Erin! MIT would be LUCKY to get you! :)

I admit it, I'm distracted

How would you feel if you had 2 days of law classes (Torts and CivPro) before leaving for Hawaii for 5 days? Not very motivated, right? Good, then I'm not alone.

With the help of my study group, I did get study outlines for all my classes put together this past weekend. I'm going to bring those, and old exams to practice on, with me to Hawaii. But this morning, I started packing all the other stuff too.....swimsuits, sunscreen, sandals....ah, I'm really looking forward to this. I just wish we were leaving today!

The whole reason for the trip is to celebrate our 10th anniversary, which was this past Saturday (Nov. 19). Kind fun to reach the first "big" milestone. Maybe it's stupid, but it feels like you have more authority or something when you're married longer, and 10 years is definitely "longer". When I hear about people, married only a couple years, giving advice, or talking about stuff they've been through, I just wanna say, "Just you wait....", but of course I never do. But NOW, I am officially entitled to say it, if I want. LOL!

I probably won't post until we're back. Here's a pic of us from last time we went to Maui, and where I'll be 2 days from now. :)

Done!

The quiz was taken, the paper has been turned in, and the midterm completed. The midterm was last night from 6:30-9:30pm. I'll tell you, I'm not exactly at the top of my form after 8pm. I just don't think as clearly, and analyzing is a lot more difficult when I'm tired and starting to drag. I doubt I did as well as I've done on my papers. I had a 92% in that class going into the midterm. But at least it is done with. Now, I'm dying to know when we'll get the midterm and paper grades back. I'm sure it won't be until after the holidays, but it sure would be nice to know before then.

2 down and 1 to go

So, the quiz has been taken, and the paper has been written (and will be turned in a day early tomorrow). All that's left is the midterm in Legal Analysis tomorrow. I'm not really expecting it to be that difficult. I'm going to spend the morning studying (ie. taking some practice tests).

Then, I'm basically on my way to Hawaii. Yeah!!! I do need to do a little more reading, and getting my study materials together, but that shouldn't be too hard to do by Tuesday.

I'm actually looking forward to the test tomorrow. I AM hoping that I'll get that grade, and the grade on my final paper before Christmas. It would be nice to have some feedback before the end of the year. After my other midterms, I'm sure I'm going to want some good news!

Packing

So......I'm in the middle of the quiz-midterm-paper sandwich week, and I've just been focusing on those 3 things (and ugh, I think I screwed up royally on my Torts quiz yesterday.....had nightmares about it last night and what I SHOULD have written!), and today I realized that since we'll be on our way to Hawaii early next Wed. am, I need to have ALL my study materials together and organized by then. Hmmmm....so, I need to finish this week, and then get my act together quickly so that I don't have to pack a bunch of law books next to my swimsuits. I'm hoping to only bring my outline/notes that I have in folders, by class. I have already printed out master outlines for each class. So, really I JUST need to print out my actual class outlines, along with the shorter exam-study outlines I'm making for each class. I probably have those about half done. Maybe it won't be as hard as I think. And, I think I'll bring my Glannon CivPro book, to practice some hypos. Sounds very romantic and tropical, don't you think? Maybe I'll enjoy Civpro more with a couple of mai tais in me.... : )

(BTW, I told my CivPro professor I was going to Hawaii, and he suggested that if I do well on my exams that I should insist on going before all my exams.....I mean, if it helps me, ya know!)

How could I forget this???

On Saturday while at school, I picked up my graded 3rd assignment for my Legal Analysis class. My professor always writes comments on the back of the last page, with the grade on the final page itself. So, I've made it a habit to read the comments FIRST, before looking at my grade. I get my paper and read this, "Excellent paper! Beautiful, clear analysis. You have a bright future." So I'm guessing I did good??? LOL I flipped the page over, yeah, um, I got a 95! :) :) :)

I just wish this class counted for more than 1 measly unit. And I SOOO wish this professor taught some of the substantive law classes. Oh well, I'm happy for the good grade, no matter what.

My sweet kitties

Just a pic of my kitties. They don't necessarily like each other, but they do seem to spend a lot of time together. They are both here with me, taking a nap together, right now.

Being Productive

This morning my CivPro professor had an extra (optional) section, as he does once a month. The 2 prior ones were very helpful. Today, however, our session was combined with an early bird bar review that he had to do for graduating seniors. I'm sure they got stuff out of it, but it was not very helpful for us first years. It was very too broad and general. Makes me wish I had slept in and just worked on my paper this morning instead.

My best time is the mornings.....I'm more alert, think more clearly, and just do better work then. So now, it is the middle of the afternoon, I feel like I wasted my morning going to that thing, and I am NOT very motivated to do much of anything.

Hmmm....so, since my Torts quiz is Monday afternoon, that is my top priority. I don't have class on Wed., so I can use that day to study for the Thursday midterm in LA, which I probably won't spend more than a couple hours doing. My paper will take me probably 8 hours to do, but I should have time Monday evening and Tuesday morning to do that.

Yeah, you see where this is going. I don't feel like doing much today. : ) Hey, and I have all afternoon tomorrow.....time to find something fun to do.

ONLY a paper, a midterm and a quiz.....

That's right, that is all I have to worry about this weekend. Well, not worry so much as do and/or prepare for. The paper is the final one this semester for my Legal Analysis class. It is to be a max of 6.5 pages. I have just over 2 so far, so at least I've started that. It is due next Friday, the 18th, but I want to turn it in on the 17th at the latest. I don't think it will be that hard, it just takes time and effort. So, what...maybe 8 hours or so on that???

Then on Thursday I have my Legal Analysis midterm. The first part is worth 20% and is 7 citation questions. We can use our books (with handwritten notes inside) for that, so I'm not worried about that at all. The second part is worth 30% and is a short analysis problem, with the final part being a longer analysis problem worth 50%. I'm not too worried about these, but I just hope they are easy to understand, and not too lengthy to read, as I want to spend my time working, not reading. Also, I hope my brain can digest things fast enough to do a complete analysis. My professor did tell us that it is not really the kind of test you can study for....you either know how to do it or you don't. I DO know how, but I'm going to work on some of the past tests this weekend, but for practice.

The quiz, which is easily the "smallest" of the 3 in terms of what it respresents towards my final grade is probably what makes me the most nervous. It is a quiz in my Torts class on negligence. It is only worth 1 point of my final grade in the class, but because this professor is also the dean of the school, I suppose I feel like I need to do extra good, so that she doesn't see me as a loser, but somehow, will know my potential. Dumb, I know, but that's how I feel. So, this Friday my study group will be working on stuff to prepare for that, and this weekend I will be studying, memorizing, practicing on old exams too.

Of course, 2 weeks from today I will be over in Maui, hopefully sitting on the beach somewhere, drinking a tropical drink as I try to study for my other 3 midterms. (It is my 10th anniversary on the 19th, so we're taking a short get away trip to celebrate.) Do you think I'll get much studying done over there????? Believe me, I WILL! : )

Just when I felt like I was getting a handle on things....

I went to the Student Bar Association's session this Saturday on how to prepare for our exams. It made me feel like I've been totally doing everything wrong so far. I SHOULD be memorizing the law and rules, and practicing my "exammanship". I know I haven't really been "wrong", as much as it is that I need to shift how I spend my time now. It's just kind of scary because my midterms are Dec. 5, 8 and 12, so basically, I have one month to digest everything I've learned so far this semester AND memorize it all AND figure out how to organize that in an exam question.

It's overwhelming, in a way, because I almost don't know where to start. I had felt like I had a little "system" down, of how and when I prepared. Now it all needs to change. So much for feeling comfortable and confident........

The good news is I bought a couple of books that my CivPro professor has mentioned (but doesn't require) and even though I haven't read too far yet, they are making that subject a lot more understandable. Hopefully that will also show some results come test time.

I guess I should get going....here it is a Monday morning, with the entire week before me. Off to the study of law......
:)

MY Verse

I just realized that I never posted this. I came across this verse this summer and thought it was perfect as a kind of goal and motivation verse for me.

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4

It fits with what I want to do with a career in law...that is, use it to help those who really need it. I think it describes either working as a prosecutor or in the area of family law quite well, and those are both areas that interest me.

I know most people think lawyers are money hungry, greedy, etc., but that does not describe me. I'm blessed to have a husband who has provided me with a wonderful life and more than I could possibly ever deserve. So I don't pursue this career to gain anything material. It's beyond and above that for me. It's about wanting to help and wanting to make a difference in someone's life. That is what motivates me.

Momentum

It's been basically 3 weeks now that I've felt confident in my law school journey and without doubts. The first 2 months were horrible, but it seems like I've passed that stage now. I know the workload is heavy, but doable, and I know that I'm handling it. The longer my doubts stay at bay, the more I think they are gone for good.

It's almost like the longer I feel good about it, the easier it is to overcome any shadows of doubt. And, as time goes by, I feel more excited about things coming up. I am really excited about being about to do the small claims court advisory thing, and doing another clinical at the courthouse. Even the midterms I'm excited about......I guess because it is another way to get feedback. Even though I don't expect fantastic scores, I look forward to seeing where I stand, so I can adjust what I'm doing.

I was thinking about it today too in regards to what my life now is.....when the kids leave for school in the morning, I spend the morning reading and studying. In the afternoon, I attend class. I go home and have dinner, and then spend most evenings doing more studying. Weekends, I spend studying more. Basically, law school is my life right now. But I'm realizing that I actually LIKE it. : )

Midterms are looming

It is now November and the first of my midterms is this month. The other 3 are the beginning of December. It seems weird to think I'm approaching the end of my first semester in law school. It has gone by so incredibly fast.

I'm not really worried about this month's test. It is in my Legal Analysis class. Even the professor said it isn't something you can study for. You either know how to do it or you don't. Since I've gotten good grades on my papers for this class, I'm sure I'll do fine on the test. I am going to start working on past tests though, just to give myself some preparation.

Now, the other 3 classes are something else. Torts will probably be the easiest of the 3, though not easy by any means. We have had one quiz and have another in 2 weeks, and that helps us know more of what to expect on the midterm, which is very helpful. CivPro is going to be completely scary, but at least with the help of my study group, I think I have a process with which to approach the test questions. Contracts is a complete mystery. It is the only class that we haven't had any sort of quiz or turned in work. The subject doesn't seem as hard as CivPro, but not having a "sample" of what the professor expects makes it harder to know what to think. There are old exams online, so those will be helpful.

I know the next month is going to be crazy, trying to synthesize all the learning that has happened the last few months into a form that is usable and makes sense, but I can't help but be excited because it's a milestone of sorts, and it means I've made it that far. : )