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Thursday, January 18, 2007

1L Second Semester: A New Beginning

Hey look, you made it. You survived. It's all gravy now.

You haven't gone postal, stigmata haven't appeared on your body, nor has John Roberts called to offer you a 10th spot on the Supreme Court. As you scan your classes now, you will see the opening of where someone sat before, new gunners have appeared, old gunners have gone quiet. Welcome to the second semester.

If you did well your first semester, congratulations! You should be proud. Very proud. However, it doesn't mean much yet. You can't rest on your laurels during law school. You have to keep at it. At least not until third year.

If you didn't do as well as you had hoped, fear not, this is not the end of the world. This is where I fell after my first semester. I looked at the grades I received and said that this is only a starting point. My goal was simple: improve after each semester. 4 semesters after setting this goal, I have completed it each and every time. As cliche as it sounds, you can't change everything in one semester.

Regardless, I said at the beginning that it is all gravy, and I mean that.

No matter what grades you received, you belong in law school and you've shown that. The first semester is the hardest and you've completed it. The rest of your education is no walk in the park, but you can do it.