With final grades in as of today, I can say that my first year of law school is officially over! Over the past two semesters, I’ve taken challenging classes, watched and participated in multiple events, and made new friends and memories. For someone who went into law school after undergraduate with no background in anything law, I’m super proud of how far I’ve come and how much I’ve obtained. To kick off the restart (for the twenty-seventh time, haha) of this blog, I wanted to talk about some of the highlights of my first year:
Orientation
When I first walked through the doors of my law school, I was nervous. As an out-of-state student, who tends to be introverted and lack connections, I was worried I would be going alone in my law school journey. That isn’t the case. Through orientation, we had ample opportunity to converse with our classmates and get to know each other. Even if you don’t feel like you made any meaningful connections during orientation, know you did. Your classmates are with you for three years and you come to depend on them, know them, and care for all of them, no matter how many people are in your class.
While there was a social aspect to orientation, I’m not going to lie, these three to four days were grueling. Each day we came in and listened to panels and introductory information that seemed to go on for hours at end. The information is important for any aspiring lawyer and shouldn’t be skipped, from information to the bar to academics, to listening to students’ current experiences and getting to know the 2L and 3L representatives. All super important and interesting to listen to, but it does grow old. By the third day of information, that information started to stack on the already growing pile of dread and anxiety to the point I felt like I was going to die. My sister, who is a 2nd year dental student, said her orientation was similar but one day they went on a field trip to a ropes course and the Argo Mine up in Idaho Springs. For some reason, I convinced myself we were going to do something fun like that. But Ana is in Denver and this was Vermillion. The lack of activity was going to be the death of me.
In the end, I survived. It might not be the best memory, but all journeys have to start somewhere and the connections I made through orientation are some of the ones that I treasure the most.
I almost forgot… we also took our first-year headshots!
Barrister’s Ball
Every law school puts on a law school formal of sorts which resembles prom or any middle school dance except with alcohol and food. Multiple forums online say that you look at Barristers through different eyes if you’re single and/or prefer not to drink.
Our Barristers was originally scheduled to happen during a snowstorm in January but was rescheduled for February. I went with a group of friends, not expecting much and expecting to be disappointed. Can 100% say I was not disappointed. My law school rented out a convention area of a hotel where they fit what felt like a hundred tables, a DJ and dance floor, a photo booth, bar, and buffet area. The highlight of my evening was either getting the chance to hang out with classmates that I may not hang out with on a regular basis or the tiramisu cups they had for dessert. I still can’t decide.
PIN Auction
My law school puts on an auction each year, seeing we’re in the midwest, to raise money for students that may not be paid in their internships. Clubs and other parties put up baskets, excursions, paintings, handmade goods, or anything that they want to give up for auction.
During the live auction I went and experienced multiple things. First, a culture shock to the world of auctioneering, but second: walking tacos. What are they? Why Doritos? What gives them the ability to “walk”? For anyone who has never had a walking taco, it’s a Doritos bag that you open and dump a bunch of taco ingredients, like cheese or sour cream, and then you eat it with a fork. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try the Midwest delicacy, but after some coaxing, I gave in. I had to know their secrets.
And I didn’t learn them. I don’t think I ever will. While the walking taco might have not been a success for me, the auction itself was fun and I had a blast watching items go up for auction and keeping track of the highest bids of the night.
For someone who tends to be shy around meeting new people, I’m proud that I put myself out there this year and made connections with people which I hope will last. Throughout these events, it was the people that truly made this a special first year for me. I didn’t have a chance to highlight everything in this blog, and these are just a few of the highlights that I wanted to mention. This past year, I also had the opportunity to compete in four competitions, three which are board-focused competitions strictly for the 1Ls. I’ll discuss these in part two which will be published on May 10th, so stay tuned!