Surviving the first year of law school

Now that my first year of law school is over, I finally have a moment to sit back and think about everything that happened over a past year. If I had to describe it in one word, it would probably be "overwhelming".

When I entered law school, I had a very different picture in my mind, I imagined reading interesting cases, participating in debates and slowly finding my place in the legal profession. While some of that was true, I was not prepared for the constant pressure that seemed to follow me everywhere. There was always something to do, an assignment ri submit, a project to complete, a presentation to prepare, or an exam to worry about. Sometimes it was not even the workload that stressed me out, it was the feeling that I was not doing enough. No matter what I achieved, there was always another opportunity I felt I was missing out on. I spent many nights lying awake, thinking about grades, internships, rankings and wheather I was making the right choice for my future.

There were moments when I felt disappointed in myself. A lower grade than expected or a missed opportunity could affect my mood for days. I would keep replaying things in my head and wondering what I could have done differently. Looking back, I realize I was often much harder on myself than anyone else was. What I rarely admitted to anyone was how scared I was of failure. As a first- generation law student, I often felt that I had to prove something, not just to others, but to myself. I wanted to make my family proud. I wanted my hardwork to mean something. That pressure stayed with me throughout the year. Regardless of all this, this year changed me it make me more independent, more patient and stronger than at what I would be as till how long way to go and I still very about the future but for today I just want to acknowledge how far I have come the first year of law school was not easy it was stressful emotional and sometimes frustrated but it was also year of growth and spite everything I am grateful for it.