Closing out my law school experience

As my time in law school is coming to an end in the next few weeks, I wanted to share some aspects of law school that I learned along the way. I am a first-generation law student and had no one to teach me or guide me in these aspects, so these are things I have personally experienced and observed and are based solely off my opinions.

Prioritize your mental health: Law school takes a mental toll on you. That is not a secret and is something that is widely known before entering law school. The stress of having your entire grade for a class be dependent on one 4 hour exam at the end of the semester, being caught up on your class readings, and making yourself a well-rounded student can catch up to. you and drive you a little crazy. Make sure to take time (and be okay with) stepping away and taking breaks. You will have to adjust your schedule, but if you take a little bit of time everyday for yourself, this will help your mental health tremendously. Also, don't be afraid to seek counseling. More people are in counseling than you may realize and having someone to rant to can be really helpful.  

Don't be afraid to ask for help: Don't forget; your professors are people too and can be understanding. Occasionally you may get the professor who may not be of certain situations, but I've had the luck of having really great and understanding professors during my time in law school. Do not be afraid to ask them to clarify something or ask for help with understanding material. Whether you ask in class by raising your hand, or going to office hours, don't be afraid to ask those questions. Most likely someone else has that same question. Plus, you're paying for your education so get the most out of it by asking all of your questions and taking advantage of office hours.

Take advantage of office hours: Speaking of office hours, take full advantage of them. Professors would not hold them if they did not want you to come speak to them. One thing I learned by attending office hours is you can get to know the professor on a more personal level and get a better insight into their head. This can help you learn their testing style and what the professor may specifically be looking for on an exam.

Its okay to not know the answer: Something that took me a while to realize when coming into law school was that it is okay to not know everything. I had to remind myself over and over again, specifically in my first year of law school, that this is everyones first time in law school. It was easy for me to compare myself to others, but I soon realized that not everyone knows everything. People will act like the smartest person in the room, but in reality, they do not know everything and it is perfectly okay that you do not know everything yourself.

Networking, networking, networking: Not that grades aren't important in law school, but something I realized, in my opinion, is that networking will help you in the long run. Its all about who you know and how you present yourself. Another realization I had in law school is that your classes may teach you the law, but if you do not know how to work with others put yourself out there, you will get overlooked. You are going to learn everything you need to know by actually doing stuff in the field, which is why I think doing externships and experiential classes are truly the most valuable classes that are offered. Stetson throws at least one type of networking event a month, so go to these events, make connections, and really make yourself stand out.