How I Balance Law School and Everyday Life
When I began law school, I was warned to expect long nights, endless reading, and a relentless pace. I wasn't mistaken. The volume of work presented to an incoming student can be overwhelming.
New students must adapt to the Socratic Method, which is a method in which the student is asked to stand and answer questions about the case in detail. These Socratic “cold calls” as they’re known may last five minutes or for the majority of an hour-and-fifteen-minute class, depending on the professor.
Students will also be asked to read hundreds, if not over a thousand pages a week, between their five classes. This, along with learning the monumental amount of new terminology, the process of outlining one’s classes, and the concepts of legal writing and research, can be an intense culture shock for the untrained, new law student.
What I have learned is that there is a need for healthy outlets to allow oneself to decompress.
Being balanced means doing the things I enjoy, even when it means being more deliberate with my schedule. Saturdays in the fall are a time that I try to reserve for Alabama football. I love coming together with friends and other fans, either at the stadium or around the TV with buddies at home.
Getting outside and walking keeps me level-headed. Law school is a lot of sedentary activities for several hours straight, so stepping outside to go for a walk clears my head. Other outside activities also accomplish this. I enjoy fishing, hunting, and playing golf, which all allow me to get outside and away from the noise.
Being balanced doesn't necessarily mean that I do something life-changing. Sometimes it may be as simple as taking a catnap when I have some free time during the day. Whether that is on a couch in the law library or at home late in the afternoon, a quick reset tends to give me a rejuvenation to continue in going about my day.
I also make sure that I stay in touch with family and friends. Law school can be all-consuming if one isn’t careful. It is easy to get caught up in a world of exams and outlines, but I have found that making time for the ones that I love is a necessity to keep a clear head and is just as important as doing fun extracurriculars when it comes to recharging. I have specifically found that family is a good support system, which helps keep me grounded and reminds me why I’m working so hard in the first place.
My life isn't perfect. There are some weeks where I have huge workloads and my free time is limited, but that just goes with the territory. One learns that their free time will always be limited, and that they will need to be flexible with their free time in order to accommodate school.
For people who are starting law school, make sure you leave time for the things that keep you sane. Whether that’s football, fishing, exercising, or spending time with people who make you happy, those things matter. Obviously, these things must be done in a limited capacity. School should always be your priority in this environment, but it is important to make time for yourself and the people you care about.