How to Survive Law School

So here’s a little trivia about me: I am actually a law student! Hahaha! I maintain this blog to keep me sane and keep my mind off things once in a while. Of course, I’m not saying that Law school is all that I am thinking about; because the truth is that I think about a lot of things on a daily basis.

So anyway, I’ve thought about it and I’ve realized that there are a lot of things I wish I knew when I was about to enter law school. So now, I am writing this for those who are about to go through it now!  

1. Make sure that this is really what you want

From the moment you set foot in law school, set your mind that from that moment on, your life will change entirely. An author once wrote that:

Law school is like a jealous mistress

And that is true! Be ready to miss out family reunions, birthdays, weddings, etc. and instead spend that time reading books, analyzing cases, and writing case digests. It will definitely demand a lot of time from you, and you just have to accept that fact and always remind yourself that THIS IS REALLY WHAT YOU WANT

2. Everyone is treated the same way in law school

When you enter law school fresh from college,and you’ve had latin honors, you may think that this will be just like a walk in the park. Again, you’re wrong! Everybody has an equal footing in law school. Everyone will be treated the same, and not everyone will excel just because they did great in college. You’d be surprised at how you will be faced with awesome people; and this will actually make you humble. It can either push you to do better, and it can sometimes make you feel bad about yourself: trust me, YOU WILL! Which brings me to the next item on this list.

3. Get ready to feel bad about yourself

Sure, you’ve spent the entire night reading the lesson for that day, you’ve even memorized the provisions covered; but come recitation day, everything just fade and you are left being entirely clueless about what you’re going to say. 

Trust me, there was this one class where I’ve literally felt the things that I’ve read swooshing down as I got up! Hahaha! And that is normal! And it’s okay to feel bad about it, but then make sure that after an hour or so, shake it off, and move on to the next phase!

4. Practice the art of moving on
Now this should be easy, and just really take it literally! Bad recit? Wallow for a while and then MOVE ON. Failed exams? Wallow for a while and then MOVE ON. I don’t have to explain it anymore! Hahaha!

5. Make sure to laugh at yourself

Trust me, lawyers may look serious, but you can save that up in the future. In law school, laughter is the best medicine! Because not being able to laugh can drive you insane. Which brings me to the next one.

6. Surround yourself with happy people

Okay, it’s bad enough that you feel sad about that embarassing recitation, so why would you want to talk about that with someone who would make you feel even more sad? 

There are countless of times when I would wallow in self pity, and what really got me through that were my friends who made me realize that it’s okay and it was pretty hilarious how our professor walked out of the room hahaha! 

7. Be prepared to be on your own

It helps if you have friends in law school, but see to it that you also know how to be independent. You are your own savior! At the end of the day, you will be responsible for your own successes and failures. So learn to accept this early on. 

8. Know the people who are genuine

Trust me, there are a lot of politics going on in law school! Haha! Not everyone would be willing to help you. There would definitely be people who would be a little bit selfish with notes, sample exams, etc. So be sure to distinguish! 

Of course, there are people who would genuinely be there to help you. I was lucky to have found people like them, and I will always be thankful! 

9. Learn how to share

This would go a long way in law school! When you share, people would also share. Actually it’s more of the univese giving back the energy that you send. So if it’s positive, be ready to get positive things in return. I can definitely say that I haven’t been selfish with what I have and what I know, so I guess that’s why other people do the same thing towards me! So there! 

Learn how to share

 

10. Always give your best

Honestly, up to now, I really don’t know how to do this! Haha! There were lots of times when I felt that I have definitely gave my best but still it did not work. 

Sometimes I wonder if giving our best is just a state of the mind

(Sorry I was a psychology major back in college so this is really how my mind works haha!)

Maybe, giving our best should be something innate in us. But you know what? I’ve realized that only ourselves can tell if we gave our all. There is no standard. You just have to believe that what you did is all that you can at that time! So what if it did not pay off? You can always try! I’m pretty sure that there is no limit on how many time we can give it our best!
Right now, I am in my final semester in law school; and so far these are all the things that I can share! I’ll make sure to post again! 
All the Best in law school!
Xoxo,

@thecouchpatatas

My letter to myself last Valentines Day (2015)

People always ask me why I don’t date, why I’ve never had a boyfriend,and why am I still single. Honestly, even I cannot answer these questions. All I know is that I am genuinely happy with my life and with the people that I have in it; and even though there are times when I wonder if I’d ever find that romantic love, still, I’ve never felt that the lack of it made me any less of a person. I won’t say that I am not looking for it; because the truth is that I am praying for it. People who are close to me always think that I drive love away; but actually, it’s the other way around.

Right now, I am keeping the faith because I know that there is someone out there for me; and this alone makes me hang on and wait until I become the person that God wants me to be for the person whom He wants me to be with. 

Happy Valentine’s Day Self! =)

An open letter from Mr. Right

My sentiments exactly! This post speaks for itself!

#UNFILTERED

Dear daughters of God,

Contrary to what you have heard, I do exist. I’m no fairytale hunk with big muscles and thing for chick flicks (although, I may or may not have a man bun). So, put your daydreams of love off to the side for a minute and let me tell you what makes me, “Mr. Right” and why people keep telling you to wait for me.

The first thing I really want for you to understand is that I was not born your Mr. Right. I promise we weren’t destined to cross paths and lock eyes from across a crowded room and fall hopelessly in love. God has been working in my heart for YEARS! Do you realize what was in my heart before Christ saved me?! Of course you don’t because we haven’t met yet, but I can promise you it is equally as crazy and sinful as…

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5 Things That I’ve realized at 24

We always read these articles that tell us the things which we must be doing or those of which we should have already done by the time we reach a certain age. I, for one, never believe in doing any of those things. You see, nobody has the right to tell us how to live our life. Besides, stating all these things, more often than not, makes us feel that our life may not be exciting enough; and then that would just be totally wrong. 

So I say:

Live your life the way that you want to and not how other people want you to….

Anyway, so instead of doing that, I’ve come up with a different list. For twenty-four (24) years now, I know that I may have not learned much yet; but I do know that I’ve been able to have a lot of experiences. These experiences taught me a lot of things; and it made me learn a lot and become strong. So here are the things that I’ve learned at 24:

1. The things that seems to be important to you at 12 are not important anymore. (they are not even important AT ALL)

Popularity. Being Cool. Impressing other people. These are the things that appear to be so important to most of us when we are young. At 12 years old, I bet that most of us believe that being popular means being cool; and being cool is totally important. I remember my friends back then were way too excited when it comes to boys.Asking for numbers and calling the boys on the phone (yep, cellphones are not that much of a thing at the time haha) were the things that girls my age were doing back then. But not for me; I just felt like it’s not something that I need to be doing at the time. I mean, I also have crushes before, but it’s only up to that and nothing more. So anyway, fast forward to 12 years later, I’ve realized that these things don’t matter anymore. Being 24 actually gives you a certain kind of serenity and contentment. Popularity? Meh. Being Cool? Double Meh. Impressing other people? Triple Meh. Hahaha

2. Just because others are doing it, doesn’t mean that you have to be doing it.

This goes out to those kids who feel a lot pressured by their peers. Believe me, you can survive high school without having a boyfriend. And you can survive college without doing booze and drugs. You have to realize that being young is the best stage of your life. During these times, you don’t have any responsibility, you have all the energy, and you can make mistakes without having to suffer all the scrutinies. Get experiences. Experience everything. But always limit them to a certain extent.

3. Experience really is the best teacher

Have you ever had that experience which is so bad that you have promised yourself you would never do it again? Think of it like when you have the flu, and then you get to appreciate and miss the feeling when you don’t have it? And then you promise yourself that you’d drink more fluids next time. There would be a lot of instances like that when you are young. But the best part of it? There are still a lot of chances for you to make things right. You have your entire life for it; and you should be grateful for that. Experiences make us better, and it helps us reach our best potential. As we grow old, we would realize that not all things can be learned from books. The best way to learn in life is by actually living and experiencing it.

4. Having a few true friends is better than having many fake ones

When we are young, I’m sure we all wanted to become part of certain cliques. Being part of something actually makes us feel that we belong. Having a lot of friends may be fun; but making sure that they are all true ones is hard. Having lots of friends may mean that a lot of people like you; but underneath it all, it may also be just a form of self-affirmation. That feeling of wanting to be liked, we all experience that in all stages of our lives, and not only while we are young. But as we grow older, we would realize that it’s not about how many people would cheer you on; but about how many people would catch you when you stumble and fall. Personally, I can tell you that I can count my true friends using my fingers and toes. I don’t easily let people in, But I am friendly. 

5. Mom and Dad are always right

I am pretty sure that while we were young, we have this tendency to get annoyed at our parents; we think that the only word that they know is “No”. 

Mom can I join this camping trip? No.

Mom can I buy this? No.

Mom can I sleepover at (friend’s name) house? No.

And the list goes on haha!

Being 24, I must say that I am already kind of independent already. At this stage, I already drive my own car and I get to go home late at night on my own without having my own driver anymore. And that is after 22 long years of being picked up and dropped off from our home to my school. ( yup, until I was already in Law school)

But that doesn’t mean that my mom or my dad would not check up on me anymore. I still have my curfew, and I abide by it. Let’s face it, I am still living with my parents; and it’s their house, so it’s their rules. 

Whenever I think about it, I don’t feel so constricted anymore. Maybe when I was younger, I feel that I was being deprived; but now that I am older, I’ve realized that I did not really miss out on a lot of things. I am even grateful that my mom and dad protected me, without actually making me miss out on what I was supposed to experience when I was younger. Besides, I haven’t been really fond of dark, smelly, and smoky places. Haha! 

So for you young ones, you only have one thing to do: Listen to your parents. 

They definitely know what’s best for you.
I know I still have a lot of realizations to do, but for now, this is what I know, and I hope it would help you too! 

Xoxo,

@thecouchpatatas 

UNCERTAIN

“If there’s one word that could describe your life right now, what word would that be?”

This question has always been asked to us, but always remains to be a hard one to answer.

Right now, I’ve been contemplating about how my life is as of the moment. I know that there are many words that could describe how my life is now, but if there is one word which I think would be the best, I think that that would be the word, “UNCERTAIN”.

And I’m sure that this goes on to many others too. No one in this world can say that their life is CERTAIN. 

I’ve always said, and I have always believed that the best way to enjoy life, is to ENJOY THE UNCERTAINTY that comes with it.

This is easy to say, but is VERY DIFFICULT TO DO.

There will always be this part in us that would want to know what the future holds. Maybe because we want to be prepared, or maybe because we just can’t bear the thought of not knowing what’s going to happen to us the next day. In this fast-paced world that we have now, we are always being advised that we should take a breather, and appreciate the things that are going on in the present. The days pass by so fast that we would just be surprised that another year is over. 

I’ve always been trying to keep my focus on what’s happening in the present, but I will still always keep on thinking about what I should do the next day.  Sure, I’d usually want to “seize the day”, but that doesn’t mean that my mind would stop and not go about what’s going to happen next.

This made me think that:

“MAYBE LIVING IN THE MOMENT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE TOMORROW”

That’s why it’s hard to stay relaxed for a day; for we know that the next day may not be RELAXING at all.

Being in law school made me think that way. After a long week of studying, I would always say that I should take a day to relax and not think about my studies for a while. I would feel calm, sure, but then just as I was about to come close to the end of that day, my heart would start pounding again as I think about what’s going to happen to me the following week.

I would always tell my friends whenever they ask me if law school is difficult that “It’s not difficult, it’s just tiring sometime”.  I don’t want to sound so arrogant, but I really believe that. It would really entail a lot of work, LOTS of it i tell you!!!hahaha!! But I don’t want to vocalize any negative words, so I don’t want to say the word “DIFFICULT”, but rather, i’d say that “It would take a lot of your time and effort”. Hahahaha!! 

Being a graduate of B.S. Psychology, I have come to realize just how powerful our mind really is! 

So if we produce negative words, our mind would absorb that, and it will stick to it FOREVER! (True Story)

There have been a lot of trying times, but I would always try my best to look at these things in the MOST POSITIVE WAY THAT I COULD.  Of course it’s not easy; i would not call it denial too. It is more of a matter of MINDSET. 

Right now, a lot of things come into my mind. I would like to write them all, but then it would just be too much.  So I guess what I would just like to say is  in this life, there are and will always be challenges ahead. It would make us want to quit, it would even make us cry, and it would make us want to give up. But at the end of the day, what would matter is how we would take all of them, and how we will keep everything in stride. With perseverance, faith, and prayers, no uncertainties can ever pull us down. 

I have said that:

“MAYBE LIVING IN THE MOMENT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE TOMORROW”

But then I’ve realized that it should more be of this way:

“WE SHOULD LIVE IN THE MOMENT AND ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF IT EVEN IF WE  FAILED BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEW TOMORROW”

See?it’s just a matter of turning things around! Hahaha!!

Kudos to LIFE’S UNCERTAINTY!