Life Update

How 2L is going so far

So far 2L has been overwhelming. The commute is not so bad since I stopped taking the bus in Long Island. I now take the shuttle the school provides from the train station to the school, and take the LIRR to Queens. The shuttle is free which is a good thing since the bus tickets cost money and I spend a lot of money for the LIRR monthly pass from Penn Station to Long Island. I like that pass because I can go to the city during the weekends and still go to Long Island for school. It is about an hour commute, but I read and prepare for FLS on the train. I also read the Wall Street Journal on the train for Biz Orgs (although one day I read the article about Taylor and Travis getting engaged). I hate all this reading, but it will be worth it one day.

The workload is a lot since I am on a secondary journal. I had to come up with a list topics to write about for my note, and develop one topic from that list. My topic is about succession in the luxury fashion industry. I still am looking for legal support, but I did well on the topic development report so I ordered Chipotle today. Surprisingly I did not do so bad with bluebooking. Also, we had a source gathering assignment and a cite checking assignment. I had to gather some sources since I forgot to put a table of contents page and a separate document containing a URL for a website. Hopefully my first cite checking assignment went well. I am expecting a re-cite.

Surprisingly the reading is not too overwhelming. I am taking Con Law II with the same professor I had last spring for Con Law I. He said I did well on the essay portion of my exam but I was below the median for the multiple choice. Same thing with property, I know now this semester to practice MPQ for finals. His reading assignments are not so bad, it just takes me a while to understand the reasoning since the supreme court judges like to make my life hard by using complicated language to basically say “The right is rooted in our nation's history and tradition.” Do they need to use fancy metaphors and cite so many cases? He is a good professor though and really cares that we learn Con Law.

I feel like I made a mistake choosing that class since all the smart people are in the class and that is going to make the curve tight. I barely made it out alive for Con Law I with a B, imagine how many people are going to be gunning for the A. All of his favorite students are in that class too. I am definitely going to have to work hard for that class and study my butt off for the final. Hopefully he recognizes that a lot of smart kids are in his class and he makes the final tough. I cannot be down bad crying at the gym after the final again.

I am taking Biz Orgs also. I love my Biz Orgs professor. He teaches like my contracts professor but he does not use numbers for the rules which is helpful. He actually constantly repeats the rule so it is drilled in my head. It is not too difficult but we are going into corporations soon and I am scared (WINTER IS COMING). I have no business background and everyone seems to have one. I like how he has office hours and you can schedule an appointment so I do not have to hear people come up with all these intricate questions and make me feel dumb. I made an appointment next week to go over some questions about partnership I have before I start outlining.

FLS is a weird class. I do not like it, but as long as you participate you can get a B. I had to do an oral argument and he said I did well, but chi sa? We are learning in that class so far how to use facts and organize them, apply them to legal elements, and create a narrative based on the facts. Next small group class we have to write a story for a fictional client we are representing, BORING. Hopefully I do well, even though most of the prep for class is done on my train ride.

The class I am most terrified of is patents. I do not have any engineering, biology, or biochemistry engineering background. All this science I do not understand. I am terrified for the final. I get the general rules, but what if I have to apply them to a certain technology and I miss something in the specification and it makes the patent invalid. Everyone seems to have experience in IP law and I know nothing. However, the professor works at a firm and knows the head of the entertainment and media department of the law firm so he said he likes to get student jobs. Hopefully I get a good job this summer. I cannot be in family court again on those elevators that smell like weed, and walking in the heat because I have no money for the subway.

I went back to handwriting notes on Goodnotes on my iPad Mini instead of typing notes on OneNote. It is more difficult to get stuff down, but I did better when I handwrote instead of typed. I am not one of the typers anymore. I also am able to focus more on what the professor says since I cannot get every single thing he wrote down, so I have to condense it in my head in a simplified version. Also, I started my outline for Biz Orgs since our midterm is coming up and I had to go back and type everything in my notes instead of copy and pasting. I think I am going to continue handwriting and see what happens. Sometimes I get tempted to type, but I like how I can structure my notes better when handwriting them. This semester it is me and my iPad Mini against the world again just like my first semester of 1L.

Outside of law school I am still practicing yoga daily. I went to a yoga studio in Brooklyn and took a handstand development class and have been attempting to do one ever since. It has not been going well but I am able to get my feet in the air and extend half way before I fall. I like it, it helps my anxiety and it is fun to see what my body is capable of. My yoga instructor on the peloton always says “have fun” and I do. I have been more calm and relaxed and I feel a little stronger. I am in the process of becoming a working girl as well. I got a research assistant position at the law library at the school, the pay is not good but it is Chipotle money and clothes on ThreadUp. I start once I fill out paperwork with HR. I am soo excited to get money! It will also helo

I also had fun and went to the MAYHAM ball. It was amazing. I did not have the best seats, but I got to hear Lady Gaga and be in the same room as her for 2 ½ hours. She performed her new song live for the first time the night I went to the concert. She performed it twice, but I think it was for the VMA awards, since she prerecorded her performance. I was so happy when she performed Summerboy and How Bad Do You Want Me. She is soo talented, after this I am going to watch A Star is Born or Wednesday on Netflix while applying for jobs next summer. My next concert is going to be Ariana Grande. I am going to be in Barclay Center in Brooklyn in July to see her.

I have Tuesday off so I am going into the city to get some tacos in the Meatpacking District or go get some Thai food. In the morning I need to study outside of this house. I plan on studying at the Piers by the East River and enjoy the scenery or study by DUMBO at a café. I have not decided yet, but I need to go to Trader Joe’s to get more ginger juice mix and get some turmeric powder. I will be alone of course, but at least the city will keep me company. Me and the city are becoming quite close. I am in love with the city.