When I started my law degree five years ago, I was afraid that I wasn’t as bright as my peers because I was a transfer student. When I got into law, I was the only student from my high school and having missed out on ‘first year’ law and the opportunity to make friends at law camp, I wasn’t part of any elaborate friendship group at law school.
I applied for law jobs almost every week and was often met with generic rejections that spoke about the ‘high calibre’ of applicants they’d received.
I often felt quite isolated and overwhelmed and I questioned whether I would survive law school. Was I even smart enough for law? Did I even belong in this place? Would I ever get a law job?
Five years on, I can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing how far I’ve come.
In those five years I’ve learned that the ‘perfect law student’ is a myth and that everyone has to deal with disappointing marks or job rejections at some point in their law degree. I’ve learned that there’s more to law school than just good grades. Getting involved beyond the four walls of law school and being a joiner (as Kirby calls it) has enabled me to meet more people and develop lifelong friendships than I would have if I had only attended first year law camp and stuck around with same friendship group for the duration of my law degree.
Indeed there are perks to being a law student, but in order to enjoy these perks you need to stop questioning yourself, stop worrying about how others perceive you and you must stop comparing yourself to your peers. Put yourself out there, have an open mind and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
Five years ago when I started my law degree, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but five years later I know that law school has been one of the best experiences of my life; experiences which were made possible because of the ‘tough’ lessons that I’m now grateful I learnt along the way.
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