And So It Came To Pass

I just delivered my take home final. I'm well under the word limit by over 700 words. I've had extreme writers block concerning Criminal Procedure for a few days now. With that I am officially done with my last law school final exam. A tad anticlimactic since we did the graduation ceremony on Sunday.

I suppose it is appropriate that the end of my law school career ends not with a bang nor a blazing light, but a quiet sigh. My last day of work was a Friday and I walked into my first classes the following Monday my first year. I wasn't excited or eager. I had my workman mentality to start the job and get it done. I was excited about being a lawyer. I was never excited about law school. To be the former, I had to perform the latter.

Quickly I was flustered by this atypical teaching style. It had been years since I had been in a classroom so I forgot how to learn in that environment. I got used to learning by doing in I.T. You definitely don't do the law, not in school. First semester was just trying to figure out how everything worked. I found it odd that law school is high school only with more educated people. Second semester was trying to improve upon the first semester. Not that it was difficult to improve upon my first semester. Summer classes in Europe was the most fun I ever had in school. A working vacation unequaled in my life.

As a second year I learned to be a leader by going well that didn't work, um that didn't work either. The fall semester of my second year I was wedded to the library working on moot court and my note. I am not kidding when I say that many days I opened the library and closed it down. Hell sometimes I got in early and stayed past closing thanks to the privileges of law review. Of course hearing the couple making out and other things in the bathroom made late nights interesting, but only that one time. Once third semester grades came out I adjusted my academic goals. In the spring, my fourth semester, the world quaked as I got into blogging and found out I was getting published. Barrister's Ball was a good time. Summer classes were mediocre with the rest of the summer being rather crappy to be honest. When you can barely find a temp job you know something is wrong.

As a third year...well crap this year did suck in so many ways. The jaded 3L you make jokes about was exactly who I was. At least that philosophy came in handy for the talent show. Barrister's Ball was fun again.

In the end I hope I learned some law. I hope I made some friends. I hope others took my advice and found it useful. I hope I obtained and refined some skills that will be useful to me my entire life. Perhaps some day I'll look back at my time in school with fonder, gentler eyes. I'll miss some of the people. I like the people I consider my friends. I just won't miss other things and other people.

The graduation ceremony was a quiet excitement for me. A sense of satisfaction that I had survived despite all the adversity thrown my way. At times I never thought the day would arrive. Deb gave a touching speech that proved difficult to have a dry eye. The Dean tried to get us to throw our caps into the air. I almost did, but I wanted to keep my tassel. It was mine and I claimed it. I'm petty I know.

It think I need some time to appreciate what I've done. It's just too soon right now. The emotions are too raw and the initial reaction is "good riddance!" But tonight I party a bit. A monumentous occasion requires a party. Talk to you soon.