JAMNjo wrote:
You also have to remember that everyone else is asking for advice, everyone else is buying E & Es and doing "all the right things." After having just completed my first year of law school, i have come away with the following conclusion. Yes, i stressed about the other gunners and worried i wasn't doing enough. I made time to go out with friends, see movies, i exercised every day, made time to cook fun meals. I HAD A LIFE. Come grades time, i was top 10% at a T 30 school. I am convinced that, regardless of how much certain people do, there will be certain others who just "have it." What i mean is this, some people just have a natural, almost intuitive-like intelligence when it comes to law school. At my school, all of the top people in my section, for the most part (the people who CALI) are married, have spent some time out of school, had careers, etc. People with real world experience, who weren't necessarily more book smart, but they had already evolved an "it" that made them successful. Of course there are exceptions, but don't stress if you dont do the best your first year. We always think "what could i have done differently?" but sometimes at such competitive institutions, it isn't so much about what a person does wrong, as it is what the other high achievers have that can't be outdone by more studying, etc.
I remember one of my professors, after I met with him to discuss the exam (which I had done well on), told me something very similar. I didn't believe him at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to believe it.
Um, it's like that in everything. Thousands can train to swim, even be Olympic quality and trained by the same in the same way, but a Michael Phelps is an MP, Michael Jordan is MJ. There's only so much training, the right school, work can do. For me, I can train in dance and get pretty darn good, but I'll never be as good as some people just are with a lot less work.