Graduation = Worst Day of my life. Forum

[haus]

As a US Marine, I think that both you and the Corps are better off with you having not served.

[A. Nony Mouse]

You are correct I need to be less status minded: I should probably spend time at a yoga studio instead of TLS. But seriously, you'd be amazed at how stupid most people are -- I am not trolling with the "online school" or "arizona" comments. UVA has a strong east coast brand, but a very west coast one. And if you've ever studied abroad, nobody outside the U.S. has heard of it (c.f. UCLA for whatever reason)

People call U of Arizona "U of A." If you say "UVA" I can see how that would sound kind of like "U of A." Just say University of Virginia, for goodness' sake. People know Virginia is a state. And the people who are hiring lawyers know what UVA is.

[Tempo]

OP you should start reading some philosophy. I recommend some Hellenistic stuff, like Epicurus/Lucretius for Epicureanism and Marcus Aurelius/Seneca/Epictetus for Stoicism. But before the Hellenistics, I honestly think Aristotle's ethics and Platonic dialogues can be great too.

You gotta put this in perspective and find some way to find happiness outside of prestige. Eudaimonia baby.

[TFALAWL]

As a US Marine, I think that both you and the Corps are better off with you having not served.

thanks dick.

[TFALAWL]

OP you should start reading some philosophy. I recommend some Hellenistic stuff, like Epicurus/Lucretius for Epicureanism and Marcus Aurelius/Seneca/Epictetus for Stoicism. But before the Hellenistics, I honestly think Aristotle's ethics and Platonic dialogues can be great too.

You gotta put this in perspective and find some way to find happiness outside of prestige. Eudaimonia baby.

Lol, you totally got that from Mahoney's speech today :p

[GFox345]

I agree with the general consensus of the thread. OP would likely be bitching about his life no matter what the outcome was. Learning to be satisfied and to pat yourself on the back can be very hard, but that's exactly what you should be doing, OP. Your problem is not that you have poor prospects. It's that you have a poor outlook. Presidents of the United States have come from lesser schools than UVA. Pull yourself together, realize what a great position you are in and stop bitching because things hypothetically could have turned out better. It's meaningless. Go do whatever it is you went to law school to do.

[haus]

As a US Marine, I think that both you and the Corps are better off with you having not served.

thanks dick.

You do not seem to have the basic understanding that even Marines's that have the best of outcomes end up making serious sacrifices, and face challenges/setbacks that make what you appear to be complaining about nearly equivalent of bitching about winning a lottery.

Sure you might not have gotten everything that you wanted, but it is delusional to think that somehow the Marine Corps would have made your life brighter and shiner is an insult to those who have served and sacrificed.

[TFALAWL]

As a US Marine, I think that both you and the Corps are better off with you having not served.

thanks dick.

You do not seem to have the basic understanding that even Marines's that have the best of outcomes end up making serious sacrifices, and face challenges/setbacks that make what you appear to be complaining about nearly equivalent of bitching about winning a lottery.

Sure you might not have gotten everything that you wanted, but it is delusional to think that somehow the Marine Corps would have made your life brighter and shiner is an insult to those who have served and sacrificed.

The reason I think it would have been good is that it would have instilled discipline, selflessness, and other virtues that I am currently lacking. My outlook on life would probably have been more positive coming out. I grew up near a USMC base and new countless marines. During my younger years the sacrifice would have been insane (i.e. middle east), but if I may ask (and I'm not trying to be a jerk), it's essentially a peace force at the moment, so I think you're over glorifying the whole "sacrifice" thing.

[TFALAWL]

I agree with the general consensus of the thread. OP would likely be bitching about his life no matter what the outcome was. Learning to be satisfied and to pat yourself on the back can be very hard, but that's exactly what you should be doing, OP. Your problem is not that you have poor prospects. It's that you have a poor outlook. Presidents of the United States have come from lesser schools than UVA. Pull yourself together, realize what a great position you are in and stop bitching because things hypothetically could have turned out better. It's meaningless. Go do whatever it is you went to law school to do.

That's a pretty good summary. I concur.

[UVA2B]

Graduated from UVA today, and I can unambiguously say it was the worst decision of my life. I had a 4.05/167 and if I had just been patient and retaken the LSAT I could have had H/S/CLS --> If I would have done something unicorny maybe even Yale would have been in play. Now, I just have a boatload of debt and a miserable biglaw job ahead of me. I am depressed and have started taking medication.

If I could go back, I would have done four years in the marines, and kept retaking the LSAT 'til I got the score I wanted. I would've eventually gotten my 173, and HYS would'a been basically free with G.I. Bill

I say this as a tale of cautionary tale to you 0L's out there: really plan things out as much as you can before going law school. This is a profession that disproportionately rewards those who get off to the best start (e.g. Yale/law review/ prior w/e).

As for me, I may as well be posting in the Vale, cuz my personal happiness is about 2/10.

All due respect TFA, you're misappropriating your malcontent pretty badly. We make choices, we move forward on those choices, and here you are. You just graduated from an elite law school with minimal debt (relative) with a job that will set up the rest of your career. This isn't meant to be combative, but you've made some really good decisions to this point, and I think you need to stop railing on the wrong decisions you've made (in your mind).

Please don't discount what military service actually means. You almost dismiss out of hand what it means to throw yourself into military service in its entirety. You're clearly a very intelligent person, but a reality check may be in order. If you want to talk about how your life would change if you'd commissioned in the USMC, please let me know. I have some level of expertise in it.

[Tempo]

OP you should start reading some philosophy. I recommend some Hellenistic stuff, like Epicurus/Lucretius for Epicureanism and Marcus Aurelius/Seneca/Epictetus for Stoicism. But before the Hellenistics, I honestly think Aristotle's ethics and Platonic dialogues can be great too.

You gotta put this in perspective and find some way to find happiness outside of prestige. Eudaimonia baby.

Lol, you totally got that from Mahoney's speech today :p

Is that a professor at UVA? I'm a 0L, haha.

[UVA2B]

OP you should start reading some philosophy. I recommend some Hellenistic stuff, like Epicurus/Lucretius for Epicureanism and Marcus Aurelius/Seneca/Epictetus for Stoicism. But before the Hellenistics, I honestly think Aristotle's ethics and Platonic dialogues can be great too.

You gotta put this in perspective and find some way to find happiness outside of prestige. Eudaimonia baby.

Lol, you totally got that from Mahoney's speech today :p

Is that a professor at UVA? I'm a 0L, haha.

Outgoing Dean, but new Dean is straight legit!

[haus]

The reason I think it would have been good is that it would have instilled discipline, selflessness, and other virtues that I am currently lacking. My outlook on life would probably have been more positive coming out. I grew up near a USMC base and new countless marines. During my younger years the sacrifice would have been insane (i.e. middle east), but if I may ask (and I'm not trying to be a jerk), it's essentially a peace force at the moment, so I think you're over glorifying the whole "sacrifice" thing.

You are just about clueless.

[UVA2B]

The reason I think it would have been good is that it would have instilled discipline, selflessness, and other virtues that I am currently lacking. My outlook on life would probably have been more positive coming out. I grew up near a USMC base and new countless marines. During my younger years the sacrifice would have been insane (i.e. middle east), but if I may ask (and I'm not trying to be a jerk), it's essentially a peace force at the moment, so I think you're over glorifying the whole "sacrifice" thing.

You are just about clueless.

So much this. You are unfortunately positioned to think you know what you're talking about, but reality for the average E-3 Marine exists so far from what you imagine, it might as well be an illusion.

[TFALAWL]

OP you should start reading some philosophy. I recommend some Hellenistic stuff, like Epicurus/Lucretius for Epicureanism and Marcus Aurelius/Seneca/Epictetus for Stoicism. But before the Hellenistics, I honestly think Aristotle's ethics and Platonic dialogues can be great too.

You gotta put this in perspective and find some way to find happiness outside of prestige. Eudaimonia baby.

Lol, you totally got that from Mahoney's speech today :p

Is that a professor at UVA? I'm a 0L, haha.

He's the Dean. And he actually spoke at the University wide commencement haha. He's a good guy. Gave a great speech.

[TFALAWL]

The reason I think it would have been good is that it would have instilled discipline, selflessness, and other virtues that I am currently lacking. My outlook on life would probably have been more positive coming out. I grew up near a USMC base and new countless marines. During my younger years the sacrifice would have been insane (i.e. middle east), but if I may ask (and I'm not trying to be a jerk), it's essentially a peace force at the moment, so I think you're over glorifying the whole "sacrifice" thing.

You are just about clueless.

So much this. You are unfortunately positioned to think you know what you're talking about, but reality for the average E-3 Marine exists so far from what you imagine, it might as well be an illusion.

Please elaborate (preferably in the PM I sent you). I'm interested in learning from what you have to say.

[realitychecknow]

OP sounds like you need actual mental help. Go see a counselor rather than complain about how your life is so bad because you have a $160k+ job and loans to pay off.

Also, how would having gone to Yale have made things different for you?

My dream is clerk followed by DOJ. Median at HYS can do that + no debt from law school (G.I. Bill) would've made it affordable.

I don't get why having a "$160k+ job" is so glamorous --> It'll all go towards loans, and when I get kicked out (let's say year 5 and that's GENEROUS) I will still have debt.

This is a separate discussion, but for people who actually want to be lawyers, I fail to see how biglaw is attractive. Moreover, if you just care about money then you shouldn't go to law school anyhow. Again, separate discussion, but WTF would someone want biglaw?

Sorry, but working for five years making 160k is plenty of time to pay off 60k. I think saying "all" of your paychecks will go to that is quite the overstatement. People generally manage to pay off much more in much less time than that.

Any amount of debt is stressful but I think you are taking things way out of proportion on that point.

[Pomeranian]

Even if you burn out of big law in 2-3 years, you should have been able to pay off 60K assuming you live within your means...

[jbagelboy]

I was sort of sad about graduation too but not really at all for this reason; I was sad to be leaving school for possibly the last time, knowing that what's coming next will be far less intellectually rewarding and more stressful and time consuming. I sympathize with the "lost opportunities" sensation but you have it entirely misdirected towards these microdistinctions in signaling value: no one really cares about the difference between your current position and the supposedly better one you've depicted for us in the ways you seem to, whereas if you went to a law school assigned a slightly different number in a third rate commercial magazine, you'd have the same life anxieties about entering a profession you won't enjoy but with triple the student loan debt. There's no added fulfillment where you are looking, but I grant that we both may have found more happiness avoiding law altogether.

That being said, you need to start feeling better about yourself and drop the grass is greener routine. It rarely ever is. Being in the military would be physically and psychologically devastating in ways we can't readily imagine. More debt would make you more depressed. You're better off right now than most of your peers. Take a few deep breaths, have a few beers, et recompenses-toi : tu le merite pour avoir deja venu si loin (et pour avoir reussi dans le cour de Weller!) Felicitations

[HonestAdvice]

OP sounds melodramatic, but not psychologically disturbed by any means. My guess is that when OP decided on law school, he saw graduation from UVA as a day s/he'd be ecstatic about. Instead the realization of having to make loan payments kicked in. They're likely not depressed over the loans alone, but the combination of the loans, the stress of a major life turning point and the experience not living up to their expectations. Depression isn't an uncommon reaction, and nothing in the post references a desire to hurt themselves. Antidepressants are also overprescribed, and not really indicative of a major psychological problem. The get help rhetoric may be melodramatic just like OP's posts.

I also think that having regrets about not doing military service is common, not only because of debt but also a desire to serve one's country during tumultuous times. It's easy to discount OP's feelings because they seem to have a decent career outlook, but the reality is this would make them all the more depressed, because they probably feel that no matter how things go they'll never be completely happy. Certainly no need to group bully them around.

[whacka]

UVA's clerkship office is committed to helping to secure clerkships for alum who still want to clerk. In one case, a person wanted to clerk, but missed out two years in a row, and got it on the third try. You're definitely not out of the running for your goals, if that's something you're actually upset about (I know that the prestige issue was uncovered later but I'm assuming you're still at least a little bummed to not be on the path you thought you wanted).

Either way, you're going to need to get over your insecurities about your degree if you want to achieve your goals. You're going to be working with a lot of people who went to schools that you perceive to be more prestigious for whatever reason, and it's going to be a miserable career if you spend your life feeling inadequate next to your colleagues for a distinction that exists only in your mind.

[Danger Zone]

Your biglaw shackles could be removed in as short as a year with that loan balance. Go forth and rejoice, my child.

[Eternalsunshine]

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[Eternalsunshine]

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[Eternalsunshine]

Aaaaaaand I just figured out the edit function. I'm good at this.