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Somebody please help me!! I'm so scared that I'm going to flunk out or drop out and disappoint everyone (my family, my gf, her family, my peers). They all have these high expectations of how i am supposed to perform, and I am so afraid that I am just going to let everybody down. What if I just can't make it??

I've worked so hard for this and now that school starts in two weeks I'm getting so nervous. I down know what to do to calm down. Maybe I should just go and see a movie or something. Is there anybody on here who can offer some advice to help assuage my fears and calm me down? PLEASE???

Firstly, if your parents and family care about you, then you will not disappoint them even if law school is too hard and you, as you say, "flunk out".
Secondly, you should expect to be median, but it is highly likely you will be below median. Law school is hard, and full of very talented people. That doesn't mean you should despair. It means you should recognize that it is ok for you to be median or below.

You will be fine. You have gotten through everything else in life until now-- you are here, aren't you?
Everyone gets nervous. Just only some are brave enough to admit it.

hpfl121 wrote:Somebody please help me!! I'm so scared that I'm going to flunk out or drop out and disappoint everyone (my family, my gf, her family, my peers). They all have these high expectations of how i am supposed to perform, and I am so afraid that I am just going to let everybody down. What if I just can't make it??

I've worked so hard for this and now that school starts in two weeks I'm getting so nervous. I down know what to do to calm down. Maybe I should just go and see a movie or something. Is there anybody on here who can offer some advice to help assuage my fears and calm me down? PLEASE???

1. Those who love and support you were there before law school, and they will be there after law school. Nothing is going to change that. At least to me, this really calmed my nerves during the most stressful times when I would feel like the dumbest kid in the class. I would tell myself that, even if I totally failed, my friends, family, and gf would still be there for me no matter what.

2. EVERYONE has their moment of panic before law school, and everyone feels like they can't do it at some point in time. But guess what? You can do it. Its all just a big game, and those that learn the rules fastest end up the winners. There is NO reason why that winner can't be you. Success in law school sure as hell isn't tied to innate intelligence, so there is no reason to feel like you are behind or at a disadvantage because you feel like everyone else is so smart and will run circles around you. Sure, many will undoubtedly be smart. But that says nothing about who will win the game.

3. Like you said, see a movie or do something to relax. You need to find your special place once in awhile during law school because the whole experience certainly is stressful. I would play an episode of a funny TV show to get me laughing, or just watch something totally silly (hell, I'd watch the dog shows on animal planet since I love dogs and it takes my mind off of the stress). You just need to let out a bit of steam, but don't think that you are the only one who needs to cool down every once in awhile.


Moral of the story: Stay positive, be confident, don't worry too much, etc.

hpfl121 wrote:Somebody please help me!! I'm so scared that I'm going to flunk out or drop out and disappoint everyone (my family, my gf, her family, my peers). They all have these high expectations of how i am supposed to perform, and I am so afraid that I am just going to let everybody down. What if I just can't make it??

I've worked so hard for this and now that school starts in two weeks I'm getting so nervous. I down know what to do to calm down. Maybe I should just go and see a movie or something. Is there anybody on here who can offer some advice to help assuage my fears and calm me down? PLEASE???

lots of people feel anxiety when they don't feel in control. Maybe it would help to read something like 1l of a ride or GTM, that way you feel like your taking a proactive approach

Start gunning.

Thank you so much, all of you!! That really does help calm me down some. I realize that my fear of losing those closest to me because of failure is irrational, yet the fear somehow still surfaces.

What you guys said definitely helps, though. I have to stay positive...I have to. This is what I want and I can't let fears like this get in my way. I haven't before and I won't start now.

Yes, chem, I do think lack of control is part of it since I'm kind of just waiting for school to start. I have heard a lot about gtm and law school confidential, so I'll probably take a glance at those, even if it's just for direction.

I sincerely thank you all for your help and your input, especially when you didn't have to. Thanks!!!

What school are you attending?

Find a hobby.
Seriously.

Even if you don't flunk out or drop out you'll still probably disappoint everyone around you.

Bildungsroman wrote:Even if you don't flunk out or drop out you'll still probably disappoint everyone around you.

This is unfortunately true. I have done several things in my life well, graduated from some stuff, and stuff like that... and you know what? I still regularly disappoint those around me. But your family and friends love you and will understand. For instance I disappointed Bils the other night but he told me it happens to everyone and I shouldn't be ashamed.


ETA: seriously though, it'll be fine.

Bildungsroman wrote:Even if you don't flunk out or drop out you'll still probably disappoint everyone around you.

cr.

It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Or that we have to.

Verity wrote:It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Med school kids regularly freak out like this- trust me, I know several. Many of them end up on anti-anxiety meds the moment they get to school.

So do veterinary students.

I don't know any business students well, so I can't say.

firemed wrote:

Verity wrote:It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Med school kids regularly freak out like this- trust me, I know several. Many of them end up on anti-anxiety meds the moment they get to school.

So do veterinary students.

I don't know any business students well, so I can't say.

Not because they're worried about unemployment.

...

Verity wrote:

firemed wrote:

Verity wrote:It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Med school kids regularly freak out like this- trust me, I know several. Many of them end up on anti-anxiety meds the moment they get to school.

So do veterinary students.

I don't know any business students well, so I can't say.

Not because they're worried about unemployment.

True... they are worried because you actually can flunk out though.

I mean, really, you can flunk out of law school- you just have to be below a certain percentage of your class (as determined by the institution's job prospects). The difference between LS and medical school is that medical school tells you when you flunk out, but LS just lets you keep taking classes until you are unemployed at the end and then you know you failed out.

hpfl121 wrote:Thank you so much, all of you!! That really does help calm me down some. I realize that my fear of losing those closest to me because of failure is irrational, yet the fear somehow still surfaces.

What you guys said definitely helps, though. I have to stay positive...I have to. This is what I want and I can't let fears like this get in my way. I haven't before and I won't start now.

Yes, chem, I do think lack of control is part of it since I'm kind of just waiting for school to start. I have heard a lot about gtm and law school confidential, so I'll probably take a glance at those, even if it's just for direction.

I sincerely thank you all for your help and your input, especially when you didn't have to. Thanks!!!

Gunning a little should definitely take away some of the anxiety. It did for myself.

Verity wrote:It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Or that we have to.

LOL at B-school kids not having to worry about being unemployed.

TheFactor wrote:

Verity wrote:It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Or that we have to.

LOL at B-school kids not having to worry about being unemployed.

+1 this baseless crap continues to get play on TLS

Buying GTM and LEEWS and going through them has helped me feel better. There's not a lot I can do at this point to prepare, but at least familiarizing myself with what exams will be like helps me feel that I'm doing all I can at the moment.

kwais wrote:

TheFactor wrote:

Verity wrote:It sucks that B-school and med school kids don't really have to ask these questions.

Or that we have to.

LOL at B-school kids not having to worry about being unemployed.

+1 this baseless crap continues to get play on TLS

The grass is always greener on the other side, I guess.

Go watch The Paper Chase. That should calm your nerves.

hpfl121 wrote:Somebody please help me!! I'm so scared that I'm going to flunk out or drop out and disappoint everyone (my family, my gf, her family, my peers). They all have these high expectations of how i am supposed to perform, and I am so afraid that I am just going to let everybody down. What if I just can't make it??

I've worked so hard for this and now that school starts in two weeks I'm getting so nervous. I down know what to do to calm down. Maybe I should just go and see a movie or something. Is there anybody on here who can offer some advice to help assuage my fears and calm me down? PLEASE???

Dude,

I spent all 1L drinking, playing Call of Duty, and attending Hockey Games. I studied about an hour a day outside of class, and pulled 6 hour study days during the reading period. I have more interviews for BigLaw firms than I know what to do with, seriously, like, there aren't enough hours in the day. There is hope. Law school is not that hard. Chill out, start drinking, and enjoy the flow.

PS. Kaiser, you should have gone to hockey games with me while you had the chance, you upward transferring elitist.

I'm opposite. I am sure I will freak out at some point but for now I know I am about to embark on some bull-hit. I have tempered my expectations in order to minimize any disappointment that might arise. That being said I have been getting myself familiar with the exam process and law school in general. I have a plan (for now until the freak out) and I plan to follow it best I can while adjusting where I see fit.