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Three weeks into my second semester of 1L, my childhood best friend killed himself. I was an only child and spent every day with him from ages 6-16 (same boy scout troop, little league team etc; I'm a guy and not named Kimmy), so I considered him a brother was devastated when I heard the news. I decided that I wouldn't take the rest of the semester off because it would effectively put my life on hold for 6-9 months, but I made the conscious decision to put myself and my friends ahead of school, so I ended up going out way more than I otherwise would have. I did all my reading, but my mind was usually in other places when I was doing it, and I maintained near-perfect attendance (except for the actual day I found out). Nevertheless, my grades suffered because of the decisions I made. I knew this was going to happen, but that doesn't change the fact that I have to deal with it now. I go to a state school that dominates its region, which is my home region and where I want to stay. So my tuition is about as low as it gets and job prospects for graduates are good (relative to the industry, of course). I worked a few years before law school, so I have a solid business background. My first semester I finished around median; I know I wasn't on my way to Wall St. or the Supreme Court, but I wasn't screwed. My second semester I finished in the bottom 10% of my class. Is this a common reaction to a tragedy, or am I just making excuses for myself? How do I pick up the pieces?

Two years ago, one of my buddies seriously goofed off second semester of our 1L year. His girlfriend dumped him early in the second semester and he took it really hard. My friend bombed several exams as the result of his goofing off. He finished almost last in the class second semester.

My buddy met a new (more awesome) girl during the summer before the start of our second year. As a result of the new girl and his poor 1L performance, he decided to put in a solid "2L effort."

The kid intentionally decided to take several upper level courses with several of his 1L profs. He's a smart kid and got straight A's 3rd semester. He really impressed the profs. Accordingly, my friend managed to get a glowing recommendation from a prof who gave him his worst grade first semester. The profs recommendation mentioned how the the kid's second semester grades should not be a reflection of his overall ability, blah, blah.

Despite getting passed over for fall interviews, my buddy ended up getting an amazing gig this summer (and job lined up after graduation) because of his third semester effort. (He's also a networking savant).