Today I am going to the school to be on a panel to talk to admitted students about balancing family life with law school. I did this last year. I struggle on whether I fall into the same old scare them to death first routine or tell them the truth as I see it.......For me law school has been fun. Sure sacrafices have been made, but I don't regret anything I have had to sacrafice.
People tend to think about law school as this great big stressful thing...and it is, don't get me wrong. But that stress is stress you put on yourself because you are a type A personality. Single parents have a different layer involved though because your child comes before any school. And that can be difficult at times, but it is not the horror story that the school administration wants you to believe it is.
So, I will go and tell the truth and hope that my pearls of wisdom will sink in.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Stress is ON
Yep, it's that time of season again, the stress of finals is starting to hit. Up until spring break I could ignore the fact that the semester was drawing to a close. But when we came back the prof's started saying things like, "Only six more classes left...." and so on. Now I am to the point that there is no way to get around it.
Made more complicated by the fact that when you have a child, he/she will not understand what a crazy loon you become. Your patience ends and things that you would let slide before because they really are no big deal, balloon until you are ride them every single second. I blew today and my poor daughter just stared at me.
For some reason, my body goes through major attacks before/during each final. My first year, I had bronchitis the first semester during finals, and a sinus infection the second semester. This last semester, I thought I had escaped having a body failure until I woke up after my first final only to not be able to get up off the couch due to a cyatic nerve problem. I took last semester's finals drugged on vicodin and my grades suffered. This morning, I woke up with major jaw pain. I can't open my mouth bigger than to get a straw in it. The good news is that I am not working next week to study for finals, so that stress will be off. I am blessed that I work for a department that tells us that school comes first, job second.
I wish I had some helpful tips on how to handle the stress. I don't. I work out, eat right, try and chill out. But none of that helps me. The pressure of law school exams are intense and I think it is a rite of passage that we must experience. My theory is that if you can survive law school, you can survive any trial or pressure from a job that there is out there.
My one tip for those with kids is just to plan to take a couple of days after finals to spend with your children to make up for the craziness of finals. I warn my daughter that I am studying, grumpy, and stressed becase big tests are coming. She is actually wonderful because she tries hard to have patience with me during this time. Seems like the only thing that gives me peace during this time, is to stare at her sleeping innocent face and remember that as much as I do this for me and my dreams, I do it for her future as well.
Made more complicated by the fact that when you have a child, he/she will not understand what a crazy loon you become. Your patience ends and things that you would let slide before because they really are no big deal, balloon until you are ride them every single second. I blew today and my poor daughter just stared at me.
For some reason, my body goes through major attacks before/during each final. My first year, I had bronchitis the first semester during finals, and a sinus infection the second semester. This last semester, I thought I had escaped having a body failure until I woke up after my first final only to not be able to get up off the couch due to a cyatic nerve problem. I took last semester's finals drugged on vicodin and my grades suffered. This morning, I woke up with major jaw pain. I can't open my mouth bigger than to get a straw in it. The good news is that I am not working next week to study for finals, so that stress will be off. I am blessed that I work for a department that tells us that school comes first, job second.
I wish I had some helpful tips on how to handle the stress. I don't. I work out, eat right, try and chill out. But none of that helps me. The pressure of law school exams are intense and I think it is a rite of passage that we must experience. My theory is that if you can survive law school, you can survive any trial or pressure from a job that there is out there.
My one tip for those with kids is just to plan to take a couple of days after finals to spend with your children to make up for the craziness of finals. I warn my daughter that I am studying, grumpy, and stressed becase big tests are coming. She is actually wonderful because she tries hard to have patience with me during this time. Seems like the only thing that gives me peace during this time, is to stare at her sleeping innocent face and remember that as much as I do this for me and my dreams, I do it for her future as well.
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