like a fish needs a bicycle...

1L

hmmmm... don't even know where to start.

week 1 of law school is over. (insert praise and thanksgiving to God from several languages, religions, and cultures here). now, i have several comments to make and many reflections to share.

however, i don't want to sound whiny about all of this (though that's really inevitable, isn't it?). so in the interest of sounding somewhat mature and adult about this whole experience, i'll cram all my thoughts and feelings into matter-of-fact bullet points. that way, it'll all seem like impartial observation. so yeah, consider this an unbiased, impersonal perspective on the realities of new york, law school, and new york university law school...

* it is safe to say, with no exaggeration, that i did more preparation for class in these past 3 days of law school than i ever did in even the most academically intense weeks of my college career.

* if you thought people couldn't get more drunk than they do in college, you'd be wrong. law students are more alcohol-obsessed than any group i've ever encountered in my life. and they're proud of it. two precious utterances i've heard this past week: 1 - "among professionals, alcoholism is highest among lawyers. and that starts in law school, so go ahead and get started with us." 2 - (from a 2L) "i was wasted 5 nights a week my first semester of law school." ummmm, wow. i wonder if all these organizations and mixers can give me some kind of compensation for all of their free alcohol that i'm not drinking...? maybe some free chocolate...

* i've never known my study-time estimates to be so inaccurate. i used to think i knew how long it takes me to read something, outline something, or take notes on something. and perhaps i did know at some point. but i don't know anymore. now, whatever time estimate i make i must necessarily double in order to actually have enough time to get anything done.

* if you think a law school professor would know how to pronounce the word "conjure," you'd be wrong (sounded more like con-JOOR, and he said he had to look the word up, and he also provided the class with a definition of a "conjurer"). nice, huh? kinda gives me hope. :)

* on a college campus scattered throughout lower manhattan, access to school buildings is restricted to enrolled students. makes sense: safer, more orderly, etc. this safety and orderliness, however, comes at a price. security guards who want to see *photo* school IDs (even when the school building that issues them hasn't yet opened) not only have the usual misplaced feeling of authority that security guards often do, but they're also new yorkers with attitudes. hence, they aren't exactly the welcoming committee during your first days in a big city and it's not exactly pleasant or comforting to experience them during the beginning of the 3 most hellish years of your life. one of these days, i'm just gonna say "you do realize that you don't *actually* have any power, and that in the grand scheme of the world, you and your little assumed "sphere of authority" amount to nothing? so why not just be nice?"

* my roommate rocks. (insert more praise and thanksgiving here).

* there are tons of persians here. there are tons of jews here. there are tons of persian jews here. hence, upon getting a quick look at me or hearing that i'm persian, people throw me into one of their mental boxes pretty quickly. interesting, since most of my life, the general public has met comments like "i'm persian" with blank stares. these days, those comments are met with "oh, my roommate is a persian jew. want me to set you up?"

* anyone ever heard of the book 1L? it's about this guy's hellish first year of law school at harvard. apparently, one of the first-year civil procedure professors at NYU this year is a visiting professor from harvard law school. he told his 1L's on the first day of class that he was the evil professor in the book 1L. nice.

* i've never felt so clueless in class in my life. from what i hear, this gets better over time. but for now... wow. i just don't have the train of thought or relevant commentary or novel ideas to offer. and that is really a new thing for me. i was lucky enough to get through the first week of class without being called on, but i doubt that'll last long. so i'm gonna have to acquire some knowledge and understanding soon, before i embarass myself...

* there are 12 unversity of texas at austin alums in this year's 1L class. (hook 'em horns!!!) actually, it's crazy how many texas people there are here. i live in the dorms and my next door neighbor and the neighbor across the hall are both from texas. such a coincidence. and i keep meeting more texas people in my classes and at different functions. glad to know we actually are everywhere. :)

* everyone in new york really does have a new york accent--it's quite cute. also, everyone here always looks so put-together. i think, generally, people are in much better shape and they're always better dressed--it's such a departure from texas, which is one of the fattest states in the country, and which is home to plenty of people going to the grocery store in oversized sweats. that just doesn't happen here. people walk around the city rockin' trendy clothes, dropping r's when they speak, and looking ready to kick your ass if you mess with them.

* schlepping around my laptop, 2 casebooks, and 3 supplementary textbooks for a few consecutive classes will, indeed, make my back and shoulders hurt.

* i'm a new york city resident. wow. of course... i love chicago. i've loved living there for the past year. but after a week here, chicago seems like a small, clean, manageable city by comparison. this place is madness. and yet... i love it. and i'm quickly falling in love with greenwich village, which is the neighborhood i live in. i still can't believe i'm a new york city resident, though. when i find myself saying that, i feel like a much cooler person than i actually am. :)

* NYU is great. security guards aside, the actual faculty and staff of this place are so helpful and nice and pleasant to be around. and there are so many awesome students, too. i'm really loving meeting people and feeling the sense of community here. today i had lunch at an ethiopian place in the village with some kids from my section. we were an ethnically, linguistically, geographically, and intellectually diverse group, and we had such a good time. i'm really charmed by this place. it has so much to offer. for instance, if you're ever looking for a fast-talking, hard-ass criminal law professor with a brooklyn accent, this is the place to find one.

Posted by naseem at September 2, 2005 03:15 PM