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#barpreplife: It’s Go Time

GUEST BLOG by Jennifer Varteressian,
Graduated from The University of Tulsa College of Law

Tomorrow I take the bar exam. I repeat, tomorrow I take the bar exam. Fotolia_60686527_Subscription_Monthly_M

I don’t think the reality has set in. I am trying to knock myself over the head with the prospect of sitting down and actually taking the test that has been running my life for the last few months. I stopped by the testing center today to check it out and it was all very surreal, it felt like a scene from a bad movie.

Today did not go smoothly at all. The weather was terrible, and it took forever to check into my hotel. Once I finally got settled in I attempted to order some food, because the whole being out in public thing in this state was not an option. When the food finally got here it was stale and inedible, and let me tell y’all, I’m not that picky. At this point I realized that I needed to eat something even though my stomach was in knots so I proceeded to throw some sweats and slippers on, and go gallivanting around downtown Austin in search of some food. Not the best idea in retrospect, I’m pretty sure I looked homeless, and it definitely wasn’t my finest hour. Eventually, I landed on a sandwich and a cookie (because everything else was either closed or a five star restaurant and I can guarantee you they would have laughed me out of town). I finally got back to my hotel room, freezing as all get out, and I had to laugh at myself because I was sure as hell glad all these bumps were happening today rather than tomorrow.

I truly was a wreck all day, but as I sit here now I am finally at peace with my preparation. Yes it is going to suck, but the moment we have been slaving away for is finally here, and there’s nothing we can do but trust the process. I played softball in college and when I had to perform in pressure situations I would always tell myself under my breath “Relax, you can do this”. I have decided that tomorrow I will use the same approach. We have worked so hard for this and we are three days shy of saying goodbye to the bar exam forever! Good luck everyone! Lets go #OwnTheBar!

Until Next Time (WHEN WE’RE DONE!)
J

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#The3Llife: Bar Prepping in Law School

GUEST BLOG By Shaun Sanders,
3L at Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law

I am currently taking a bar prep course during my last semester in law school, which will lead into my BARBRI prep courses after graduating.

The class is pretty fantastic, but also upsetting. My professor is a genius. I often joke that he is a law robot, built in the year 2052, sent back in time to teach law. I will never be as capable as him when it comes to digesting large quantities of text and immediately saving it to memory. His ability to recall cases from years ago is astounding. He is truly an asset at my school, and his class will no doubt help me prepare for the bar.

Teacher handing papers to students in classroomSo each week, Professor Lawbot gives the class one of his own outlines for a topic. His outlines are fantastic. An entire topic of law, that I have previously learned across an entire semester, is distilled into about 12 pages. At first, I was happily blown away with having access to such a wealth of simplified knowledge… but then I realized that these notes have always existed, yet I am only now getting them with mere months to study before the bar.

Wouldn’t it be better to just give every student these magical notes on their first day of their first year? Sure, it wouldn’t make sense at first — but it would give a great head start to everyone going forward. My biggest regret is that I had no ideas these outlines existed. I have been asking other students for their outlines and notes since first-year, yet I had no idea this is what I should have been aiming for.

So for other students going to schools with built in bar prep classes — be aware: there are some delicious notes and outlines that you may want to try to grab early. Seriously.

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#The2Llife: Prioritizing Sleep

GUEST BLOG Harrison Thorne,
2L at UCLA School of Law

Last year, as a 1L, I really prioritized sleep. I’d get in bed at a certain time, no matter what.

This year, I have not prioritized sleep. I get distracted doing various things, and before I realize, I can catch five to six hours, tops.

Comparing my day-to-day operations from last year to this year, I can definitively say that I notice a huge difference. When I’m well rested, I am more alert, I can focus better, and I am more efficient. Conversely, when I am chronically tired, the opposite is true.

So, with that, I am going to rededicate myself to sleeping! What worked for me last year, and what I am going to start implementing again, is simple.

Fotolia_74211266_Subscription_Monthly_MFirst, I had heard, and agree, that watching television before bed is a bad idea. Sometimes I am not perfect and watch a show before bed (I’m partial to “Shameless” and “Togetherness” at the moment). But when I read for pleasure before turning off the lights, I find it much easier to fall asleep.

Second, I like to have some “sleepy time” tea before bed. It really helps relax my body, and my mind usually follows.

Third, I like to do some form of meditation before bed. I really think this is a game-changer for me, and would recommend it to anyone.

These three things are usually pretty consistent in helping me get better sleep.

One thing I’d like to point out is that a lot of people talk about how to get less sleep –usually in order to get more done or have more workable hours. However, after some experimentation, I have found that it is better to miss out on an extra hour or two of work – if the work you actually do is of a higher quality.

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#The1Llife: Conquest

GUEST BLOG By Lauren Rose,
1L at the University of Detroit Mercy

Some of the first year law students that I have met are lucky.

Why are they lucky? They are lucky because they have a parent or close family member who is an attorney. I consider these people to be lucky because they probably have something automatically lined up for summer. If you’re anything like me, you are not related to an attorney. So you have to find a summer internship the hard way. The internship search is already underway and some of my classmates have already had interviews with Justices and law firms! Here are a few of the steps that I have taken thus far in my conquest to finding a summer position.

Fotolia_53726750_Subscription_Monthly_XLI went to the career office at my law school for information about events. During the meeting, the career advisor was able to tell me about an upcoming externship fair featuring externships with judges, government agencies, and nonprofits. She also told me that if I took an unpaid externship, I would be eligible to receive 3 credits! Who doesn’t love easy class credits – right? At this initial meeting, we scheduled other meetings to go over my resume, cover letter, and interview skills. If you have not yet met with your career office, do it now! The sooner you go and polish your resume and cover letter, the better!

At the next meeting, the career advisor reviewed my resume and cover letter. She provided me with some helpful advice about revising my resume so that it was better suited for legal internships (i.e. getting rid of unnecessary things from undergrad). She also went over my general cover letter and helped me tailor it for different kinds of legal positions. It never hurts to have another person read over your resume and cover letter for clarity and grammar.

The externship fair that the career advisor told me about was last week. It was awesome! There were a ton of lawyers there from all different sectors. Each lawyer was more than happy to answer questions about the internship position that they were offering. This was a great opportunity because it was an easy to way find out about a lot of internships at one time. If your school offers something like this, definitely make it a point to go.

I will be continuing my internship search as I send out my resume. If you’re a 1L going through this process, I would love to hear your thoughts! Tweet me @The1LLife

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#barpreplife: One Day at a Time

GUEST BLOG by Jennifer Varteressian,
Graduated from The University of Tulsa College of Law

So were 3 weeks out.

I think, but I don’t know because I refuse to look at a calendar. I’m just taking it one day at a time, doing my best to remain a BARBRI droid. I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone on Twitter for being so supportive, it’s been really nice to be able to rely on a community, especially those that have already passed and can provide resources to us newbies.

I don’t have to tell you all that the bar is stressful, you know that, and I’m sure you are more painfully aware of it now more than ever. What I will do is try to offer some insight as to what has been helping me cope with my stress over the past few weeks.

Boston+LibraryStudies show that if you mix up your study environment that your success rates increase. Since we have to study ALL day, we may as well do everything we can to make it better. I have been going somewhere different every day, whether that be a coffee shop, a restaurant, a public library, even a park if it’s nice outside. I am lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world so I take advantage. If it’s nice out, go outside, bring your CMR with you and get some UV rays. If it’s not, go to a quaint coffee shop that has a fireplace. Go for a run, drop in for a yoga class. It’s the little things. Order that piece of pie; you deserve it! Hell after you’ve studied for 12 hours, if you don’t deserve a nightcap I don’t know who does. Make sure that you don’t discount every single one of life’s pleasures, if you do-you will go insane, and at this point our sanity is really valuable.

Lastly, I have been struggling with being really low energy lately (studying for the bar really takes it out of you!) My eyes are twitching, I’m fatigued, and I am drinking entirely too much caffeine. Last week I began looking for other options to keep me going all day. Y’all, guess what? It turns out coffee is not the only thing that gives you energy! Shocking, I know. A couple of friends of mine have given me suggestions as to steps to take to maintain higher energy levels throughout the day. I thought I would share in case any fellow bar preppers were experiencing the same problem. Some of them are obviously in jest, but the majority of them have been incredibly helpful to me. I am normally someone who needs a constant IV of coffee, but some of these suggestions have cut me back to just my morning coffee (which granted is still like 4 cupsJ)

Tips to feel less fatigued:

  1. The old freeze your ass off shower standby
  2. KALE: I swear by it-It’s almost as energizing as coffee-If you don’t like it put it in a smoothie-smoothies make everything better.
  3. Yoga: Hey, its proven that exercise releases endorphins and makes you happy, Yoga makes you less stressed too!
  4. Probiotic vitamins
  5.  Juicing
  6. 8 HOURS OF SLEEP: this is not negotiable, you cannot replace sleep! This is a marathon-not a sprint.
  7. Chia Seeds
  8. Tea in lieu of coffee (as far as I’m concerned that’s sacrilege but people swear by it)
  9. Apple Cider vinegar added to water
  10. Vitamin B
  11. Kombucha (this actually IS a caffeine substitute)
  12. Wheatgrass shots

I haven’t had an opportunity to try all of this, but the ones I’ve had the opportunity to try have been working great! Hope this helps.

Happy Studying,
J

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