. . . the end in sight

I've now taken 5 of the 6 final exams for this semester. Just took my Torts exam this morning (torts, if you remember, are the things you do or don't do that make you vulnerable to a lawsuit).

My Property professor had mentioned a couple of weeks ago (seems like a long long time ago, now), that after your first final--she meant your first real final, see previous entry--everything is better. You're not as stressed. It's the first law school final exam that you're most scared of.

This has been true for me. That Property exam was bad, and I didn't write quickly enough, and I should've taken more practice exams earlier on. But after it, Criminal Law last Friday wasn't as bad, and Civil Procedure this past Monday was tough, but not too monstrously horrible, and Torts this morning was also doable.

The worrisome thing, though, is that you see and hear that everyone else felt the same way. And all the classes are graded on a curve. So 20% of us will get C's. And almost all your classmates are bright and quite studious. The ones who don't seem studious, those are the ones you wonder about: are they geniuses? Do they not study because they absorb all the material readily? The ones who don't seem bright in class discussion are mostly the quiet people. The same insecurities apply.

So, the question becomes: hey, even if I did alright, did everyone else do better, meaning that I'll be one of the 20% with a C?

Well, that's not the foremost question in my mind, because I'm trying to shoot for the A (also 20%). But not getting the A sharply decreases the chances of my ever becoming a law professor. Even were I to get top grades this year, I don't know whether I could teach law (most law professors, including the ones I have, had top grades at top schools).

And really, would it be right for a law professor to teach a class that they didn't get an A in?

Anyway, my own insecurities aside, I still have 2 days more to go. My Contracts exam is on Friday afternoon, and it will be a completely essay exam. My previous finals have been a mixture of multiple choice and essay, which has been good for me, I think, because I feel pretty good about multiple choice questions most of the time. But this one will be harder.

And afterwards, I'm planning to drive home Saturday morning or afternoon, back to Orange County.

In the midst of . . .

Finals.

Before I describe finals, first, about Thanksgiving: the break was great. Got to see my mom and dad and brother. Didn't see my sister, who stayed at school, but called her.

Seeing old friends was great. Especially at church, a place where I invested some time and energy into a community. Coming back, I was really warmly welcomed, and gladdened to see things progressing, changing, living without me. There's a whole digresssion I could go on about, but I'll leave it for another entry, some other time.

Driving took a long time. It seems that Thanksgiving weekend is the one weekend when everyone wants to be on the road. Well, maybe not everyone, but lots of people. Lots and lots of people. On the 5 between the Bay area and the LA area.

I left Davis at about 5:30 am Thursday morning (meant to leave at 4, but didn't). There were a good number of cars. Not congested, and not slowed, but a good number of cars. Then an hour or two south, lots of cars. Got home in the afternoon, having spent about 9 hours on the road (though about an hour and a half of that time was spend napping or resting). Normally, without traffic, the trip takes about 6 hours.

On the way back, I was a bit anxious, since I'd heard horror stories of last year's Sunday after Thanksgiving drive. Left around 4 pm, thought I'd drive around LA instead of through it. Unfortunately, a friend from Davis was in LA and needed a ride, so I ended up coming back for him. Lots and lots of cars. A number of accidents on the side of the road on the way. Got home at 3 am after dropping off my friend.

Ok, so. Finals.

My first final was last Friday, for Legal Research, a 1 unit class. In the memory of the oldest students (the 3L's), no one has ever had a final exam for legal research. Your grade had been based on the quality of the semi-weekly assignments turned in.

But our instructor decided to give us one. Which meant we all had to study much for it, since we're being graded on a curve (or at least, that's what we were once told. Later, we were told it's possible for all of us to get A's. I'm not sure how to reconcile these two statements).

Regardless, it was multiple choice, and lasted for 1 hr, so it wasn't really a law school final exam, in the sense that that word is normally used. As in "grips your heart with terror, writing essays furiously for several hours, and wincing afterwards when you realize what you should've included".

Ok, so the one "real" exam I (and all the other 1L's) have had is Property. 2 unit class, 2 hr final exam, worth 40% of our overall grade. It was an open notes exam, which was good in a sense and not so good in another sense. Good in the sense that you didn't have to memorize anything verbatim. Not so good in that everyone up to the last night was adding more and more things to their outlines. Not so good in that the professor had a very high standard of what she expected (judging from previous years' exams and the model answers she provided).

I winced much afterwards, when I realized what I should've included.

Actually, I was mentally hitting myself during the exam when I kept wanting to think about stuff, instead of writing. You're strongly encouraged to take the first 1/3 or so of the allotted time for an essay and outline your answer. Then the remaining 2/3 of the time you're supposed to write furiously. I spend way too much time thinking about the answer and not enough time writing it. So I ended up touching on a number of points that I wanted to describe in a little more detail.

All right, I've procrastinated long enough. Time to immerse myself in the intricacies of Criminal Law, a 1 semester class, which means that the 3 hour exam on Friday is our entire grade. Then, next week, a Civil Procedure exam on Monday (worth 20% of our grade if it helps us, 10% if not). Torts on Wednesday, and Contracts on Friday.

Pray for me, that I'd be disciplined in the next week and a half. That I'd give glory to God in this time. That Christ in me would help me be an example as I'm around fellow stressed law students.

I'm looking forward to Christmas break.