Charting Your Own Path in Law School
Perhaps the most difficult thing about law school, besides getting in of course, is the pressure to do what everyone else is doing once inside. This is not something you will have anticipated, but is very real. You will find that many of your colleagues are pursuing traditional law practice, most often corporate or criminal law. This makes things extremely confusing and difficult when you are either not yet sure of what you hope to get out of this degree, or are looking for something entirely different.
What’s important to remember, is that this is not some wishy washy undergrad degree that you’re only pursuing because everyone else is and it seems like the right thing to do.
This is law school, and presumably your last bout of formal education. After this, you are released unto the world in all of your confused and destitute glory. That is why you should look at law school through the lens of an investment in yourself. When you are spending upwards of $50,000 on something, can it really be anything else?
You really need to get out of it what you want. Do not follow the crowd and take certain courses, or follow certain summer employment paths that you in a vacuum, would otherwise not do. Even if you are the outlier of the program, which you likely will be, remember, after this you are on your own.
Do you really want to leave with the skillset to do work you have no interest in doing? Probably not. So try to stay focused on what it is that interests YOU! Do not fall victim to the pressure of doing what everyone else is doing. After all, this is an investment you are making in yourself. Prepare yourself for the work YOU would like to do beyond this program.
