My 1L Experience
“You argue so well, you should become a lawyer!”
I’m sure all law students have heard this at least once in their lives. Or maybe it’s just me.
I was twelve when my grandmother said those fateful words to me, and I decided to follow through with her suggestion.
Within the ten years that ensued between that comment and my first day at Western Law, I never once questioned the path that would determine my future. I enrolled in Political Science at McMaster University, secured solid grades without the bat of an eye, and spent not one, but two summers studying relentlessly for the LSAT to obtain a score worthy of acceptance into a Canadian law school.
In mid-January of 2019, my phone screen lit up with an email from Western Law — “Congratulations! …”, and just like that, I was a future law student.
It was right before dinner, so my entire family was congregated in the kitchen jumping up and down with excitement. On my end, the excitement lasted about five minutes until the anxiety rolled over me like a tsunami.
Now what?
I spent ten years of my life so deeply immersed in the work necessary to secure acceptance into the law school of my dreams that I forgot to consider what came after.
Being someone who loved to plan every aspect of my life, the uncertainty of what to expect was killing me.
To say that my first semester in law school was difficult would be an understatement. At the ripe age of 22, I was plucked from my hometown and thrust into real life. I was instantly intimidated by those in my program who were older, had impressive work experience or master’s degrees under their belt. I felt so underqualified. I felt so confused as to what the faculty saw in me. I kept questioning — was it a mistake? It must be a mistake, because there is no way I measure up to these people. They’re real adults with real experience; I am a fraud.
Turns out it wasn’t a mistake. I do deserve to be here.
Yes, law school can be distressing at times. However, I’ve learned that the key to success is to remain positive and forward-looking. Personally, I continue to work hard throughout distressing times because I know my law degree will award me the opportunity to successfully advocate on behalf of future clients.
I came into 1L with no idea what to expect. I quickly learned that the amount of effort I put into my studies throughout undergrad would no longer suffice. The legal profession carries the prestige it does for a reason. It takes hard work, dedication, and sometimes a hint of failure to remind yourself that there is always something more to learn. There is always an opportunity for growth.
As a professor of mine once put it, “we are all works in progress”.
