Week Two

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"
-Unknown

At this point I have completed two full weeks of Law school. I apologize for the delay in post but lots has been going on, that has made it a little difficult to post on a more regular basis. I do have several good topics for future post, but before we get ahead of ourselves lets answer a very critical question that the quote above illuminates.

So with two weeks under my belt, what little lessons have I learned to keep me from getting fooled again?

The first lesson I learned, was a familiar one. TIME VALUE. To say that time management is an important component of law school, would be a understatement on several levels of magnitude. It is my experience and opinion thus far, that law school in itself and the material that you are asked to learn is difficult but not impossible, but doing well is impossible if you get behind. The sheer volume of material is the real enemy in law school. Being able to manipulate, store, decipher, and master large volumes of information is the key. With that in mind I have worked out a bit of a system that has kept me above water thus far. For me at least, the key is to review all the material the professors go over at the end of the week and assimilate it into my own notes and thoughts. Secondly, I HAVE TO READ ON THE WEEKENDS. I know some people that are able to read material during the week, that does not work for me. I'm always too tired at night, or afraid that ill get behind, so i read on the weekend.

The second lesson I have learned is that, while it is important to rely on peers for their thoughts and interpretations on material...its is equally important to take everything they say with a grain of salt. Trying to compare the number of hours and study methods of one student to another is akin to comparing your apples to another's oranges. Yeah they are both fruit and you can eat them, but which is better? Well its a matter of personal preference isn't it. I personally cant study for hours on end in the library at the end of the day, its counter productive to me. I start to have nervous breakdowns, lol. I need to be at home, relaxed, and able to listen to my music. I need to be able to get up and pace, or write on my dry erase board to help illustrate my thoughts. The point being, that I've learned to work my way. Work smarter, not harder! That's my motto at least.

"Work hard, Play Harder". It's always been a motto of mine, but here it is a measure of sanity. I could literally spend every waking hour preparing for class or in class and still not be that much more clear on the material. At some point it becomes a cost-benefit analysis. You have to ask yourself if studying for another hour on top of the 5 you have already spent, will give you any more clarity or understanding. The Law of Diminishing Returns shows that after a certain point you stop getting any real benefit. That is where having a social life comes into play. I admit I am still trying to find that balance, but I have been enjoying getting to know my fellow classmates and exploring the various bars and dives of Chicago. I could do a weekly post (and may just do that) about the places I visit here in the city, but I don't want it to become to repetitive. How many ways can you say "went to bar, had drinks, great convo, and silly dancing"??

So with the long weekend, I am taking the time to recharge the batteries. The first two weeks were just a warm up lap, now the real race of this semester is about to start. I think that armed with my mind set, and study techniques I should be able to do reasonably well. So with that in mind, I am ready for this week and the rest of the semester.

Marqus A. Cole