LRW - The Final Final

It's been almost a week since my last final. Yesterday I finally felt clear-headed, like I was getting back to my old self.

I may not be completely out of the woods, though. Right now I'm listening to a podcast on Constitutional Law and over the weekend I read Getting to Maybe, so there could be cause for concern. I think it's just a winding down thing. There's always a period of adjustment at the end of the semester when that hundred million pound weight known as schoolwork and exam pressures comes off my back.

Anyway, LRW final. I studied for it. I actually made more flashcards for this exam than I did even for Civil Procedure. I knew the flashcards the day before the exam. I made charts of the Texas court system and the federal court system. I listened to LRW podcasts. I did CALI lessons. Who knew there were CALI lessons on LRW? I sure didn't. My friend, A, clued me in around noon the day of the exam and it was a GODSEND when it came to the citation questions.

In other words, I took this exam as seriously as any of the others. Well, almost. I thought it would be a little tough. I studied as if it were going to be VERY HARD. It was actually EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.

Two hours, ninety multiple choice questions. I had about five minutes at the end to correct a couple of answers I figured out that were wrong in the process of working through the exam.

One of my classmates said, "It was so hard that I just gave up and put all B's toward the end."

One thing about law school that I will have to admit is kind of nice. I have yet to finish an exam thinking, "Gosh. I could have studied about eight hours less for this and still gotten an A+."

And it's over. I survived my first semester of law school. And in the words of Martha Stewart, that is a very, very good thing.

I'm Marianne Dashwood!

I found this at Knit and the City.

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Christmas Song Tag - I'm It!!!

I still haven't written about my last final. I will. I think I'm still recovering from the whole three weeks of hell that was my finals experience.

Thanks to Meg, I'm out of my hole at least for a little bit.

Here's how it works:
I name five of my favorite Christmas songs and then tag five people to do the same.

My Favorite Christmas Songs:
Adeste Fideles
Winter Wonderland
Sleigh Ride (I don't know if this is the name of the song. The lyrics start out, "Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingalin', too...")
Good King Wencelaus
Little Drummer Boy

And I'm tagging:
Butterflyfish
Miss HB
Ana
Katlet
1L Wannabe

I Can't Stop Watching This!

I've watched this again and again. I can't decide if it's the music, the library ceiling, the utter ridiculousness of it all or a combination. Maybe it's post final hysteria. I just finished LRW, but I'll post on that one later. Right now, I'm going to watch those kitties sniff at the little monster....

Crim Law - Eight Hours

Torts was awful. Really bad. Like so bad I had to force myself to remain in my chair and not just get up and leave. However, I think I did reasonably well on the second essay. I don't know if it will make up for the disastrous first essay or the crazy multiple choice.

I didn't finish 30 minutes before the exam was over, either. When people finish and leave before time is called, I just shake my head. I don't know what that means. Are they so fast and accurate that they spotted all the issues and wrote such fabulous essays that they checked and double checked? Or is it that they've just reached that screw it point and wrap it up. I don't know. I'm one of those people that usually takes the entire exam period, especially on an essay exam.

Today is Crim Law, the exam for which I am least prepared. This prof has a reputation for giving a very fair exam and having extremely fair grading practices. I think that will work in my favor. He did a really, really good job of drilling things into our malleable little brains in class. I also realized toward the end of the semester that if I sat in rapt attention, my mind NEVER wandering from what he was saying even for a nanosecond, that I would not get called on! It never failed that the instant my mind would briefly wander, even to something Crim related, that I would get called on.

Yesterday I spent wallowing in depression, the same way I spent the day after each of my other exams.

Law-rah posted some 1L advice yesterday that was really helpful for me. I don't think it's sunk in all the way yet, but one thing rang true for me. She talked about having the firm belief that if you want something bad enough and work hard enough, you will get it. That's me! I still think that way, though. I still think that next semester, if I work harder and smarter, I'll do better. However, what she said planted a seed. I'm a muller. I have to think for some time and let them rattle around in my head.

And gosh, grades aren't even out yet. I could still do okay! Actually, right now I just want to pass, or get B's. Please, please, please.

Torts in Nine Hours

Nine hours from now I'll be taking my Torts final.

Saturday I was so blue I only studied for a few hours. I couldn't make myself do it. Mr. D cheered me up, though and Sunday I was back on track and studied for about twelve hours.

I've been stressed during these exams, but not like I have been in the past. Mostly I've just been depressed.

My dad doesn't like to play games where he doesn't win. I can be the same way, unless I'm really trying to learn from someone and my losing doesn't really matter to me.

I think school is that way for me, too. This semester I don't feel like I have a chance to get the best grade in the class, so I've basically taken my ball and gone home. If I can't do REALLY well, I don't want to play.

I need to get over that. I have more to say, but I have a stack of flashcards left to learn.

How did your exam experiences differ in undergrad and law school? I know I'm not the only one struggling with these perfectionist tendencies. Does it get easier? Do you know in advance that you're going to do well, or is it a guessing game til grades come out? *sigh*

Two Down, Three to Go

Well, I survived my Contracts final. I thought it was going to be the worst one. It wasn't tooooooo bad. There were only a few multiple choice questions where my answer didn't match any of the options given.

Now I have to prepare for Crim and Torts, which like I said yesterday, I am nervous about since I didn't have my study game on at that point.

I'll be so happy once next week is over with. My LRW final is six days after Crim Law, so that should be AMPLE time to prepare for that exam.

Then I guess it will be time for the Waiting Game.