Finals Schminals

I am officially halfway through my first set of law school finals! I haven't eaten in days. I haven't slept in weeks. Okay. I'm totally kidding. But after having no idea what to expect, I would almost have to call myself a pro by now. Almost.

My days have consisted of long hours at the library, an increase in caffeine, and several run-til-I-die workouts in the gym (hey, I gotta get rid of this stress somehow). After a full week of finals, it has become blatantly obvious what one must do to survive. You ready for this one? The secret of all secrets? Well, here it is: THINK. POSITIVE. I hate to say it, but Mom, you were right (mild grumbling).

Sounds simple enough, right? Ha. Guess again. From the obnoxious temper tantrums to the hysterical crying breakdowns, I've witnessed the 1L class go from a group of highly motivated professional students to one resembling whiny kindergartners acting like someone just kicked their dog. And this time, I'm totally not kidding. Could it be that after all the torture I endured as a Division I athlete (6 a.m. sprints and almost 18 hours without food, the list goes on....) has made me that much stronger than everyone else? Maybe. Could it be the fact that I celebrated my first law school final with a container of cupcakes? Although quite delicious, it's highly unlikely.  Maybe it's the simple fact that through all of the elements of negligence, all of the tests for personal jurisdiction, and all of the illusory promises (which are NOT contracts by the way), I've managed to keep my eye on the prize and not let go of the thing that is most important: life.

I saw a quote the other day that I really truly loved:

"The past is for learning. The present is for living. The future is a combination of the two."

I think this makes a lot of sense. A lot of people get so bogged down in the past that they forget to slow down and enjoy what's really happening in the moment. They get so worried about what they're going to do in the future that they forget what they're even doing right now. Sometimes it seems as if they have ceased to exist. And we can't let ourselves do that. Not for one single second. There's something much bigger going on that we all need to be aware of. And that's life. It's crazy, it's wonderful, it's exhilarating, and at times it's absolutely exhausting. And even though we face challenges we think are going to absolutely slaughter us on a daily basis, we can't let it get to us. We have to hold onto the little things.

Law school is by far the biggest challenge I've ever had in my life. But I haven't lost sight of what it's really all about. It's about taking time to stop and smell the roses, it's about chasing your dream, and it's about finding yourself while you're at it. It's about enjoying the time we've been given with the ones that we love, because we never know when our names will be called.

So let me just wrap this up (Con Law is calling my name). No matter how busy you get or how stressed out you become, you shouldn't forget about your most important 'little' things. Here are mine:

1) Taking the time to tell my family I love them.
2) Singing in the shower.
3) Smiling at strangers.
4) Eating red velvet cupcakes.
5) Saying 'Thank you.'
6) Detoxing for 10 minutes on the couch.
7) Running my ass off.
8) Taking Wednesday night study breaks to watch 'Revenge.'
9) Getting 7 hours of sleep.
And my most important 'little' thing:
10) Telling myself I'm kind of a big deal (c'mon, you know you do it too).

So....if you're wondering where I'll be before I fall asleep tonight, you can find me curled up in bed catching up on my episodes. Why you ask? Because I can. And after all, it's all about the little things.

(:

JS