A Meme a Day Helps the Passion Stay
Law school at Gonzaga is a strange time. One day you walk in not knowing where the Courtroom is, next thing you know, you have a non-negotiable perfect place to study each day. As law students we don’t have much time within these walls, three years at most, some of us finish in two. Our days are limited here, and so as much as the seemingly endless readings, looming midterms, and worrying about what the future holds may make you believe law school will never end, your days here will come and go all the same. Looking at all three of the years you will spend here can seem overwhelming, but if there is anything I have learned over the almost three years that I have been at Gonzaga, it is that the best thing you can do is make time to appreciate the small things.
Appreciating the small things is not easy, there will be days when you’re getting home at 8:00pm, maybe later. You haven’t eaten, there are readings to do, papers to write, the whole nine yards. However, it is my firm belief that the small things are what keep us afloat. Appreciating the small things is the only way I have been able to keep this law school education going. Without them, rationalizing why we study so hard, read so much, and persevere in the face of insurmountable workloads like we do on a regular basis becomes baffling.
Try to think back to the moment you first arrived at Gonzaga School of Law, you likely took a moment to read that big gold “School of Law” sign placed upon the highest point of the building’s inner frame. What thoughts were going through your head when you first entered this building? What brought you to this place in the first place? Why did you try to do well in your undergrad, engage with your local community, or at least make it through the grueling LSAT? A “reasonable” person would not do those things without a good reason. At one point, each of us knew we had a passion for something that brought us here. Maybe some of us forgot what that passion was, if so, when did that happen?
I can’t tell you when or if you forgot that passion, but what I can tell you is that it is possible to get that passion back. Some of us, like myself, at times struggle to remember why we are even in law school, but I encourage you to take some time to think about and appreciate the small things. Force yourself, if you must, to think about one good thing that has happened to you each day. Maybe you got that new job or internship, maybe you spoke up in class today, maybe you just showed up and paid attention in class today, maybe you came home to friends or family, maybe you just made it home safely at the end of the day. Find something, find anything, that pulls you out of the vortex that law school can so easily become if you let it. Find something to ground yourself in that will bring joy into your life.
Taking time to remove yourself from what can become an anxiety inducing and “imposter syndrome” ridden environment, you might find it becomes easier to recall the passion that originally brought you here. This is not a “do this one easy trick” advertisement. This will take time and dedication. Start small and gradually work on becoming more aware of why you are putting in so much work. If all you focus on is the work, then you will quickly forget why you are even doing it. Focus on the small things, no matter what form those might take.
The best part about small things, is that they can look different for everyone. For me, the small things range from spending an evening with my beautiful fiancĂ©e, playing some Super Smash Bros with friends, hanging out with my friends, cooking up a new recipe, or just finding a relatable law school meme that makes me exhale quickly out of my nostrils after a particularly humbling midterm. While each of these things might seem trivial on its own, a meme a day really can help my passion stay. Even something as simple as a meme, reminds me that I do have a personality outside of law school, I do have interests and hobbies that don’t involve reading about contracts (sorry Professor Sepinuck), and most importantly, I am reminded that there are other aspects of myself that are just as, if not more important, than what I do within these law school walls. Appreciating these small things has allowed me to experience growth and passion for my school, work, and personal life like I never felt before in my 1L or 2L years.
While it might have taken me a bit longer than I would have liked to figure out this delicate balance of how to disperse my limited amount of time and energy, I am happy that I eventually got a handle on things. I hope that my words might spark some newfound, or perhaps newly discovered vigor for you to reflect on each day so that you might not overlook the small things and remember the passion that brought you here.
David Salgado
J.D. Candidate, Class of 2022
