If You Aint First, You’re Last
If You Aint First, You’re Last by Reanna Hicks, JD Candidate, Class of 2023
Second place is just first loser.
If you know me this is clearly a joke. I am a middle of the road student and content with it. The reason I am content with it is that law school is only one aspect of my life. It took me awhile to accept that. I, like most people, came in thinking that I would dedicate myself to law school 100%. I would forsake the rest of my life and what makes me who I am to be a law student, three years is not that long after all. After my 1L year I realized my mistake, three years is a long time. Especially when those three years can be so intense that a poor grade on a midterm worth only 10% of your grade can make you cry.
Now I am not saying you can slack, you still have to do all the reading, show up to class and keep up on your outlines, but trust in yourself that you have given it your best shot, maybe not your all, but your best. You might worry because you have not given it everything, you feel bad about watching that one episode of the Great British Bake Off during your finals prep, but that one episode is what you needed to keep yourself from snapping.
Powering through those three years can be tempting. It is easy to think that once you are done with law school you will be a new person, a person who is settled and knows who they are. That person does not exist, you will always be in flux, there is no fixed version of yourself. The sooner you realize this the sooner you can let things roll of your back. A poor grade does not mean you are not meant to be here, it simply means you got a bad grade.
Take a little bit of time to explore other facets of yourself, at the very least you will have something else to talk about outside of law school in your OCI interviews. If you find yourself thinking other hobbies or interest are not worth your time while you are in law school then remember the Talladega Nights’ quote, a blinding urge to be first is a poor philosophy to live your life by. Someday you will not be first and you will need something else in your life that has worth.
