Some Much Needed Time Off

For the lsat 8-9 months I have been working full time. I was lucky enough to receive a full time offer in October from the office I had been working for part-time. It couldn't have worked out more in my favor considering I was taking a year off from school to focus on improving my LSAT score and then later apply to school. I loved who I was working with and enjoyed my position as an information aide. The position let me tie in some of my undergrad work while improving my skills as a co-worker and employee. I think if you have the opportunity to take a full time position during a gap year or two, do it. It can only benefit you, and others, in the end.  

Between working full time, babysitting on the side, and continuously working on my "next step" for law school, by the time I was accepted to school and made my decision I was ready for a break from all of it. I decided that July 1st was going to be my last day of work and that a five week stay-cation was beyond needed before I start this next exciting chapter of my life; law school. 

So what am I doing over these next couple of weeks?

1. Tackling some of the books on my "Recommended"

2. Finishing up whatever I have to do on the schools check list. 

3. Preparing my study room - a couple DIY project's that I will be sure to post on

4. Two words... POOL. TIME. - hottest summer of the year calls for pool days & a couple of margs.

5. Spending time with friends, family & the pup - because in august it's "see ya in 3 years peeps"

6. Enjoying myself - first time for everything right?

First and foremost the "recommended reading list". So I think its safe to say a lot of students want to know if there are any required readings to do before the fall semester. My school has created a "highly recommended reading list" and a "suggested reading list" for summer readings. I decided to pick a few from both and another through recommendation. The ones I picked are highlighted below:

Highly Recommended

• Binder, David, Paul Bergman & Susan Price. Lawyers as Counselors (1990)
• Cappalli, Richard B. The American Common Law Method (1997)
• Fischl, Richard & Jeremy Paul. Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams (1999)
• Friedman, Barry & John C.P. Goldberg. Open Book: Succeeding on Exams from the First Day of Law School (2011)
• Gallacher, Ian. Coming to Law School: How to Prepare Yourself for the Next Three Years　(2010)
• Irons, Peter. A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution (1999)
• Irons, Peter. The Courage of Their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the Supreme Court (1990)
• Levit, Nancy & Douglas O. Linder. The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law (2010)
• McKinney, Ruth Ann. Reading Like a Lawyer: Time Saving Strategies for Reading Law Like an Expert (2005)
• Sherwin, Richard K. When Law Goes Pop: The Vanishing Line Between Law and Popular Culture (2002)
• Toobin, Jeffrey. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (2008)

Recommended

• Banks, Russell. The Sweet Hereafter (1992)
• Farnsworth, Edward. An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States (1983)
• Harrington, Mona. Woman Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules (1994)
• Hegland, Kenney. Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law (1983)
• Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
• Levi, Edward H. An Introduction to Legal Reasoning (1949)
• Lewis, Anthony. Gideon’s Trumpet (1966)
• Lewis, Anthony. Make No Law (1992)
• Miller, Robert H. Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience By Students, For Students (2000)
• Stropus & Taylor. Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School (2001)

Now I AM NOT READING ALL OF THEM, that is wayyyy too much within my five weeks off. Some are how to books and while I am going to read two of them (one has really good ratings online and the other is written by one of the COL professors so I feel like that is a must) I feel like if I read too many of these it would hurt rather than hinder. I want to go into this as open minded as I can be especially when it comes to figuring out what works for me and what doesn't (studying habits mostly), etc. etc. I'm more of so reading them as a pre-req. into what I am about to be experiencing if that makes any sense at all.

While all of these books sound interesting, many are a bit pricey (a few on the list were in the $100+ range and I just can't see how spending that much on a recommended book was worth it right now) and with the course I am taking (I'll get to this later) and the cost of books for the fall semester I have looked into some cheaper options - like what my local library has to offer - that deal with the same, if not similar, topics. My plan is to knock out these first 4, plus my own choice, and then see what I can get on topics like the Supreme Court.

Now the book I found on my own was based off a suggestion that I got from an acquaintance, who was previously an attorney: "If you're going to read anything, read up on the constitution" so I found this nifty little book called "The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution" to do just that. So far I have really enjoyed it, its a little dry but I figured its something that I should get used to and one of those topics that I should familiarize myself with and understand to the best of my ability. 

Side Note: Along with reading through these books, I decided to take notes on the readings as well. I'm not sure if it will be useful or not but it could be something to reference to in the future along with just getting into the habit of taking notes again. 

The second thing on my "time off to do list" is to complete whatever I have left to do for the fall semester. Thankfully what I have left are simple things like taking a photo for my school ID - although I know for damn well that I'll probably end up taking about 50+ photos before I find one that I even remotely approve of. After that I have to fill out my parking permit - this isn't available until July 11th- and complete the Pre-pack Text Book form. (I didn't really want to do this just in case I could get them online cheaper butttt we don't get our fall semester schedule until the first day of orientation, classes start a week later and some have readings due the first day. I don't want to risk not having the book or the readings done on time so for this first semester this is the best option for me); then I need to get a new laptop, I will be posting on what I choose and why later on, and whatever else I need for supplies. Finally I have to just prepare for my Prep course - I will post on this too don't you worry. 

The rest is just history. But on a real note... TAKE SOME TIME FOR YOU. you need to be mentally, emotionally and physically (carrying all these damn books) for the change that is about to come. Its a new and exciting chapter, you want to start it with a clean slate and a fresh, open mind to learning whatever it is that's about to come so take some "you" time and do whatever it is that makes you happy (and is legal of course). It's well deserved and needed. 

Enjoy your summer!