Top 3 Tips for 1Ls Going Home for the Holidays
Are you a 1L that's thinking about going home for Thanksgiving? Or maybe you're more reasonable and you're thinking that going home for the winter break after exams is a good idea.
Regardless of whether or not you have been shaped into the reasonably prudent person your law profs have promised to make you yet, if you plan to go home for the holidays, you can get a few reasonably prudent tips below.
1. There Is No Thanksgiving, Only School
Newsflash, you don't get a week off for Thanksgiving. If you get the day before off, consider yourself lucky. If you don't get the day after off, consider yourself cursed. If you have class up until the day before, you can and should forget about leaving town. Also, if "going home" for Thanksgiving means travelling more than half an hour, again, just forget about it. Unless you can spare the time, which you probably cannot, you're just wasting valuable study time. Plan on ordering in, or maybe doing a study group dinner.
It'll only be a few more weeks till the end of the semester after Thanksgiving.
2. Books Are Heavy, and No, You Cannot Check Them
Technically, yes, you can check your law school books with your other luggage, but should you? Not only are they important, but they are pricey, and they probably contain your precious highlighting, bookmarking, and chicken-scratch notes in the margins. Lost clothing can be easily replaced, but your notes are made up of sweat equity that isn't so easily replaceable. So if you plan to study while on break, be prepared to put in a little extra sweat equity lugging your books around.
Protip: Use that roller bag backpack you only used once for school for travelling with your law books.
3. Aggressively Relax
You (and your family) better start getting used to the "work hard play hard" lifestyle, because that's what life is like for lawyers. When you go to trial, you'll be doing back to back 20-hour days for as long as the trial takes. Sure you might be asleep for a couple of those hours, but you'll be eating, breathing, and sleeping trial. Wait till you're done with school for the semester, then go crazy and really enjoy your holiday/winter break and family time. Just be ready to hunker down when the semester starts.
Related Resources:
- Holiday Gift Ideas for Law Students (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- 6 Things Law Students Need to Know Before Final Exams (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- 1Ls, Here Are 6 Things to Do Over Your Winter Break (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)