Law School is Scary

Last night I spoke at my Law School's Open House for the first time. 

Although I was excited to accept the invitation to be one of the pannelists, as I stepped in front of the crowd of potential law students I quickly remembered my slight fear of public speaking. 

However, after a nice pep talk with myself, I did great. 

One of the things that I spoke of was my fear of even entering into Law School. 

I told our guests that 3 1/2 years ago I was sitting in their spot (with my roommate) fearfully listening to the panel of speakers discuss what it is like being in law school, graduating law school and actually practicing law. 

Their schedules sounded like this:

Wake up before the sun rises, get ready for work, listen to law school cd's as they are getting ready for work, drive to work, as they drive to work, they listen to law school cd's, arrive at work, brief cases on their lunch break, get off of work, brief cases, arrive to school, participate in class, brief cases in class, leave school, drive home while listening to law school cd's, make dinner and read cases while eating dinner. 

Most of the panelists did the above routine with spouses, children, full-time jobs, etc. 

I remember walking out of the open house thinking that I would never get to that point. I constantly questioned whether I was willing to give up my life for that type of dedication or even if I could give it up. 

As I spoke to the potential law students last night, I realized that my life unintentionally became the life of the law student that my panelists 3 1/2 years ago so accurately described. 

Although I have made many sacrifices throughout this process, it never felt like I couldn't handle it. I just adjusted to my circumstances for the time being.  

Which means a couple of things to me: (1) When things need to get done, you will do them. (2) An overwhelming schedule will turn you into a master of time management. (3) The craziest things, like the schedule above, do not sound so crazy to me anymore. (4) You only really need a couple of hours a sleep a night. (5) I am no longer afraid of putting in a little time and effort toward something I want.