I Graduated From Law School: Here’s a 3 year recap!

Wow, I know its been a while but, the blog is back! Let me tell you, being a law student is extremely time consuming. When I created this blog in 2015 I thought I would continue blogging throughout law school and beyond. I made it to the second semester of 1L year & all h**l broke loose! I knew it’d be hard to maintain a steady presence on the blog and be a good student, but clearly it was a bit harder than I anticipated. So, now that I’m LawToya J.D., I figured it was due time to start blogging again. I have so much to share about my law school experience and cant wait to post them on the blog. I’ll also be incorporating a few of my favorite things like beauty, travel, and food (I really love food.)

So, where have I been? Here’s a recap of the last 3 years!

1L Year

1L year was a whirlwind. Everything was new, everyone was new, and every where was new. I grew up in south Florida and went to the University of Central Florida for college. For law school I decided to switch up the scenery and move to Illinois. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “why in the world would you leave those warm sunny beaches?” I’m insane, that’s why. Adjusting to life in Illinois took up a huge chunk of time during 1L, but it also made it fun. Imagine a Florida girl learning how to shovel snow!

I joined the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) which was absolutely necessary (Look out for a blog post on BLSA). I also got involved with the Woman’s Law Society, took a seat on the faculty curriculum committee, and worked with the prisoners rights research group. Overall, I had an amazing 1L year.

1L Summer

Summers in law school are reserved for working and networking. I was incredibly fortunate and landed an in-house position at a fortune 500 company for my 1L summer. It. Was. Amazing. I worked and lived in Chicago, I got to party on the weekends and explore my neighborhood on weeknights. I fell in love with the city & knew I wanted to be back for 2L summer. I also networked my a** off, I met tons of lawyers from all different backgrounds. This networking proved to be invaluable during OCI. Oh, and speaking of OCI . . . it was . . . interesting. (I’ll have a separate post on how to survive). Fortunately though, I made it out of OCI with my sanity and an offer from my top firm!

2L Year

2L year worked me to death. It was the most difficult year of my academic career. I took 18 credits, competed on the trial team, and clerked part time at a local firm. I also decided to be an over achiever and join the BLSA & WLS executive boards. Although it was incredibly difficult, I got bomb grades and actually had a lot of fun. 2L was a busy blur but somehow I made it out alive!

2L Summer

Back in Chicago, this time at the firm of my dreams! I’d looked forward to this for 9 months! I was one of 6 summer associates at the firm. We spent 10 weeks working as “associates,” taking on assignments, attending court hearings, and shadowing depositions. Outside of work I was living my best life! Rooftop parties were a weekly occurrence and Sunday brunches with unlimited mimosas were an absolute must. The summer was incredibly challenging and the anxiety of post-grad offers plagued my thoughts daily. In the end, the stress and late nights at the office were worth it! On August 9th 2017, I signed an offer to return to the firm after graduation. Talk about a sigh of relief!!!

3L Year

Finally. The end was near. 3L year was the home stretch, but boy was it difficult. Fall semester I decided it was the perfect time to become a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. This. Was. Difficult. But, I wouldn’t change it for the world! Then, spring semester decided to show me who’s boss. I was enrolled in 8 classes, some short sessions, some intersession, and some traditional doctrinal courses. I’m still not sure whether it was the overload of courses or the senioritis that made me feel like jumping off of a bridge. The semester proved to be my most challenging. Grades haven’t been released yet and honestly, I’m not checking them.

Overall my law school experience wasn’t a bad one. I truly enjoyed most (read: some) of the process and have many fond memories. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m SO glad its over! Now onto Bar prep…pray for me.

LawToya, J.D.