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.

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Meet Lawtoya Talks

Last week I got a message on twitter from a young lady who reads my blog. Whitley is a college student in Texas and hopes to go to law school once she graduates. She told me that she loved my blog and found it really helpful. Messages like this make me SO happy, because that’s the exact reason why I started LawToya Talks.

Whitley has her own blog, where she talks about her journey to law school. Last week, she dedicated an entire post to my blog. WHAAAT!? Honored doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt when I saw the post. So, I’m sharing it with you all. Please support Whitley’s blog and follow her on her journey to law school! She’s amazing!

Thank you again, Whitley ❤

WHITLEY'S LAW AND ORDER

“A lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” 

-Abraham Lincoln


lawtoya    Hello, again! This is a special post for all of my readers. I would like to introduce you all to one of my fellow bloggers. Her name is Latoya, and she is currently in law school! The name of her blog is LawToya Talks, and everyone should support it! The main focus of her blog is to share information and beneficial advice to any individual who is attending or considering law school. Latoya and I are both passionate about sharing everything we know about the law field in our blogs. We want to help as many people as we can.

ALL ABOUT THE BLOG


    Since I already have a deep interest in the field of law, I instantly made a connection with Latoya’s blog. The first thing that I enjoy about the blog is the visual presentation…

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Everyone is Smarter Than Me & Other Crazy Things Law Students Think

Even with a 3.5 GPA, being surrounded by 4.0 students will make you doubt yourself.

Unfortunately this is a huge issue in the law school community. Self-doubt and insecurity are at an all time high. With people getting jobs, scholarships and awards its easy to find yourself feeling inadequate. Continue reading “Everyone is Smarter Than Me & Other Crazy Things Law Students Think”

10 Makeup Must-Haves

Law school is depressing, so this week we’re talking about MAKEUP!

I am a shameless makeup addict! Sephora, Ulta & MAC are no strangers to my wallet. I wasnt always into makeup, but during my freshman year of college I discovered the world Youtube Beauty Guru’s. Continue reading “10 Makeup Must-Haves”

Sorry, I’m packing up my life

I have about 3-4 posts that I’m really looking forward to uploading in the next few days. The past week has been CRAY! I’m packing all of my belongings into 5 boxes & hoping to fit them all in my car O_O.

Here’s what the next 20-25 days looks like:

July 18: Pack up & head to Palm Beach

July 19: Something big might be happening this day, I don’t want to jinx myself but I’ll fill you in on what goes down.

July 19-July 30th: Family time 💜

July 31: I officially move out & Brandon officially moves into his place!

Aug 1: Aug 7: Best friend time: www.bytisha.com 💜

Aug 8: GRADUATION

Aug 9: MY BIRTHDAYYYY

Aug 10th: Illinois

Okay, so I’m kinda busy. I will not be slacking on the blog posts though, so get excited!!

-LawToya

Life Update: What Happened to LawToya?!

HEYYYYY! How you Doooin? *Wendy Williams voice*

So, I’m back from my blogging break. About 2 weeks ago I posted Life Throws Curveballs as I was frantically sobbing. I’m here to update you on what the heck happened.

As you may know, a few months ago I wrote about the apartment I signed for in Illinois. I was so excited about this place, everything was perfect! The appliances were new, the living room was bright & the location was amazing. When I initially visited, I filled out an application & paid an app fee. I was told by the leasing office that I was put on the list & would get an apartment assignment in June-July. Fast-forward to June 24th, I got an email stating that there were NO apartments available & I was essentially homeless. I WAS DEVASTATED! I tried my best to keep calm when I called the leasing office, but I did slip a few *kind* words into the conversation.

What the heck was I going to do? I live in Florida, I’m moving in a month, and I have nowhere to live. If you aren’t familiar with areas around large college’s, apartments near by go FAST. I signed a lease for the apartment I currently live in almost 8 months in advance. As I called apartment after apartment I began to lose hope, no one had openings. Finally, after about 25 phone calls I found one. I called the company asking for one apartment that was unfortunately unavailable, but after explaining my situation to the leasing agent she suggested another complex. I called them soon afer and THANK GOD, they had an apartment available.

Although I was excited, I was really nervous. Was I really about to sign a lease on an apartment I’d never visited? Yes, I had no choice. The leasing agent was the sweetest person ever, she offered to go into the apartment and take pictures of the space. She sent me 10 pictures from all different angles and I couldn’t thank her enough for her help.

I began to realize just how true it is that everything happens for a reason. The new apartment I signed for has so many things that other was lacking. I’m closer to my school, I’m getting a bigger space, the leasing agents are amazing, and I get faster internet (lol, so important).

When bad things happen in life, try to take a moment to think about the situation. Maybe I just wasnt meant to be there & this had to happen in order for me to realize it. Either way, I’m pleased with my new apartment & I can’t wait to move in! Thanks to everyone who sent me messages & wrote sweet comments, I appreciate every one of you. 😀

-LawToya

Life Throws Curveballs

I was in the process of writing a really nice post for the blog today when I got an email with some disappointing news.

After crying it out for a few minutes, I put my frustration into action & I think I’ve figured things out. I wont get into detail about it just yet, but hopefully by next week I’ll be able to update you all.

Every now & then things happen in life that remind you, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

Life throws curveballs, you just gotta learn how to catch them.

-LawToya