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Thursday, August 10, 2006
And Even More Advice for New Law Students
I just got back from a wonderful two days with my family at Devil's Lake State Park in central Wisconsin. While enjoying the view from one of the bluffs overlooking the lake, I was reminded of the exchange here last week on advice for new law students (http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2006/08/more_advice_for.html). To the terrific advice compiled by others, I would add this: every once in a while, take a break from the intense human environment of law school and simply go for a walk in the woods. From the days when I was a student at Yale, I recall several occasions on which my wife pulled me away from my books and dragged me to Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, Connecticut. A couple of hours at the park never failed to lift my spirits and ease my law student anxieties. If other folks have suggestions of places to take a walk in the woods in close proximity to other law schools, feel free to share those ideas by way of a response; collecting this information will perhaps be of service to some soon-to-be 1Ls.
Posted by Michael O'Hear on August 10, 2006 at 06:34 PM in Life of Law Schools | Permalink
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Lately the blogosphere has been dishing out advice for beginning law school students by the dozen, mostly by professors offering a suggestion or two on how to survive law school. Some are good, the rest make me wonder what reality these people ar... [Read More]
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Comments
In Charlottesville, you are criminally negligent if you don't hike some portion of Skyline Drive/Shenandoah Nat'l Park at least once a semester during law school. My personal recommendation: Do a full-day hike on the Lewis Mountain segment, followed by a decadent German dinner at the Bavarian Chef in Madison.
For fun with a more historical bent, visit Monticello, Ash Lawn, Montpelier.
More generally, I think immersive exercise (hiking usually counts, running often doesn't) is a huge deal in law school. The key is to do something that takes you completely outside yourself, your concerns about the peppercorn theory, and your worries that you're not doing enough because you haven't made flashcards summarizing every case in the Torts text.
Posted by: Paul Stancil | Aug 11, 2006 4:03:12 PM
Michael -- I have similar memories of Sleeping-Giant-runs, particularly during exam-crunch time. A really nice place.
Posted by: Rick Garnett | Aug 11, 2006 1:21:00 PM
Too many Harvard Law Students spend three years without visiting Lexington, Concord, and Walden. Rent a car, go enjoy yourself.
For that matter, be sure to drive up to Gloucester and Manchester-By-The-Sea, and down to Plymouth and Hyannis. Folks who graduate from HLS thinking that Cambridge is a terrible place to live can only fault themselves for not exploring the most beautiful corner of the country while they have the chance.
Posted by: Adam | Aug 10, 2006 11:32:49 PM
I'm not the woodsman that O'Hear is, so during law school I had a different form of escapism: bowling. Honestly, anything to get your mind off the constant drumbeat of law, law, law is a good thing. I remember one really lousy day in 2L year when I went bowling, proceeded to have a really great game, and was in a good mood the rest of the day. And I own my own bowling shoes, so it's much cheaper than medication!
Posted by: Scott Moss | Aug 10, 2006 10:01:58 PM
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