Experts & Views
Dear tennie weenie Law Student,
Welcome to a National Law University. Whichever NLU it is; some things will apply; things which are perennial and all embracing. Things like laws(?) And you’ll have to adjust to these things. I call it puppy training. What I say here is not the gospel truth. I don’t say that you necessarily follow it. But it will help you some bit. It will give you a perspective. It will give you time to ruminate; ruminate slowly, digest and grow stronger.
Another thing: The five years will change you, for good. Why I am writing this is to help you gain a head-start, to warn you of the pit falls so that the good becomes better (hopefully).
Let me start with 'adjustment'. You are nearing adulthood. You have arrived at a college. You are in a new city. You will meet people from all parts of the country. You will have no parents around. A different room. A roommate. Law. Law books. Research papers. Roommate. Food. Air. Water. Friends. Roommate. Enemies. Teachers. Seniors. Roommate. Hostel. Drinks. Money. Roommate.
So you’ll have to adjust. Especially with your roommate. J
OK. Now, let me begin. I’ll sound preachy. Excuse me for that.
Firstly, this is not your home. Your cosy home is gone. Your flavoured, tailor-made milk which your mom brought to the bedside is gone. The home made food is gone. Even the water will taste different. You will wash your own plates. The TV viewing will be democratic. You might miss a Chelsea match. You might miss the India-Australia cricket match; depending on the way the vote sways. This is not your home.
It will soon become, though. Give it a year. With time you will love it more than your home. Give that another four years. Till then, be strong. Don’t cry. Don’t cry on the phone especially.
Lower your expectations. Expect less. The size of your room will surprise you. Expect it to be small. The habits of your roommate will surprise you. Expect less from him. Among the five teachers you’ll get; two will be trolls, two will be average. Expect less from them.
But that one teacher is why you are here in an NLU. He’ll be brilliant. You’ll also come in contact with some friend, brilliant chaps. You’ll also take some forks in the road which require hard work to tread upon them successfully till the destination. And then, your dreams will know no bounds. Expect a lot.
Learn yogic penance. It aids slogging. If you want to do well here and get that Amarchand offer; prepare to slog. Sitting for five lectures in a day will require great yogic penance. Doing the readings for the next day, again yogic penance. Yogic penance for researching for the upcoming moot; an essay etc. Learn yoga. Learn how superman works. Combine that. Practice that.
Don’t worry. You’ll have a lots of time to chill. When you are a master, yoga assists in that too.
Opportunities will fly like birds. Be vigilant like a hunter. Keep the bow strings attached, taut and ready to hit. Aim for the target. Hit. Aim. Hit. Keep doing that. The birds will make a good meal.
Well this is what generally happens. When you’ll enter the law school you’ll be flooded with opportunities. You’ll be awed. Mesmerised. You’ll close your eyes trying to imbibe it all and by the time you’ll open your eyes, it is gone. Be on your toes. Aim and hit. Don’t wait.
Don’t worry. You will have a lots of time to chill. Soon hunting becomes an art and the hunter becomes a Zen expert. That will happen too. But till then, keep hitting.
The principle of pain and pleasure. Bunking a class will give you pleasure. It is fun. Bunking classes will be a bigger pleasure. But it will soon turn to pain. You’ll be debarred from a paper. Learnt to differentiate between the two; pain and pleasure. It will hold you in good stead.
Finally, let me tell you: first year is the toughest year. Because you have to adjust to myriad things. On days when the clouds are heavy and dark you might also consider leaving the law school. But wait. Wait for the lightning to strike your brain and return you to your sane self. By being a reasonable chap you will do well. By the time you start your second year; you’ll realise why this was the best thing that happened to you.
Yours preachingly,
Legal Poet
ps- please tell me what topic should I write on in the next part of this series
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it's really really nice!
More coming on these lines.
and it won't let me post a short message.
so true about the first year.
in close competition is the midpoint of third year. halfway through law school, the starting's too far away and the end isn't in sight. oh that was a bad time.
Though I always have this doubt - am I good enough for the Law School I'm going to?
9, yes you are good enough.
Well, there is no dress code in NUJS. For moots you have to wear 'the lawyer's' dress. For convocation, be in formals. In library and class-rooms...make sure you don't turn up in boxers. That's about it. :P
BTW...can readers come up with some 'topics'. A was for adjusting. I don't think we can move in the alphabetical order. Any topic is welcome. Please throw in some sugggestions.
18, uhmmm...thanks for the suggestion
19, yes they need laptops.
20, thanks.
and please do come with more topics. am waiting all agog.
you have kinda scared me with this article ...
but i hope this a story of every law school not just a national law school
infact reading this i am mentally prepared ..to enter a law school
p.s - i am looking forward for some leGAL POETRY TOO .
Legal poetry will be on soon.
I did write a lot on 'opportunties' in the 'internship to PPO' piece...and '15 CV tips' one. Am sorry, but don't have much more to say on that.
What about 'ragging' as a topic?
Ragging seems good and interesting. Lemme think about it.
n ur way of writing iz d best..2 b precise!!
well done..
In addition, you could write about the activities other than acad in law coll: parties, cultural activities, sports et al
@Deepak...so ragging it will be; but it will have to wait for a coouple of weeks.
@34, All right. Will take note.
@35, Sports is coming soon. It won't be a letter. It will be a descriptive post.
actually am serious...
Moots are great...but you can do very well without them.
And I can't write about moots...coz I don't moot. :)
" BRANDED" ! One can never make a second "first impression" !
Yoga as you had pointed out rightly should help a great deal, else people would resort to other addictive items.
I think you should cover topics like
- Professional Networking
- Preparation for Higher Education
- Importance of moots
- Best use of library, senior's notes as well as Cut & Paste technology !
Good Luck !
I mentioned 'yogic penance' on a light note...I wanted to convey perseverance in study etc.
Thanks a ton for suggesting the topics and also for the brilliant comment.
I feel 'professional' networking is largely a lawyer's domain though law students should also be well versed. But I won't be able to offer much on this.
Preparation for higher education is again a decision which comes at a later stage...3rd/4th year? These posts will essentially tackle fresher's issues.
Importance of moots- I have just done one moot. And that was compulsory!
The last topic sounds doable...:)
and keep up the good work! :)
i was thinking, why don't u write something on how to go abt preparing for CLAT? how exactly one should work nd for how long....coaching....n all that stuff...if u cud manage!:)
guess it wud help many preparing 2 get thru some National Law School!
See idially.blogspot.com
On preparation for CLAT...there were a couple of posts here on LegallyIndia. Plese have a look at them.
Law school environ...have taken a note!
This post is true for every lawschool. Every thing written will be useful to juniors esp. - don't miss opportunities, expect less, prepare for more, adjust, and realize quickly how great a life-experience lawschool is.
Btw people, Jodhpur has single rooms, and many other colleges also offer single rooms in later years. But adjustment with society and learning the dynamics of "social-contract" (like democratic TV viewing) will hold good nevertheless. Of course, you may buy your own TV / have a personal dish connection, but you will need to learn to adjust, whichever lawschool you are in. And in a different way from other degree colleges.
Also, this entire article seems to do nothing but state the obvious. New place will be DIFFERENT from home? No kidding, Confucius.
Finally, law school isn't a race for opportunities, at least it oughtn't to be--it annoys me to no end when people let their hobbies and other interests suffer or give all their hobbies the legal tilt. It's okay to be a non-Legal Poet in law school.
I have some specific questions.
-Do national law schools have democratically elected student bodies?
-Do the teachers actually mentor the students? Or is it like I taught you for one trimester/semester.. My job is done!
-Is it possible to change roommates without any hassles?
-Can one come back home on sundays if they live in the same city? And the campus is a 1 hr drive from home?
-Is the Wi-Fi any good? Or is the speed so pathetic that people use TATA Photon etc?
-How many hours does an average student spend in the library?
-Do people in law schools know exactly what they want out of it? Do they have a fixed plan and go by it or do they sit back and chill for the first 2/3 years and then plan?
(I mean, I have no idea if I want to do corporate law or litigation or go into academia or law firm etc. Now is that going to make me the odd one out? Or will I have more like me who are clueless and willing to take it one step at a time?)
1.)Yes. And it is a great thing. Students learn to leadership, managerial and administrative skills. No surprises that entrepreneurial activiity among NUJS students is on a rise.
2.) Yes teachers will mentor. But you have to take your own initiative to go to his/her room.
3.) Yes. You can change your roommates.
4.) Yes. You can go to your home.
5.) NUJS has LAN in hostel rooms, wifi in library. These suffice.
6.) Hours in library- depends. 8 hours per day to 8 hours per semester.
7.) Dependson personalities, their goals etc.
You are not alone in that situation.
Was looking for answers w.r.t NLSIU... But I guess it would more or less be the same! :)
hope my 1st day in desired clg wd cum soon!!!!!
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