Back at it again

::silence:: ::silence:: ::BANG!:: The horses are out of the gates again. Many a law student has experienced this once in a life time event...the beginning of the second semester of One L. Grades are back, and no matter how you did, you wonder how everyone else did and if you are in the dreaded last spot.

No matter how you did, you still have to play the game. You still have to look interested in class...typing away like a madman. But I've noticed long looks in the hallways of people who were previously jovial and the first people to ask me last semester, "How are you doing? Are you understanding everything?", and then to continue without pause to say, "Yeah, whew, I just finished compiling my completed outline with the one the Law Review editor gave me."

Long faces and game playing aside, I really distress that grades are such a big deal. No matter how people did, most of the class is glad to not be at the bottom of the curve; that Glad It Isn't Me mentality. At orientation, we were told we all deserved to be here or we wouldn't be. We are the best of the best. But then, why the Ds? And why are 28 people on academic probation? Though I am fully aware that law school is about learning how to deal with the competitive field of law, and I know in general what it feels like to get good grades and feel proud of what you did, some days, I really feel law school should be pass/fail. You fail if you really don't know the stuff and you pass if you are someone above that. The Bar Exam will distinguish the real lawyers from the pretenders.

In all this mess, there are still the good people. The people who did well, but don't brag. The people who didn't do as well, but are happy for those who did. The people who have high spirits in general, and know that law school isn't the be all and end all, and that 40 years of practice will be what makes you, you. I aim at being one of these people; they are the ones that I want to practice with and the ones that I will be proud to say are my colleagues.