1. Lockers
When I was in 6th grade, I really really liked the show Lizzie McGuire. I think a big part of the appeal was because it made me really excited for junior high--it had every single cliche and stereotype imaginable embedded in the show. Notably, Lizzie, Miranda, and Gordo were constantly huddled around Lizzie's locker having highly dramatic conversations about hunka-hunka-burnin-love Ethan Craft. I'm pretty sure I subconsciously wanted to be Lizzie McGuire in 6th grade. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I entered Placerita Junior High, not only to find no Ethan Craft, but no lockers! True, we had the crappy "basket" lockers for P.E., but I had no traditional locker to constantly be going to for books, snacks, and gossip...and I felt robbed.
Little did I know 9 years later I would be fully gaining the locker experience in my graduate degree at the University of San Diego. Here, the locker is the law student's best friend. I go to my locker before class, I go to my locker after class... it's great. I can't say I get any juicy stories during my visits to my locker like Lizzie did other than people re-living Mr. Web Designer's inappropriate comments in Crim, but I do get the lovely constant exchange of books and food. It's pretty satisfying to finally get what Lizzie McGuire made me believe I was entitled to when I was 12.
See? Also, when you are a law student you always have an emergency stash of Diet Coke on hand. Also, I'd like to just announce that this photo was taken the first week of school and the contents of my locker have now tripled in size.
2. Teams
In junior high, you are assigned to a "team." The team is basically a collection of students that all share the same teachers and class subjects. If memory serves me correctly, in 7th grade I was on the Champions team. I don't remember much about my experience as a Champion other than learning from Mrs. Seegmiller in English that assuming makes an "ASS out of U and ME." In 8th grade, I was on the famous team CARE, where I was fortunate enough to experience the wise Mr. LeMaster, who formally started the trend of people calling me Aubrey and who also thankfully was always there to remind us all that saying "Bless You" atheistically denounces the power and authority of God.
While in high school and undergrad teams virtually disappeared, in law school the concept of the team still thrives. Each year is put into what we like to call a "section." As a result, you end up having all of your classes with the same 70-ish students, who you thus get to see every day. For the 1L class, there are 5 sections--Sections A, B, C, D, and E. I am in Section C. C-Section is the biggest section and comprised of a pretty good group of students, I'd say. I like the people I have met so far, with the exception of the kid with the lisp who wears a tie to class every single day and constantly interjects himself into my conversations for the sole purpose of trying to prove me wrong. Also, while team CARE was blessed with the presence of Mr. LeMaster, Section C has been blessed with the presence of a very charming boy, who shall be referred to on this blog as "Mr. Web Designer" (see reference in the section on lockers) for the sake of protecting his identity. Mr. Web Designer, while possibly slightly lost in translation, never fails to keep all of Section C awake with his endless comments and questions--85% of which are always very anarchic in nature and usually about not having to listen to a judge in court or not having to adhere to law at all. Section C--gotta love ya.
3. Being the Cool Kid
Alright, let's get real. Stereotypes exist for a reason, and the stereotype of young teenagers trying way too hard to look a certain way or be a certain person is totally true. "Popularity" is definitely a concern for the kids in junior high. It was true for me at least--I can't imagine any other reason 13-year old Audrey would have such terribly fried flat-ironed hair and thick bottom eyeliner in so many of her photos. At the end of the day, when you're going through puberty and incredibly insecure about everything in your life, nothing sounds quite as settling as being one of the cool kids.
While in law school I definitely have given up doing my hair in total thanks to the wonderful San Diego humidity (82% to be exact... versus the 49% that I'm used to in Valencia or the 35% in Provo) and while over the years I have learned of the many make-up faux pas, I can't say that I have given up the desire to be "cool." While in junior high, everyone wants to be cool by having the sickest skater shoes or by having the most bracelets made out of the blue things under the soda lids, in law school everyone wants to be cool by being smart. 80% of the reason you study so hard as a law student is so that you don't look like an idiot if you are called on in class. At the same time, though, you don't want to try too hard to look smart--because if you are one of those people that is always raising his hand during class, you are inevitably constantly irritating the people around you in your section.
The people at USD have actually been really good about the whole competitive factor law school is inherently known for. People have been really willing to help each other out and there is like this collective unspoken desire for us all to succeed together as a 1L class. The pressure is still there, though. I can feel it when I go to class and when I'm studying in the library. Sure, I haven't seen any cut-throat behavior, but this is the third week of school we're talking about here, people. For all I know, the worst could be just on the horizon. You see, law students are graded on a very strict curve, so there really are only a number of people who will be allowed to get As in every section. As a result, everyone wants to be the best. Everyone wants to be on top. In junior high, everyone wants to sit at the cool table. In law school, everyone wants the A--and thus, the job.
4. Holy Hormones
In junior high, there is this blatant paradox. All of the kids suddenly "develop" and become sexual beings--yet in the process they get uglier and uglier until they hit rock bottom, from which nature hopes they will sky rocket up and hopefully reach their maximum potential levels of attractiveness. This usually doesn't happen until at least college. So basically, you have all of these buzzing hormones causing everyone to want--no, desire--their neighbor, yet everyone is suddenly ugly so the chances of getting with anyone actually decrease by 78%. Terrible paradox, right? So, in junior high (and then in high school, and for some people even in college), there is this extreme pervading sexual tension that one can someday hope will be alleviated. (If you are a single Mormon, you multiply the formula by 10.)
In law school, it's broader than that. True, there's a certain degree of sexual tension (again, multiply the formula by 10 for un-married Mormons), especially if you have a crush on a 2L and want to go make out in the library the many-a-time you pass him by. However, given that the junior high paradox of ugliness doesn't really exist in law school and many individuals are actually able to attract other people they want to be with, this tension is much more general. Let me explain.
The law school situation is more so a trap as opposed to a paradox. As a law student, you are generally in debt unless you have a full-ride scholarship because you are an Asian woman that lost both of her legs in Iraq yet still continues to sponsor monthly 10k races that raise money for MS. That being said, you really, really understand the purpose of needing a good job because you would really like to be able to someday spend large amounts of money at J. Crew again. That being said, you really, really understand the purpose of needing to do well in school. That being said, you really, really understand the necessity of having self-control and prioritizing your studying. The debt is there, and you really are trapped by it. That's the one side.
The other side is this: as a law student, you are generally in your low to mid 20s. These are typically your "party" years. When you hit 21, you can buy booze. You can get into a club. So, once that driver's license turns into your golden ticket to the new world of sex, drugs, and great and spacious buildings, you want to take advantage of it whenever you can. Add to this combo the factor that for many law students, going to law school will involve moving to a new city. New cities mean new places to be explored and new friends to be made. All of this goes hand in hand with the notion of "going out and having fun." It's almost like for the first year law student, there is this innate necessity to have fun and socialize if you are to not end up alone and depressed.
You can obviously see the conflict between the two spheres. So, what's the result, folks? Well, let me tell show you:
Here we see the first side of the sphere discussed. The sphere that recognizes debt.
Monday-Friday 8AM to 5PM:
Monday-Thursday 6PM-10PM:
You will notice on this blog I make fantastic use of my Photobooth.
I am Mormon, yes. I don't drink, yes. I don't do drugs, yes. But that does not mean that by the time the weekend hits I don't have massive amounts of built up tension or that I don't need to just let loose and go a little crazy.
And that, my friends, brings us to the second sphere's reaction to the first. It goes a little something like this:
Friday 10PM--Sunday 11AM (That's when I have to start getting ready for Church.)
Tension.
It was there in junior high... and it's definitely there in law school.
5. Lunch Time
And last but not least, law school is like junior high because like 13-year old Audrey, 21-year old Audrey is still eating her lunch alone in the library.
I guess some things never do change.
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