Jason Wright

Age: 34
Undergraduate School: University of Texas at Austin
Undergraduate Major: Communications
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX (but I claim Austin)
Status: Full-Time Day
E-mail: jwwright@mail.txwes.edu

11/18/09 - What a difference a week makes! So… our major writing assignment (the memo) is finally done and turned in. That takes one huge boulder off my back. Now all I have to worry about are the four horsemen of the apocalypse, which I affectionately refer to as Torts, Property, Civil Procedure, and Contracts. Good times.

In all seriousness, despite the stress, fear, panic, and sheer terror over the fact my whole grade hangs on my performance on the final… I love it here.

I had a really great law school “moment” Monday morning around 4:00 AM (that’s right, AM) while sitting in an IHOP working on last minute edits, citations, and tweaks. I was tired; my body was aching, and my brain felt more than full. But despite all that, I couldn’t have been happier in that moment. I remember clearly feeling almost giddy over the fact I get to be a student and do this. I mean seriously, it's really pretty awesome.

It’s ok if you think it’s weird, because well… I kinda do too. When I think about the arc my life has taken over the last five years, I can’t help but feel really lucky about being in school. I know several classmates who feel as if law school is the bane of their existence and that the stress and pressure of finals is the worst thing they’ve ever been through. I’m not gonna lie, the stress is intense and the pressure can be suffocating at times. But it’s hardly the worst thing I’ve ever been through.

Fortunately or unfortunately, (however you wanna look at it) I’ve experienced some things in my life that made the stress and pressure of law school seem pleasant. So I guess when things get really rough at school I remember tougher times and a little thing called perspective pops into my head. This might explain why I found myself grinning from ear to ear like an idiot while writing a paper in an IHOP at 4:00 AM.

11/11/09 - Well… I got destroyed today in class. In an attempt to find more hours in the day to work on my writing assignment or study for finals I decided to cut back on my preparation for class. Only one of our classes follows a strict Socratic method, and another has posted who will be on call each day. The other classes are pretty casual in the way they call on people so I figured I’d gamble a little. Yeah… umm… that decision backfired big time.

The first hour of class was spent with our professor essentially lecturing a new subject. Class participation followed a normal pattern of people volunteering, sharing, and discussing with the professor. With only 15 minutes left in class, I figured I was home free – wrong again.

The professor looked at his notes, called out my name and asked me to brief the assigned case. Of course I froze in disbelief. Part of me was mortified, and at the same time another part of me couldn’t help but laugh at the Karmic message being sent. I tried to flub my way through the case description but as soon as the professor asked me a specific question I knew my goose was cooked. I just looked up, apologized and admitted I wasn’t as prepared for class as I should be. It sucked. The professor was real nice about it and didn’t go all “Paper Chase” on me but that didn’t make me feel any better.

The best part (and by best I mean worst) was that for some reason there was a camera set up in the classroom today. So… the day I come to class totally unprepared AND get called on, it’s recorded for posterity.

Unawesome.


11/4/09 - It’s NOVEMBER! Holy cow, who authorized that?! I realize that I’ve been going to class, reading briefs, writing memos, and studying for awhile, but seriously - where did the time go? At times it feels like we just got here.

Of course, when I start compiling information or sifting through my outlines and notes, I realize just how much ground we’ve covered and where the time went. So now I’m trying to figure out ways to bend time and space to fit more minutes into my day - it’s not going well.

With finals approaching and our second writing assignment due in less than two weeks, I can honestly say I feel a wee bit overwhelmed. I’m trying to shove A LOT of information into my brain which is a problem for two reasons. One, between my four classes, there’s a ton of legal information to learn and memorize. Two, I’ve spent the better part of my life shoving sports statistics, Simpsons and Seinfeld episodes, as well as various movie quotes into my brain, which means I don’t seem to have enough brain space for the amount of new information I have.  I’m afraid come exam time I’m only going to remember Rose Bowl champions of the last ten years in place of the rules of negligence.


10/28/09 – Well, things are starting to get a little hairy. Finals are approaching and many of us are starting to buckle down a little more on studying and preparing less for class. With this, of course, brings anxiety and a little game of “hide the ball.”
As far as the anxiety is concerned, I can honestly say I’ve been feeling it more and more as the weeks have gone by. Having only one test to determine your grade in a class is rough, but it is what it is, so I’m pressing on. There have been a few times when I’ve felt a little overwhelmed, but I’d say I’m handling it pretty well (at least for now).

As for hide the ball, well, this is a fun little game that I’d heard about before school started but never really understood the rules until I got here. You hear about how people hide books, or mislead people on assignments and so forth. It hasn’t gotten that bad just yet but people are being elusive about how they’re studying, what they’re doing to prepare, and generally not being as open and helpful with one another as we were in the first months of school. It’s kinda interesting.

I’m in a hurry today because I’m taking a practice test. I guess my anxiety level will increase or decrease depending on how well I do. I’ll let you know next week. Wish me luck!


10/21/09 - I feel like there should be more to talk about today but unfortunately, I can’t think of much. It seems like my life is on some kind of twisted continuous loop - read, study, class, eat, sleep, and repeat. It’s like my own personal Groundhog Day. The only thing I’m missing is waking up to “I Got You, Babe” each morning.

Before school starts, everyone warns you about how crazy busy law school is. At orientation, they tell you how intense the schedule is. Even now, over months later, they continue to remind us about the importance of time management. What I don’t think anyone could convey is just how difficult it can be at times to maintain this intensity for fourteen straight weeks. Being that this is the home stretch, it’s really not the time you want to be running out of gas.

On a completely unrelated note… every night after I get home from the library I often see several of those horribly acted personal injury attorney commercials. Watching them I can’t help but wonder if these attorneys ever thought they’d be doing that kind of work while they sat in law school. Where did they come up with their cheesy, over the top nicknames? Don’t their friends from law school make fun of them? It makes me laugh thinking who from my class might end up on late night TV ten years from now.


10/14/09 - Today started off like any other... reading in the morning, class, academic support (make-up), followed by more class. But then… suddenly... and unexpectedly, I was greeted with the most pleasant surprise. My friend who previously fell to the ranks of the “wheelie people” returned to the light and rejoined the backpackers. Hooray! One more person fighting the good fight. We shared a hug and rejoiced in her return.

Don’t get me wrong, I have wheelie people friends as well, but… I can say that there have been times when I’ve felt overrun in the halls or smothered as 5 wheelie people (and their bags) enter the elevator with me.

Aside from all that excitement, I’d have to say it feels like the calm before the storm. We just turned in our first writing assignment and I think the tendency for some is to relax a bit. To quote Admiral Ackbar “It’s a trap!” (Sorry for those of you too young to understand the reference). As difficult as it might be, I feel like the best course of action is to press on and maintain a strict schedule of studying to do what I can to prepare for finals. It’s only going to get harder to find the time and energy to study when we get our final writing assignment. And if I wait until later in November I think I might break down and cry from the sheer volume of information I’d be trying to absorb. Hopefully my body won’t revolt until after finals in December.

10/7/09 - Sleep is important… but lately I haven’t been getting enough. I get to bed pretty late and get to school an hour and a half before classes start. Combine this with all the reading I have to do and I have to say I’m starting to feel pretty worked.

I’ve been kind of irritable all week - things that haven’t been bothering me so far have really been grinding on my nerves. So… because I’m aware of this I’ve had to make time to relax a bit before I come back up to school in the evenings. It’s hard sometimes to remember that I have to take a little time for myself in order to keep it together. As if that wasn’t enough, it seems like every third person in my class is sick with something. All day you hear coughing, sneezing, noses blowing, throats clearing, etc. At times I want to walk around in a biohazard suit.
 
Classes are going well. I think it’s amazing how much ground we’ve covered, but I’m also a little concerned I won’t be able to fit it all in my brain by the time finals roll around. I’d say the thing that’s occupying most of my time is the writing assignment due next Tuesday. In fact, I can hear the little voice in my head saying, “Memo, memo, memo, memo…” every time I find myself sitting at a traffic light, standing in the elevator, or when I’m trying to go to sleep. – Good times.


10/1/09 - The fact that we’re approaching the half way point of the semester is a little hard to swallow.  It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in Orientation wondering if I was going to be able to keep up.  Now here I am on autopilot cruising into October!  Where did the time go?

This last week has been a little more stressful than usual and I know things are only going get more intense.  Another writing assignment is looming on the horizon, which means time management is going to be even more important in the coming weeks. At times like this these I feel somewhat envious of my friends with spouses or significant others.  I know it’s probably stressful for them but at the end of the day it’s nice having someone to talk to and decompress with.

Another thing on my mind is how quickly I’ve adapted to being back in Fort Worth.  I was born less than five miles from here and spent my high school years running all over this town.  When I left in 1994, I had no intention of returning.  I really thought it would be a much harder transition but luckily my fears have subsided.  Sometimes hearing about what’s going on in Austin (via Facebook) makes me a little homesick.  But… as I’ve said, I don’t really have time to think about all that.

This weekend I’m going to get some work done but I’m also looking forward to taking a little time out to relax.  I don’t feel quite as guilty watching college football on Saturday when I study on Friday night.  To me it’s an easy sacrifice.


9/23/09 - Well… I didn’t tie the record for consecutive days called on in Contracts class but the semester is still young.

On Tuesday, our Civil Procedure professor pretty much crushed what little confidence I had. For the first time since school started, I felt completely inept. He gave us a sample test question to analyze and answer for class. I’d say most of us felt pretty good about how we did walking into class. Yeah…that lasted about 20 minutes.

It felt like someone hit me in the face with a sock full of pennies as our professor proceeded to map out how he would have analyzed the problem. I wasn’t sure how to process just how little I know at this point. Especially when I think about how much we'll be expected to know in two months! I thought about curling up in a fetal position right there but decided against it. After Civ Pro, I walked to my Academic Support class in a hazy, zombie-like stupor, wondering how in the world I was going to learn everything I needed to know. I went through the rest of the day on autopilot as the morning’s mental assault lingered in my head.

Luckily, by the end of the day I’d spoken to enough people to know I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. In fact, a lot of us felt the same panic. Although it was nice to learn others felt just as shell-shocked it still took me a little while to snap out of the funk. I found a local batting cage by my house for some much needed “therapy.” It felt good taking out all that built up frustration and anxiety on those innocent baseballs. I think I'll be scheduling weekly sessions.


9/16/09 - It’s been 30 days since law school started and I think it’s becoming increasingly apparent that some people are starting to crack. I think a friend of mine summed it up best when she said, “Anyone can handle the first 3 weeks of law school.” We’ve entered the real push now that we’ve passed the introductory phase of classes. For some, the ability to maintain the persona they’ve been projecting is becoming harder and harder.

I think it’s completely normal for people to project the best possible side of themselves in this setting, but as assignments mount and the weight of school increases the stress and pressure of school begins to take its toll. Eventually something’s got to give – and it appears the first things to go are patience and personality facades. I’m trying to recognize when this is happening (especially when it’s me who’s losing patience) and do my best not to aggravate the situation.

Of course, it doesn’t help matters that we’re in the same classes or that we’re in the same room with the same people day after day after day. It’s like some kind of immersion therapy. I’m wondering if our professors have some kind of betting pool to see which one of us cracks first (I think that would be pretty awesome actually).

Other than that, things are moving along pretty well here. I’m starting to get into a schedule that I like, and I feel like I’m being a lot more productive with my time. I’ve been called on three days in a row for Contracts class and I’m actually hoping to tie the record on Friday. Why not, right?

9/9/09 - Many elements of law school can be difficult. There’s a lot to juggle and staying on top of it all isn’t always easy. I’ve found that my biggest obstacle is figuring out my routine - trying to find the best schedule to study, read, outline, and have fun is proving to be much more of a challenge than I had originally expected.

I originally thought I would simply stay after class and study or read in the library until 6:00ish – but that hasn’t panned out. I’m trying to mimic the schedule that many of my fellow students who ride the train back to Dallas each day follow. It seems that the “train people” (as many of us call them) have a pretty good system mapped out for getting some reading done before the evening starts.

I’ve found that when I go home right after class I don’t usually get started with my homework or reading right away. When I stay at the library after school I feel like I’m able to make some dents in my reading before dinner. I’m finding the trick now is to either keep more books in my locker or plan ahead the night before.

Another big decision that I’m fighting is the conversion from a backpacker to a wheelie person. Backpackers, as the name implies, are those of us who carry our books and such in a backpack to class. “Wheelie people” are those students who drag behind them what can only be described as a luggage bag with wheels. Over the last few weeks I’ve watched as several of my friends fell to the dark side by converting to wheelie persons. Not me though, I’m planning to fight the good fight as long as I can - I’ll let you know how it goes.

9/2/09 – Two weeks in and I haven’t gone running for the hills yet – that’s gotta be a good sign. It’s hard to believe it’s already September. Time really does fly when you’re having fun (or reading page after page, as the case may be).

So far I have to say I’m really enjoying all of my classes. Even though Civil Procedure makes me want to curl up in the fetal position and cry at times, I do enjoy it. Additionally, I’ve found that I like the structure of the Socratic method more than I thought I would. Each professor has his or her own style in how they decide whose name they call, but my favorite so far is my professor who pulls our name randomly from a deck of index cards which he refers to as “the cards of destiny.”

I’m excited about the Labor Day weekend coming up. For one, it’s the start of the college football season (finally). Also, I’m hoping to take advantage of the extra time to organize some notes and maybe, just maybe, relax a bit.

8/26/09 – Well, it’s official…I’m a 1L. Before I knew it orientation came and went. For three days we were shuffled around like cattle, moving in herds to presentations, speeches, panels, tours, meals, and even class. Almost instantly we were overrun with information.

I liken the experience to filling a pitcher with water only to continue pouring once it’s full. The container can’t capture anymore so the extra fluid just oozes over the edge. This was me by the end of orientation. Once I got home and everything started to slow down the little voice in my head kept asking the same question. “Are you ready for this?”

But before I had a chance to answer… WHAM! - First day of class.

Ready or not it was time to jump into the deep end of the pool. I think everyone for the most part was ready and excited for class, but that didn’t mean we wanted to be the first person called on. The moment our professor announced he’d finished picking names there was a collective sigh from the rest of the room. That was day one, class one and from that moment things have been moving pretty fast. The work is intense, and there’s a lot of reading, but honestly this first week has been a blast.

Meeting new people, sharing stories, and making those first connections that might lead to life-long friendships has been really great. In the few days I've been here I’ve met some really fun and interesting people. I’m excited to see what comes next.