note to self

No, absolutely no, hanging out with law students any time soon. They are making me absolutely crazy. Whining and backstabbing and excuse-making. Even the people I usually like to be around, they’re driving me up a wall.

One person just told me she plans to cheat in exams because other people will. My response? “There’s karma, and I’m not going to compromise MY ethical standards just on the rumor that somebody else will. Let them deal with it – it’s not my problem.”

And don’t let me see it, because I will report it to the Honor Board (it would be a violation of the Honor Code if I didn’t). She’s got all sorts of stories – about how 40% of law review (the top 8% of the class) had ADD diagnosis and allowed more time for exams, how our classmates’ fathers’ paralegals drafted their briefs – all sorts of stories that I simply don’t believe and she is just as certain are true.

But ultimately – it doesn’t matter to me either way. Let ‘em have more time, let their briefs be written by somebody else – it doesn’t affect me, not really. It does affect my grades because everything is curved – but everything works out.

Even if I were failing out, I wouldn’t consider cheating – because then what would I have left of myself?

Sigh.

If the top 10% of my class is cheaters or have accommodations that give them an unfair advantage (which I know for a fact is NOT the case), so be it. I’ll be wherever I fall in the curve and I’ll do the best with what I got.

I’m not even tempted, which is I guess a good thing.

Or now – the property prof videotaped the class, like I asked him to – somebody checked out the tape and has had it for several days. Um, return it?? And I wonder about the quality when it does get returned – will she have destroyed it just to be spiteful? She seems like a nice person, but people are going effing CRAZY.

We were nice during our first semester exams, but these are MUCH more stressful because we know what we’re in for and how important the grades are – they seriously do affect the rest of our lives.

Shrug. My strategy? Do my best, not sweat it, and do NOT interact with my classmates at all. Smile and walk away. And, extricate myself from study groups because they’re a big waste of my time. Hopefully they don't start demolition on the neighbor house anytime soon, because I should not be studying in the library - too many of those pesky law students there.

Ugh, and today I went to this talk about a major oil company, and I saw the lawyers and clerks interact and I learned two things. 1. They’re all geeks without social skills and 2. You have to totally suck up to get and keep a job.

I won’t laugh at something that isn’t funny. I won’t suck up.

That, on top of my mediocre grades, are not boding well for my future. Shrug. At least I got my integrity, and that counts for something.