In any case, I must first submit these outlines, drafts and whatnots.

Nevertheless, I am stunned to say that I enjoyed the stress and work that accompanied the projects. I also enjoyed working in a group with individuals that understand the importance of striving for perfection. The long winded arguments and heated exchanges are over. The projects are complete and we survived.

Yes, lawyers should seek a work/life balance, and as someone who grew up in Medina County (south of Cleveland), I think it is worth acknowledging that there are places worth living other than New York or San Francisco.  It also makes sense that Scalia would make such a recommendation, considering he started his career at a private firm in Cleveland.

While the critiques in the article are valid, I have to agree with Mr. Originalist.  I look forward to my life post-graduation, in a smaller but happening city with enough time to tend to community and personal activities.  Why should we kill ourselves over the pressure of landing the most impressive, prestigious, high paying job in a city made expensive and stifling due to everyone’s desire to be there?   Even a Supreme Court Justice is asking us to question our motivations and find out what will make us happy over the long term.  I, for one, look forward to urban living with affordable rents!

Compare this to my first and last winter here, where it has been mild enough to melt the snow some days and let it rain when there could be a white out.  It has been feeling like spring the last week or so.  For some, this has been great.  Their clothes reflect a change of seasons, imagining spring’s arrival.  Overall, their spirits are lifted.  Others and I feel a bit, cheated, you could say.

Good thing many of us are here to fight climate change, right?  Let’s get to it, so we can enjoy maple syrup and the outdoors for more generations, ye?

for me, a true sign of spring does come in the month of february though. truck day, quite possibly one of my favorite holidays. what is truck day, you may ask? (to which i would answer, guess you’re not a red sox fan)… truck day is the day that is a true signal that spring is coming. it’s the day that they load up the trucks on yawkey way and start the long drive down to fort myers florida for spring training.  to make it even better, it usually falls on/around my birthday, so it’s like a two-for-one deal. less than a week, and “spring” will be on its way, even if it is only in the sense that it is time for spring training. seriously though, nothing says spring more than baseball, regardless of the temperature, snow cover, or what that little groundhog has to say about it… and as much as i love hockey season, i mean winter, i can’t wait for spring….

Perhaps this aversion to the gym stems more from being completely non-athletic in my youth, viewing the school gym and weight room as the territory of those who whooped me in dodgeball and shared few extracurricular activities with me.  Combine this with the usual teenage awkwardness, dressed in unenthusiastic clothing for the task of learning how to properly use weightlifting equipment, or at least not be the weakest link in a game of basketball.

So, with these confessions properly disclosed, I wish to retract my previous criticisms regarding the efforts made to bring an improved gym facility to campus.  Why this change of heart, you might ask?  Well, it just so happens that I am turning into a bit of a gym rat.

It is never too late to develop the type of healthy habits they tell you to adopt to cope with law school, even when it is your last semester of your 3L year.  Also, we never know how we may surprise ourselves.  I never dreamed I would find running pleasurable, or strength training rewarding.  Above all, how did I ever go from loathing to feeling great satisfaction when finding myself in the downward-facing dog pose?

So, in my healthier and more toned state-of-being, I will say that I am happy that this new facility is coming down the pipeline to complement the range of fitness and recreational activities available to VLS students.  Who would have thought that law school would bring out the Scrooge in us from time to time?  Bah humbug, slightly heavier and flabbier version of Dana May! Go suck on a protein shake and lighten up!

And so …

10) Convocation – the first weekend that we were introduced to each other and VLS through orientation was exciting, and I really enjoyed traveling to Montpelier for our tour and informational session. I distinctly remember our convocation ceremony though – I still have the card and pledge that we read at the end of the speech on my bulletin board!

Winter showed up, briefly, a couple of weeks ago, and a friend (also a Southerner) and I decided we would take advantage of it. Neither of us are great skiiers, so we decided to pass on that option. Also, while cross-country skiing is something I’ve begun to work at, a more relaxed winter activity was in order. The solution: snow-shoeing.

(I’m not gonna lie, but I have to admit that I was a tad disappointed to discover–prior to my snow showing outing–that snow shoes have evolved substantially, and that they are no longer like wooden tennis rackets. but I digress…)

We checked out snow shoes from the VLS Gear Shed, and spent a couple of hours wandering the trails at Billings Farm in Woodstock. It was fun to try something completely new, and even better to get outside. In the South, winter is a time to stay indoors. Cabin fever abounds. I love that Vermont embraces winter. As for snow shoeing, it turned out to be incredibly simple. Perhaps I expected more, but it was slightly anticlimactic to discover that snow shoeing is just walking/hiking on the snow. Regardless, it was a good outing, and I’m excited for the prospect of future outdoor winter activities.

As we move along in the second semester, our classes assign more work, the temperature drops to -20 at night, and the job hunt begins.

I took Legal Ethics, aka “Legal Profession,” last year, my 2L year. I did “my time.” At least, I thought I had. But the class portion of my Semester in Practice, SiP, was all about ethics. My comparative law class, discussed ethics yesterday. My environmental ADR class, discussed ethics and moral philosophy. My negotiation class? Ethics was the first topic of the class. Every single activity or class in my final time at law school involves Legal Profession class-type scenarios and references to the model rules.

No one likes their legal ethics class, mainly because it is a required course and there are no real answers. If a student has not yet realized that the law has very pliable standards, and few bright-line rules, this is the one class that will finally break even the most flexible student. A student MUST become comfortable with the attorney axiomatic answer of “it depends.” I’m not actually sure the rules exist for any purpose but to confuse attorneys and cause law students trepidation at the actual practice of law. But it is so pervasive! I had a great supervisor during my SiP, and half of our discussions turned to the professional ethics of our actions. Yikes. It was a great thing to take that class prior to sending me off into the real world of an internship.

So, I think I get it, legal ethics really is something that attorneys constantly need to be be wary of, and considerate to. I get it, I get it. Can I get onto my substantive lessons now? Wait, ANOTHER ethics discussion?! I better know the Model Rules backwards and forwards by the time I take the MPRE in March. Three more months of ethics discussion catching me unawares? I won’t have any excuse.

Although, this afternoon, in a fit of restlessness, I took a walk around town, admiring the glow the bright grey light gave to the town and surrounding landscape.  This is what winter should be.  In DC, it never gets cold enough for it to do more than rain and freeze and make everyone hate the season.  Much more of the country and the world is turning out the same, as climate changes.  It saddens me, as a northern Midwesterner, how many people rag on winter without ever really knowing its full potential.

Times like these are meant to be savored.  The same could be said for one’s last semester of law school.  Sure, sometimes the conditions are terrible, with the atmosphere leaving one in a lousy mood, but overall, things are actually really quite beautiful.  Pretty soon, people will be counting on us to solve their problems and holding us accountable for our work.  These are the last few moments to pick up some pointers without risking any major consequences.  I am taking classes that interest me, along with ones that are useful for future practice and the bar, as well as volunteering at the ACLU.  Beyond all school obligations, I am happy to have most of my friends back here to go on winter adventures with me.  Basically, what is to stop us from enjoying life?  Who said law school had to be a drag?

Here is to a full and fabulous semester, Swans!

Thankfully, in Vermont, we have snow to help us pass the time as we wait.