Graduation Countdown

In less than one month I will be done with law school and have my J.D. degree. The reality hasn't fully hit me yet, but I have been starting to realize it in bits and pieces. For instance, tomorrow begins the last full week of classes and today was my last day of Legal Bowling.

Overall I'm really excited to be graduating and starting the next phase of my life. It will be nice to once again be a full-time worker and not carry around a ton of books in a backpack. No matter how old you are, people don't quite take you seriously when you have a backpack.

But there admittedly are quite a few things I'm going to miss about law school.

The people. I've made some amazing friends and acquaintances over these three years. While a number of them will be staying in the area, many are moving to other parts of the country. Even with those remaining local, proximity does not necessarily mean actual time spent together. It's sad to think that many of these relationships will dwindle to simple updates through Facebook posts.

The varied opportunities to learn something new. I have no doubt that a career in law will be a continuing learning experience. However, the learning opportunities in law school came from so many different avenues. There were numerous course offerings available, and not just limited to law classes. Several of my friends took a Reiki Healing class - something I had never even heard of before. There were also the blackboards continually filled with postings of all the speakers, presentations, debates, and seminars being hosted by the various student groups. And then there were simply the conversations going on within and outside the classrooms. Every student at the school is special and unique, providing their own perspective on things and introducing others to something they didn't know before. The things I've learned through talking with and listening to my fellow students and the professors have been invaluable.

Spring/Summer breaks. Really, who doesn't love vacations?

There are tons of other things I'll miss, but I wasn't really intending this to be a sentimental/reflective post. There are still too many fun things planned between now and graduation to start the grieving process already. Plus whenever I think of "graduation countdown," I end up with the chorus of Europe's "The Final Countdown" song in my head.