It’s time to return to the mini-city of my university campus, where the drink of choice is anything caffeinated (soy latte with a double shot, please!), and the place to be seen, vent your spleen, and greet the dean is the law library, so I thought I should set some resolutions for the new academic year.
Take better care of myself
With one year at uni under my belt, I have the say that what I regret most was not getting enough sleep when I was supposed to, and making up for it during lectures. My friends have more photos than I’d like to say of me with closed eyes and head tilted at some attractive angle. I wasted too much time catching up to the content I missed, losing sleep, and then making up for said lost sleep in the lecture theatre.
It was one vicious, vicious cycle, and an experience that I’m sure other law students can relate to.
While I don’t think I’ll ever be able to achieve 8 hours of sleep, exercise, hang out with friends, and complete readings sans coffee, I’m aiming to maintain a better balance of work, rest, and play this coming semester.
Challenge myself to try something new
Stepping outside of your comfort zone is daunting, but it’s always exciting to be doing something for the first time. Personally, I’m attempting to summon enough courage up to bungee jump by the end of the year. For now, I’ll be working up to that in little steps by testing out a new coffee place, turning up to a 6am Pilates class, and joining a university club to put some skills to good use.
For something a little more law-related, why not get involved with the law students’ society, participate in some faculty-run competitions, or gain some work experience in a community legal centre or law firm? Perhaps as a starting point, why not choose a court you haven’t been to before and listen to proceedings for a day?
Have a clearer idea about my career plans
Many of my friends call me a compulsive planner. I’m forever writing lists of things to do by the end of the day, the end of this week, the end of this month… However, I haven’t fully decided on anything related to my future career. It’s hard to try and predict what the future will bring, but this year I’d like to get a better idea of my career direction to allow me to tailor my current goals, as well as serve as excellent fodder for my motivation levels.
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