Sometimes being a law student gets downright hard, horrible and exhausting. There's those days when you come home absolutely defeated; you didn't understand any of that equity lecture, you didn't understand any of that property tutorial, and you're not understanding any of your readings. Plus you missed your bus/train, you're hungry, sleep deprived...oh, and those things you didn't understand? They're being examined next week. Perfect.
It's during these trying times that you may need a few sweet words of encouragement; a little nudge to keep you moving along, and some kind of reminder as to why you subject yourself to this torture year after year.
Personally, I go into every semester with a motivating motto. Last semester it was 'keep calm and carry on' (it really, really helps). This semester it is the British Army adage known as the 7 Ps: ‘Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.’ But just in case you like neither of these, here are some more encouraging, funny, cynical and inspirational quotes that you may find useful on those days when the going gets tough, and you just can't get going...
“If you are resolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already.” –Abraham Lincoln
“There is no better way to exercise the imagination than the study of the law. No artist ever interpreted nature as freely as a lawyer interprets the truth.” –Jean Giraudoux
“True, we build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.” –John W. Davis, US Solicitor General
“It is an honorable calling that you have chosen. Some of you will soon be defending poor, helpless insurance companies who are constantly being sued by greedy, vicious widows and orphans trying to collect on their policies. Others will work tirelessly to protect frightened, beleaguered oil companies from being attacked by depraved consumer groups.” –Art Buchwald
“Law: the only game where the best players get to sit on the bench.” –Anon
“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” –John Wooden
And one of my personal favourites: "If you're going through hell, keep going." –Winston Churchill
Good luck!
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