Christmas is around the corner, summer barbeques are a weekly event and exam results have just been released. It’s that time of year when law students find themselves answering that dreaded question on almost a daily basis.
This question seems to be the favourite of grandmas, uncles, and family friends: “So, how’s uni going?”
For law students’ relatives and friends, it’s a bit of a lottery as to what response they’ll receive:
a) A long-winded diatribe on any of the following: results scaling, the Priestley 11, social justice, the unfairness of PLT requirements, etc;
b) A simple “good, thanks”, knowing full well that Aunty Sue isn’t going to agree with your Ps get degrees philosophy and might start her lecture on committing to your studies and not Stereosonic;
c) The I-want-to-melt-into-the-floor-and-disappear look when you don’t want to explain that you failed a subject because your lecturer made a fire-breathing dragon look like a teddy bear, you hated it, or just had better things to do;
d) A big smile, over-excited hand gestures and mile a minute run down of all the distinctions you rightfully earned this year;
e) Final semester, Gramps, it’s almost over; or
f) I’m going to be 80 before I finish law school :(
When it comes to dealing with awkward catch-ups and the “how’s it going?” question, the key is to be enthusiastic and keep it short and simple: share a few of your law school highlights or tell them a little bit about your new favourite legal area, but steer clear of lecturing your Uncle Pete about the Constitution.
Enjoyed this post? Sign up for the Survive Law weekly newsletter for more.