New Beginnings

I feel like before I write any more I need to make some clarifications and apologies. First of all, I apologize for the legal language and phrasing that I'm sure will ensue as a result of these classes (I already caught myself telling Kiyoshi to "contact her again and explain to her in plain terms that there was no negligence on your part and that any reasonable person would have acted as you did, so you shouldn't be held accountable for your tardiness").

Secondly, there's things I should probably define now so you're not completely lost when I mention then later on.

1L/2L/3L: First year, second year, and third year law student. I am a 1L
LLR: Lawyering and Legal Reasoning class. This is a special class Cumberland makes 1L's take to focus on legal writing. It's apparently very helpful but demanding, and I will want to kill myself by the time the 50 page memo is due.
Bar Review: This is NOT what it sounds like. It's a party-ish thing that different groups in the school throw once a month so everyone can relax and cut loose, NOT a review class for the Bar Exam.
Called to the Bar: Part of our LLR requirements. They bring in speakers or have special workshops we have to attend.
Civ. Pro: Civil Procedure. As of right now my least favorite class, but that may all change.
Con.: Contracts.
Crim. Law: I'm sure you could guess this one, but it's Criminal Law. This is probably my favorite class because our Professor is pretty awesome- you'll see why in a second.
PAD: Phi Alpha Delta. The international law fraternity that Cumberland is a part of, and that I have joined.
SBA: Student Bar Association. It's just like SGA in high school or undergrad, but they call it the Student Bar Association instead of the Student Government Association
WIL: Women In Law

Now that the second week of law school is almost over, I feel like I can say with confidence that Civ pro is my least favorite class, and crim law is my favorite. One reason is the cases in civ pro are SO boring, and all you do is read rule after rule after rule after rule. Crim law on the other hand has interesting (although sometimes disturbing cases), and our professor is really funny. He played this song for us today:



I've also decided I need to get more active in school organizations again. I was really active in middle and high school, and then I guess I was daunted by how big UAB was so I didn't participate in much. I'm worried I might be going into participation overload though, I'm signing up for everything I can. I've joined PAD, I'm going to a meeting for Women In Law, I'm running for an office on the Honor Court (a branch of SBA), I volunteered to be an Ambassador for Cumberland, AND I've volunteered to be a witness in mock trial competitions. I also plan to participate in the Williamson Trial Competition which is the only competition open to 1L's, but that's not until next semester so I may change my mind.

The first bar review is tonight, but I haven't decided if I'm going or not yet. Kiyoshi and I want to watch a movie and actually get to talk this week before I go home for the weekend. With my classes and his studying I feel like we never see each other or have real conversations!

I think that's all. I love you!


P.S.: The banana bread still turned out gross- I think mom left out an ingredient, or my oven doesn't work properly :-/