1L Advice

I’ve noticed a lot of advice for incoming 1Ls floating around the interwebs this week. Perhaps it is because I didn’t know much about social media when I started law school, or maybe it was simply that things like #lawtwitter weren’t a thing back then, I don’t know. I do know that I didn’t get much advice about being a law student. And I damn sure know that I didn’t get much advice about practicing self-care as a law student. 

But the lack of advice I got as a 1L aside, I am actually excited to see so much advice floating around out there. After all, if this is a self-policing profession, why can’t it be a self-promoting one? Why can’t it be a collegiate one? Such practices might have a noticeable impact on the mental health challenges plaguing our profession. 

Yet even with all this free advice out there, much of it seems to fall short of saying what I think all 1L students need to hear, which is:

• It is okay to ask for help

• It is okay to not know the answer

• It is okay to rest

• It is okay to practice self-care

Sure, the last one is kind of a catch-all, but it is an important one. Too often I feel like 1L students are given the impression they have to read every case in every casebook by the beginning of October or else they are behind. 

No.

There will always be more that you can read. Catching up on rest and self-care can be much more difficult. 
And these things aren’t just good for your physical and mental health. They can be good for your overall productivity and performance in class. Really self-care is often a win-win.

So hit those books. Good luck, 1Ls. But don’t be afraid to hit the sack and Z’s along the way. And know that if you ever need support, we are here for you.