May 5, 2011

Every semester during finals I become a daily visitor of Freebirds.  It's quick, cheap, and generally means I don't have to eat dinner later.  I've also discovered it is good brain food.  Today was the day the staff not only recognized me, but asked my how my first final had gone, and how studying was progressing for the next one.  I've been there everyday for almost a week straight at this point, but the consistency is worth it.  Plus, I'm not really focused so much on the taste, as much as satisfying the hunger pangs after realizing I haven't eaten since 7:30 a.m.  Moreover, they're always so genuinely cheerful and tend to commiserate with my sorry finals existence, rather than pretend life is all butterflies and fixed-gear bicycles like the folks at George's Cafe in the law school.  Well done, Freebirds.  Well done.

May 4, 2011

The time between "time's up" and a post-final meal is when things are just a bit strange.  Everyone looks around at each other, laughing nervously and being just a touch more deliberate as they pack their things away.  This is where the doubt sets in: you start going over your answers, second guessing yourself and feeling a drop in your gut as you realize how you should have answered the question.  But it's too late now.  So, instead of focusing on what you should have done, you begin to rationalize your performance as the best you could do, given what you had.  And slowly, all of the negativity begins to dissipate, as it must, because there's just another exam waiting in the wings.  For me, this roller coaster of doubt, however, was worth the feeling of simply being done with the hardest exam I've had in law school.