I've always wanted to be a blacksmith.  The idea of making something with your hands has a real strong appeal to me, plus it's good exercise, and your final product is likely going to be something pretty cool.  Being a carpenter would be neat too.  I spent a week working in my grandpa's woodshop one summer and made myself a pretty intricate end-table.  While I nearly lost my pinky finger in the process, overall it was a very positive experience.  I've also at one point or another considered cop/FBI/Secret Service agent, writer, joining the Army, park ranger, renaissance festival worker (possibly as a blacksmith), and tug boat operator.

The point here is that I don't consider myself to be your archetypical law student.  I have a Type-B personality, I don't really care about making a ton of money, and I lack any grandiose ideas about changing the world.  When people ask why I went to law school I usually say because I have a degree in Psychology and I knew I didn't want to pursue that any further.  The real reason though is because I grew up on "Law & Order," as well as "Matlock" reruns and even the occasional "Perry Mason" TV-movie.  I had a very romanticized image of the prosecutor seeking out the facts and then taking part in an epic battle of wits in the courtroom.  Even though before law school I had already braced myself that this image wasn't real life, I still became quickly disillusioned with the field that I thought I would be pursuing.  As they tell you in Crim Law, 90-something % of criminal cases simply settle, and when they do its not like when Jack McCoy sits down with the criminal, parrying and reposting with intellectual barbs.

Still, even with my world turned upside-down, I flirted with the idea of pursuing criminal law.  After working in the Criminal Division of the DOJ 1L summer and throughout my 2L year, I had to choose between working in the Ohio Attorney General's office or with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in their International Tax section.  I'm from Columbus, OH, and everything I learned while interviewing at the AG's office made it seem like I would really like it there.  However, with the economy plummeting and budget-crunched states instituting hiring freezes, I decided it would be more prudent of me to take the job with the IRS.  My feelings towards tax law are much like my feelings towards psychology: it's very interesting but it's just not something I'm passionate about.  However, passion for me gave way to prudence, and now I'm likely going to be spending at least three years working at the IRS after graduation.  This is by no means an awful prospect: the people I work with are great, it's a stress-free environment, and I will still make good money.  But you know what they say about a dream deferred . . . .

The lesson I would pass on to all of you from my own experience is don't let law school shape you into something your not, and don't change your plans just because you feel it's the appropriate thing to do.  If you've never used a study group before, you don't have to just because "everyone" else is or because a certain torts professor makes it seem like the quintessential step towards law school success.  My limited experience with study groups is that they are often counter-productive by wasting time on irrelevant topics that don't actually help you for the exam ("Wait, what if instead the fee simple was on Mars, and you were tenants-in-common with a Martian? What do you guys think the answer would be then?").  Along those lines, don't get swept up in what everyone else says is important.  No offense 1Ls, but every piece of advice you hear from one another is speculation and conjecture.  If you want to know about how important being on moot court is, which summer job is best for you, or whether you should submit something to the Nota Bene (you totally should), ask someone who would actually know: your dean's fellow, the CDO, or a professor, not someone who is just following the same rumors that you are.  Also, if you haven't yet, sign up for the mentoring program and actually use it, even if just once.

Having said that, be sure to take advantage of every opportunity you have here.  There are scores of legal organizations and extracurriculars that will bombard you in your first weeks.  Go to the meetings (even if to only get the free pizza) and just see if you like it (just remember that the best, most prestigious and exciting organization you can be a part of is unequivocally the Nota Bene).  Also, don't limit yourself to what you thought you would be doing before you came.  Never in a million years would I have thought I would be doing tax law for a living or writing about nail-buffer patents for a journal, but here I am.  Maybe environmental law, government contracts, or legislation are where you are destined to be and you just don't know it yet.  And, if you take one thing from this article, let it be this: DO NOT BE THE GUNNER!  You'll thank me when you actually make friends and Maggs doesn't cringe every time you raise your hand (which I always found hilarious).

Lastly, shameless plugs aside, if you have an opinion you'd like to share, be it about law school, politics, DC, or anything else, don't just put it up on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog.  Submit it to Nota Bene!  This paper is a product of students for students and everyone should feel free to offer something up.  That said, good luck and I look forward to hopefully seeing articles from many of you!