The last issue of the semester...can you believe it?!  First of all, you should congratulate yourselves for making it this far.  Yes, the end of the semester is the most stressful time of the year, but it's also the home stretch.  The last few months have been miserable, of course, and it's only going to get worse before it gets any better.  But, among all of the review sessions to come (if your professors are nice enough to provide you with review sessions), the freak-outs you will witness or have yourself, and moments of "oh, crap" as you walk out of an exam and realize the question asked about personal jurisdiction and not subject matter jurisdiction, remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  You are almost done.  You've already completed your LRW class (or will shortly), so that's one down, only four more to go!

As we trudge into finals territory, the one piece of advice I will give you is to not listen to anyone's advice.  As contradictory as it sounds, it really is beneficial.  You have to do what is best for you.  That's part of the struggle of law school.  Some students swear by commercial outlines, others peruse the SBA outlinebank, and others still prefer to create their own from scratch.  Some students study in Gelman because the undergraduates are "a lot nicer to look at" (or so I've heard), others fill their lungs with dust and mold studying in the stacks of Burns, and some students choose not to study at all.  There is no "right" way to do it and there is certainly more than one way to prepare for final exams.  You need to figure out what works for you and do that.

Also, since you're not going to listen to anyone's advice anymore, you should learn to ignore their bragging as well.  Do not let other people's neuroses infect your attitude or behavior.   Just because the little g-word who sits two rows in front of you in Torts finished his outline a week before you even thought about yours doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong.  Maybe he needs the extra time to memorize all of the elements of an attractive nuisance (wouldn't it be nice if all the nuisances in law school were attractive?  It would definitely make the myriad hypotheticals they pose more bearable to sit through...).  In this regard, I think it's best to try to avoid the law school and law students at all costs until exams are over.  You see each other enough anyway.

Remember to take breaks and to inject some "fun" into the next few weeks.  Whatever it is that makes you happy, find some time to spend doing that so you don't end up with the nickname "Wicked Witch of the West" by the time December 18 rolls around.  You want to have friends to go to the finals party with, don't you?  Which reminds me...as 1Ls, your exam schedule is set by the Law School and accordingly, you complete your last final one day earlier than everybody else.  That means you get one extra party!  The SBA plans a great event for you all after your last exam, so make sure you have lots of energy, a killer outfit (complete with your drinking shoes), and a flight home that leaves some time after noon the next day.  Finals are not the end of the world, just the end of the semester.  You will all do great.  Good luck!