Second semester 1L year is an awful, awful tease.  By now, you know the drill; classes get a little bit easier; LRW is still miserable, but bearable; and you have made it through one round of final exams alive.  So you figure, one more semester of the worst year of my life?  No sweat!  Well, be cautious, little ones, because there are two extremes of being a one-and-a-half "L," and you want to make sure you land on the right side.

Some first year students do amazingly well their first semester, and are unafraid to tell people just how amazing they did.  Extreme 1: those who become far, far too cocky.  Conversely, some first year students might not have achieved exactly what they wanted to during their first semester, and are forever petrified of their every move for the next four months.  Extreme 2: those who become far, far too timid.  So, as a one-and-a-half "L," you have a choice.  Are you going to spend the next semester overly confident, annoying the poor, unfortunate souls in your section, or are you going to be one of those poor, unfortunate souls?

I suggest you take a middle road.  Stand up for yourself, but don't be a jerk.  You are just as good as anybody else here, so don't let that over-zealous, IZOD-wearing, up-tight, brown-noser upstage you in the middle of Property.  You know all about the implied warranty of habitability - you live in NE, you know what's up!  Besides, you've heard it a million times and it never gets any less true, grades are not everything.

Spring semester first year can be a bit overwhelming with the journal competition dominating the first half of your spring break, the Mock Trial Competition, the Memo, the ADR Competition, the Moot Court Competition, and, of course, applying and interviewing for summer jobs.  But even if any (or all) of the aforementioned do not turn out the way you want them to, there are still a number of ways to get involved and to demonstrate your worthiness.  For example, SBA elections are rapidly approaching, and while it's too late to throw your hat in the race for the executive board positions, in addition to those, there are a ton of spots that will be open in the fall.  The Law Revue Show is one of the best things about law school (shout-out to Katie and Terry, who both worked so hard), and they have to take you if you try out.  There are also about a million student groups, clubs, and organizations that would be more than thrilled to welcome some new members.  Finally, if all else fails, you can become a writer for The Nota Bene.  We don't look at grades and are always pleased with new staff additions.

At the end of the day (or semester), you need to be happy with the decisions you made.  Be confident in yourself and your abilities and it will all work out.  Have a great spring break!