Law school is hard. Ateneo Law is beyond hard. It's almost an impossible obligation that should be held void for sheer unreasonableness in terms of readings, expectations and standards. Professors don't expect you to know the basics. They expect you to be experts in it. That would be okay if, say, law school is eight years, instead of four, and you only had one subject to study per today. But it isn't. You have three or more subjects in one day but each professor believes his subject is the only one. You have to read so many books and cases per subject but there's not enough time to even finish 1/4 of it. Plus, by the time you do finish the 1/4, your brain is already too stuffed with information that it just wants to shut down and delete the "temporary" files in the hard drive.
So, when you are called for recitation, you end up mixing the facts of one case to another (sometimes they are so similar!). You end up citing the ratio decidendi of Abakada Guro Party List vs. Ermita for Tolentino vs. Secretary of Finance. The professor looks at you, stares for a while, then grabs the class cards in the table and calls one of your classmates to recite the true ratio of the case. That's your cue to sit down and tell yourself how dumb you are to mix up the cases. Your seat mate will then tell you not to worry...that you all have bad recit days, and all other shit just to make you feel better. But you become more embarrassed. You flip through the pages of the SCRA desperately wishing that the professor was the idiot, not you, only to find out that you're stupid for even thinking it was possible.
The class ends. The professor leaves. Another professor enters. You're still in shock. Your hard work did not pay off. You skipped your friends birthday bash just to finish the assigned cases. You only slept for two hours and spent all your allowance in the coffee shop. And yet, all it gave you was five minutes of infamy. But it didn't stop there. By some twisted fate, you get called again for the next class. It doesn't take long for the professor to notice that you are just muttering nonsense, and lots of uhmms and errs. So, you sit down once again and experience the torment all over again.
This would be the typical day for most law students. Law school is tough. It's meant to be this way so that you'll be ready by the time you go to court and argue your case. Some have lost their sanity because of the tremendous pressure of law school. Some chose to end their lives cause they couldn't deal with the stress and expectations.
But it doesn't have to be that way. The secret to law school is so simple. Don't take it too seriously! At the end of the day, your health and your sanity is more important than having high recitation grades or being highest in the midterms exam. Believe me, the latter will only make you feel good for a very short span of time you'd actually wish you didn't feel it at all. So, without further ado, the following are ways to keep your sanity in law school.
1. Get a life. Study intensely from Monday to Saturday afternoon and reserve the rest for leisure. Go out on a date. Binge on alcohol. Get stoned. Walk pointlessly in the mall. Start a hobby. Just don't study anymore, please! But don't drink on Sunday night because it will be hard to study the next day because of your hangover.
2. Get out of Metro Manila! Part of the reason why law school is stressful is because Metro Manila is a stressful environment. Your lungs deserve fresh air every once in a while. It's food for your brain too. And it's also relaxing to see fields of green instead of the fields of billboard in EDSA.
3. Go to your block's party. As they say, misery loves company. Collectively drown your miserable lives with lots of alcohol and loud music. It's a good feeling to know that you're not the only one having a hard time in law school. Plus, it's a good chance to talk the person you've been eyeing in class.
4. Watch a gig. There are so many talented bands in the underground music scene right now that could take away your stress in an instant. Watching live musical performances is a good way of forgetting about bad recits, low midterm grades, and the unbearable pressure of law school.
5. Go surfing! This is related to number 2 above. As there are no surfing spots in Metro Manila (unless you count Manila bay), you have no choice but to get the hell out of this urban hell to experience the pure joy of surfing. There are many surf spots near Manila such as San Felipe in Zambales, San Juan in La Union, and, of course, Baler in Aurora! Believe me, you won't dwell on bad recits anymore after you ride your first wave!
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