Back At It

January 17, 2011

A month has gone by, but I’m not sure where it went. The time spent with the family during the break was a welcome change of pace. Now, back to the grindstone, classes are picking up and the routine seems all too familiar. Grades for last semester still have not come in. Hopefully they’ll be posted by the 21st. I’ve talked with several people who are in their second or third year and the conversations usually always go the same. “Oh, you’ll be fine.” they tell me. Or “You won’t believe how arbitrary it seems. You can feel like you nailed it and come out with a C-.”

I suppose a student’s particular motivations for school or their later career may play on how they feel about grades. For instance, if I was hoping with all my heart to do well enough to be admitted to the law review, I imagine I’d be sweating bullets. Or, if I were interested in landing a job in a larger firm (read 50+ attorneys) I’d also be anxious to make excellent grades. But as it stands, I’m not interested in either. That’s not to say that I don’t want to have a great GPA, but it does decrease the anxiety to controllable levels because I’m not scared of flunking, as I’ve put in way too much time to worry about that. But whether I make C’s or B’s or an occasional A, a diploma is likely to be hanging on my wall within three years so I’m not too fussed about how I get it. I’ll continue to put forth my best effort–for the amount of debt I’ll be in, I can’t bear to put forth anything less–and hopefully I’ll be mostly satisfied with my results. In the meantime, I still have to wait another week for those four letters.