i'm probably the most unremarkable person in the world

[Bob]

seriously, it doesn't get much more vanilla than me. i didn't realize it until i was sitting in my first orientation lecture thing, and the admissions officer was going over the achievements of the entering class, and it was all "you've worked in law offices, you speak eight languages, you're captains of athletic teams, you've travelled the world" and all that impressive stuff. but i thought "no, these are just the exceptional people, surely, i can't be the boringest person in the room.

but then we broke up into smaller groups of about 10-12 people each, and we had to talk a little about our backgrounds and stuff, and everybody was saying things like "i did some social work in guatemala, then i came home and taught sudanese refugees in harlem how to play badminton, then i worked as a paralegal at a big law office where i single handedly successfully argued every single death sentence case ever". then it gets to me, and what do i have to say? "uhh, i went to college for 4 years, and i got a BA in political science, then i worked at a boring job over the summer and every summer before that, and now i'm here"

*chirp chirp*

i wouldn't feel so bad about it if people would just shut up about how proud we all ought to be about how much we've achieved in our lives. i haven't achieved anything! does that mean i should be ashamed?

it basically doesn't bother me until people start hinting at the fact that it should. it's no wonder i never have anything to talk about with people, i haven't done anything. but i don't WANT to do anything. i'd be content with that if they'd just let me.

[QueenAdrock]

I felt the same way my first day of work, during orientation. Some of the people who work here have accomplished AMAZING things and are all PhD's, and I was like HOLY BEJESUS! And then I realized that they were actually in a different branch than I was, they group us all together for orientation.

Either way, my coworker talked about how she did internships and got straight-A's in high school. I'm kinda proud of the fact that I have the same job as she does, and I never graduated high school and ended up worked my way through college instead of getting an internship. It's kind of a "Wow, you worked so hard and yet I'm still at the same place that you are," type of feeling, which is sweet. I think you should be proud of the fact that you got into law school based on scores and smarts and not because of where you worked or what kind of connections you have, because I think that means more in the long run.

[QueenAdrock]

Oh yeah, and remember:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/QueenAdrock1/other/underachievement.jpg

[ampm]

You're being too hard on yourself. Relax.

[Kid Presentable]

It's strange how tertiary education designs you to look at yourself in terms of other people.

[chrisd]

you're a philosopher dude, fuck the philistines!

[Nuzzolese]

You didn't even mention your accomplishments on this forum?

I'm sorry, I'm not helping.

But Bob, you're so young! How about this; you're an academic. That's what you do, you go to school, you study, and you make good grades. You love to study political science and history and law, and that's enough. The value of your study and schoolwork is self evident and self validating. Why does a lawyer need to have an exciting past anyway? You're just going to be helping people and knowing all the rules. Where's Beth? She's vanilla and she's perfectly happy!

[Waus]

Don't sweat it man.

So many people use accomplishments and 'busy-ness' as a substitute for personality. You talk to them and all they can say is what they've done for who, where they've been - couldn't come up with an original thought or feeling to save their life. Great people don't always have the longest resume.

[Teh]

You're at uni, evidently on a pretty respectable course rubbing shoulders with "great people" as you say in order to get yourself a degree. That's something.

Beck made the best point in the whole thread. The 'greatest' high flyer type guy on my course is a total arsehole who thinks he knows everything about music, but generally can't see beyond boring country music and nobody likes him anyway.

[yooooo]

they probably lied.

they're posting on the britney spears message board everyday and complain about their lives.

seriously... i REALLY know how you feel. dont give a fuck and! when they laugh,

HADOUKEN!

[Bob]

It's kind of a "Wow, you worked so hard and yet I'm still at the same place that you are," type of feeling, which is sweet.

that's actually a really good point, i hadn't completely thought of it that way. i was looking at it more along the lines of "oh wow, they've all worked so hard to get here and now i'm here too? someone must have accepted the wrong application" which doesn't make sense because i got into all but one of the schools that i applied to.

i think my LSAT score is really what got me in though (not to be negative again, but i think it's pretty true). i had ok grades- nothing remarkable, just maybe a little above average (3.4 GPA). i didn't really have much to speak of for extracurricular stuff (a semester with a public interest group but i was only there for the chicks). i didn't even get a job while i was enrolled, i just worked over the summer (at the same job every time). but my LSAT was great. I hope they didn't infer too much from that.

then again, probably the only reason i got into college was my SAT score (1410), and i ended up doing ok there, and i barely even tried. and these kids around me, they don't seem so hot. oh you helped sudanese refugees learn english well i kick ASS at tony hawk, and we both got into law school, sooooo

i'm really not that beat up over it, i just hadn't really noticed how completely unremarkable i am. i still don't really mind. but i think that in being the least accomplished and most unremarkable white bread student in my entire class must be an accomplishment of some sort on its own.

and kid's right, they do make you sort of compare yourself to everyone around you. i don't like that

[Bob]

what i AM a little worried about is when it comes time to draft my resume. it's gonna look pathetic. i don't do anything that looks good on paper. i mean i'm smart, i read well, i write well, i think well, but i haven't done anything really that can prove that. plus i have crap for experience. we already got our resume assignments (getting a co-op job is part of the curriculum), and what i'm worried about is the part where you're supposed to list your experience, with an emphasis on legal-related things. they attached a bunch of sample resumes to the assignment, and they're all like "did paralegal work for a firm" or "volunteered with amnesty international" or stuff like that. what have i done? i've worked for an insurance company. maybe that's worth something if i'm gonna do something involving torts, i dunno. and i didn't do anything especially insurance-related, i just did clerical stuff. i summarized some policy contracts once, that's about the extent of anything legal-related. i wasn't aware you were expected to have that kind of experience coming in, that's kind of why i went to law school if you must know, to get the experience.

maybe i'm making too much of it, i can't be the ONLY person like me in my class, there must be others who came straight from college and temp jobs to law school who have no notable experience. i should find them.

[abcdefz]

Having a sense of humor is rare.

Having a great sense of humor is really rare.

Besides:


"Doing stuff is overrated. Like Hitler. He did a lot. But don't we all wish he woulda just stayed home and gotten stoned?"

[QueenAdrock]

i've worked for an insurance company.

Was it in the medical/dental field? Were you a rep? Because if so, I bet I've talked to you. 3 years working at a dental office = talking to every associate at least once about claims and/or benefits. It was bad when I actually started remembering who each one was. :(

If not, ignore this post.

[HEIRESS]

personality counts as much as 1000+ hours of volunteer work

[Bob]

Was it in the medical/dental field? Were you a rep? Because if so, I bet I've talked to you. 3 years working at a dental office = talking to every associate at least once about claims and/or benefits. It was bad when I actually started remembering who each one was. :(

If not, ignore this post.

no, disability insurance. which i guess actually has a lot to do with torts. in the sense that it rarely does. but the facts of a claim and the facts of a case are kinda similar. not that i was in charge of that kinda thing.

heiress i don't have a personality either, that's part of being unremarkable

[SobaViolence]

i think you worry too much.

everyone walks their own path. and goes at their own pace.

[HEIRESS]

hey Bob, nice socks!

[Bob]

wanna make out?

hey, how'd that happen

[zippo]

well, i think its sort of bratty that you consider achieving a fkin BA degree in political science means nothing. and the "competition" is still open, in fact, its just started hasnt it? youve still got time to catch up. and if youve been accepted, then youre where youre supposed to be, try to concentrate on that better

[Bob]

well, i think its sort of bratty that you consider achieving a fkin BA degree in political science means nothing.

honestly, looking back, it was pretty easy. way easier than they were trying to scare me into thinking it would be in high school. let this be a lesson to you kids: college is easy, don't listen to your teachers

i miss college if you must know. doesn't last forever though, i gotta grow up eventually

[zippo]

honestly, looking back, it was pretty easy. way easier than they were trying to scare me into thinking it would be in high school. let this be a lesson to you kids: college is easy, don't listen to your teachers


well, taking it from another viewpoint: you didnt drop out, you had the money to get yourself an education, you were accepted into law school...

why are you so hard on yourself, i dont know if its just your shtick on the board or if you really generally dont like yourself

[Documad]

Oh Bob.

This thread and your other thread remind me of my first year of law school.

I talk too much about myself. But I'll say this once. I went to night school for law school because I was working full time. My class was full of people who were working for US senators, their dads were judges, or they knew all the lingo because they had worked as paralegals in big lawfirms. Some of them intentionally played head games with me. "Wow, you don't know what a special master is?" No, and 15 years later I've still never needed one.

I read the first day's assignment and didn't understand a word of it. I didn't understand a thing the professor said in the class either. I felt like I'd be lucky not to flunk out in the first semester.

I stuck it out, kept my head down, eventually found the 5% of sane people in my class, was a law review editor, and did very well in school, all while working full time. Not a one of the know-it-alls with outside experience got good grades. One of the surest things about the practice of law is that the people who crow the loudest almost always have the least ability.

You are going to kick ass. I am absolutely sure of it. You're so remarkable that it's obvious to people who've never met you. What makes you successful in life in the long term has much more to do with your personality than with school and a resume.

[Documad]

I also took enriched classes in high school. My english teacher used to tell us all the time that we would never make it in college composition classes. The first week of my college composition class, I handed in a short assignment. The next class, the professor told me not to come back to class because I knew more than they would be teaching. I wasn't even a good writer then. My high school teacher was just so out of date on what was expected in college.

[Bob]

that's pretty encouraging to hear documad. and it's not like people are TRYING to make me feel inadeuqate, they aren't bragging in a malevolent way, it's just that i can't help but feel a little small in comparison. but, then again, i made it here, so how small can i be?

one of the things they said in orientation was that "there are definitely going to be times when you feel like you're the only person who just doesn't get the material, but you're not" and i'm ready to believe it. i'm not too worried about that. i imagine that figuring out law, like most things, is a matter of practice. you keep at it and you fuck up a bunch of times, and then eventually you get it. i mean i'm not retarded and i'm not the only one who's been down this path before. so many other people make it, why not me? i'm confident enough in my abilities. academic abilities anyway



why are you so hard on yourself, i dont know if its just your shtick on the board or if you really generally dont like yourself

i'm not even sure myself quite honestly. it's like i have two personalities arguing with each other in my head. one will be all depressing and self-deafeating and go "you suck you suck you suck" and then the other one is more rational and it will go "it's hilarious that you think you suck, because the main reason that you do suck is because you're so convinced you do. how can anyone else like you if you can't like yourself? get over it you stupid douchebag, you're doing it to yourself". so it's like i'm simultaneously feeling low and then laughing at the fact that i feel so low when i probably shouldn't be. i don't know, i'm weird like that.

[Bob]

I also took enriched classes in high school. My english teacher used to tell us all the time that we would never make it in college composition classes. The first week of my college composition class, I handed in a short assignment. The next class, the professor told me not to come back to class because I knew more than they would be teaching. I wasn't even a good writer then. My high school teacher was just so out of date on what was expected in college.

yeah, it seemed like every step of the way, teachers were trying to scare you into thinking that the next step would be some ridiculously hard scenario. in grade school they told you middle school would be tough. in middle school they told you high school would be tough. in high school they told you college would be really fucking tough (and i imagine that for some majors, it is). then in college they don't tell you anything about grad school, you have to look into that on your own, which is i guess polite of them.

[skra75]

"you suck you suck you suck"

"it's hilarious that you think you suck, because the main reason that you do suck is because you're so convinced you do. how can anyone else like you if you can't like yourself? get over it you stupid douchebag, you're doing it to yourself".

I hear these same voices every day of my life. along with "calm down mr. sweaty, stop drinking so much coffee, top second guessing yourself"

[HOTWIFE]

I feel that way sometimes too. There have been things i've wanted to accomplish in my life that I haven't yet, and that makes me feel like a failure sometimes. But heck Bob you got into law school..that's something!! Life's too short to feel like you're not doing it right.

[Documad]

Oh, believe me, some of them will fuck with your head on purpose. Lawyers and law students tend to be assholes. Having to work with lawyers is the worst part of being a lawyer.

My law school made us take a year long class of legal writing. I couldn't understand what was going on with legal citation form. It was a complete mystery to me and I was too embarrassed to ask anyone for help. Every assignment was so frustrating. It took ages, but I wound up being an expert on citation (and am to this day -- it became a thing with me).

I remember the day that my legal writing instructor finally explained that there are two completely different court systems -- federal and state. I had no idea! Most of my fellow students did because of where they worked. But that's the kind of thing that's easy to learn. I suspect that it might even be more difficult if you know too much from your job before you start school, because the law you learn in an American law school has almost nothing to do with the law you practice at an American law firm.

My most difficult time was in my second year of law school when I was working for a team of prosecutors and learning criminal law at the same time. The concepts we learned in class had nothing to do with what our state statutes actually said.

[Documad]

yeah, it seemed like every step of the way, teachers were trying to scare you into thinking that the next step would be some ridiculously hard scenario. in grade school they told you middle school would be tough. in middle school they told you high school would be tough. in high school they told you college would be really fucking tough (and i imagine that for some majors, it is). then in college they don't tell you anything about grad school, you have to look into that on your own, which is i guess polite of them.
I worked with juvenile delinquents for a while. Social workers and probation officers spend so much time threatening them with the maximum security prison for young offenders, but when they finally get sent their, it's so much nicer than the county home school and other less secure facilities, and there is nothing left to threaten them with. :rolleyes:

[zippo]

and then the other one is more rational and it will go "it's hilarious that you think you suck, because the main reason that you do suck is because you're so convinced you do. how can anyone else like you if you can't like yourself? get over it you stupid douchebag, you're doing it to yourself".

oh! well then its not as bad as i thought...happens to everyone...i just realized you tend to show your other side more on this board, making it look like the other doesnt exist, i see whats going on, as you were

[yeahwho]

If you could get Guinness Book of World Records to verify that you are indeed the "Most Unremarkable Person in the World" that would blow every fucking bodies mind. (y)

[zippo]

If you could get Guinness Book of World Records to verify that you are indeed the "Most Unremarkable Person in the World" that would blow every fucking bodies mind. (y)

haha thats such a stoner joke

[befsquire]

ale to the thief, bob.

[Dorothy Wood]

when I transferred to the college I graduated from, my orientation group was filled with people who were all, "oh, and then I spent that year in spain, and tutored some kids in armenia" and I just ate my sandwich under a tree by myself because I was like, "uhh, I got really good grades in high school and I got accepted here because I went to university of michigan last year". (u of m is a good school if ye didn't know, ok thnx)

whatever man, if you're good at stuff, then you're good at stuff, it'll all come out in the wash if you play by the rules. I did elementary education, which was easy, but I was more concerned with boys and getting drunk than really paying attention in class. however, when it came down to taking practical exams, I aced them. I accidentally forgot to study for one part of the exam and people in the hallway before the test were like, "omg, I've takent this test 4 times and haven't passed!" while clutching 500 page long study manuals, and I thought, "oh, shit, I barely glanced at this shit". then BIZBANG, I scored 195 out of 200, which is insanely good. even two years out of college I did really well when I had to take a differnet test to get certified in a different state. smarts is smarts. and that's what wins in the end...I hope.


p.s. I just checked my file on the 195/200 thing and it's true! ha. wow, I'm fucking great. I almost just wrote frieght. shhhh, I'm drunk.

[paul jones]

Is school in America really like 'Saved By The Bell' ?