Law Students for Reproductive Justice Chapter Forms at Southwestern

Get ready for Law Students for Reproductive Justice at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. At a time when reproductive rights, for both men and women, are being whittled away by our representatives, its important we all take a stand and tell our elected officials what we really want. Check out LSRJ.org

The View from My Hotel During Spring Break

Look familiar? Its cause i didnt go anywhere. I remember the days when Spring Break meant beaches, tequila body shots, and dancing the night away. Now its outlining the day away.

Welcome to my non-glam, Hollywood adjacent, life.

I Lost My Life on My Way to Law School

I know I had a life. I mean, there was this time in my not so distant past that I was an entertainment publicist. I actually walked the red carpet of the Emmys, Oscars, and the Tonys (sorry, never the Grammys). I knew what was hip and cool in town. I always had the list of the newest, best, most hip places to hang out at my fingertips -- and I had an insider at each and every one of them.

And then I opted to do this law school thing.

Let me paint the picture a little more clearly -- its Friday night, 8:25 p.m, and I am in the library reading cases for the painful appellate brief thats due in 2.5 weeks. I still have reading to do for next week - and cases to brief. And then of course there is the non-stop outlining.

So while my partner enjoys himself in Palm Springs for the weekend, I get a chance to get caught up with my work. Is such a thing even possible? Will Palm Springs become a mystic city i never get to again?

Ah, such is the life of a future legal scholar. Trade in any remnants of a personal life, for an intense intellectual hazing period that you pay dearly for.

Do you know how much Prada I could buy with my tuition money? The horrors.

Okay, enough complaining to the real world, I got a brief to write.

The Finest Choice in Dining for Legal Scholars Everywhere.

On 11th night of December, blowing off my fifth Christmas party of the weekend, I am in the law library yet again, prepping for my finals. Just when I thought life could not be more grand, I decided to treat myself to a vending machine buffet!!!

This is living large in the law school lane.

The coke, btw, was confiscated by the Food Nazis in the library. I mean, years ago when people actually used the books, I think keeping food out of the library made sense. Now that the only thing the books provide is a sense of decor, maybe we can do away with the food rules. How am I going to spend 12 hours of my day in an unsavory section of Los Angeles any other way?

Apparently Libraries ARE for sleeping....

Day Three of OccupySouthwestern Library.

Let me explain.

It's not about Wall Street -- well not exactly, that would depend on the case. Its "Reading Days" which means that if you have to do all your reading on these days, you are screwed. It's a Sunday night and the library is actually full. The first years are Occupying the library in droves. Finals start on the 8th and panic and caffeine are everywhere. I just looked up from my outlines, mostly because my eyes are doing their own protest, to find the student across from me asleep. I am not appalled, but rather, very jealous. Anyone who can sleep on these hard chairs deserves at least a B. I mean, I have sat in my share of library chairs and these are designed by some S&M fetish freak.

Only 12 days left until we get "raided" and run for freedom. There is a case of tequila with my name all over it just waiting until the Crim exam is over.

Ah, the life of a 1L. And I paid for this.

If you thought the first three months were bad....

It's that time during your first semester as a law student that you suddenly realize you have a choice to make. Take some much needed rest and finally look like a human again (for a little while anyways), or prep for exams. It's time to get to know very intimately that term you heard so much about this entire semester called outlines. Apparently they weren't' some fictional character like the tooth fairy. If only. Outlines are the ways law students digest their entire semester worth of materials into an easy to refer to format to study from. However, outlines also are something that should have been taken care of all semester and to pull them off over Thanksgiving break is nothing short of the educational equivalent of scoring that $99 flat screen TV at WalMart at 4am.

Wish me luck. My dignity already left months ago. My eyesight is on its way out. I think the next thing left is basic hygiene. Great.

I would strongly suggest staying away from any law school exam rooms --- we might be used to it by now -- but like the rest of law school, its not for the faint of heart.

Why Don't they have Catering in the LIbrary?

You would think that law schools would take a lesson from the airlines and take advantage of a captive audience. I mean, here we are sitting for hours in this building, barely getting up for a bathroom break, much less a meal. It would be cool to have a lunch cart or something like the 2011 version of a cigarette girl at a club. I can see it now -- Granola Bar? Doritos? Diet Coke? If you think the movie theaters mark up, just wait until you see these prices. And all purchases could be conveniently charged to your school account. Schools certainly don't have to worry about the damages to the books, cause lord knows nobody uses those anymore.

I think its time to have a food truck for the law libraries! Talk about an electronic contracting practicum!!!!

I have succumbed to the free pizza.

I tried. I really did. But the temptation was just too great. Free food after days without cash. Its not that there isn't money in the bank -- i just can't find the time to get to the ATM. Its across the street from the library and all, but the library just acts like a vortex and I can't escape.

The school throughs these student activities meetings all day -- and in order to get you out of your studying stupor, they tempt you with free food. We are graduate students after all right? Most of us can't boil water much less fix oatmeal. Free food is what keeps us going. Except me. I would religiously go up to the (mediocre) cafeteria for their salad bar. Gotta keep that first year ten off my (slightly) older than the rest of them's ass.

But the temptation was too great -- and my bankcard had cracked. Free pizza it was. Now everyday I hunt down the freebies, justifying it with the fact that I am saving money, but in reality its about the win. You see, battles are won few and far between in law school; you have to take those wins where you can. And I, well I am taking mine out on the free pizza. By taking the free pizza, I feel like, today anyways, I have won. Small victories matter these days.

Let's review:

1. Apparently I get my mail at the library.

2. I can't even make time for ATM runs -- lord knows what the rest of my life looks like.

3. And I think by swiping a few slices of pizza I have achieved a victory.

Welcome to my first year. Hopefully next semester they teach a class on regaining your dignity.