mental health

Cold Calling Is Good, Actually

/ Ian Hurley / Leave a comment

“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder next time.” – Michael Jordan

One of the (many) things that causes law students the most angst is the dreaded cold call. The fear is so pronounced that before I even attended a single 1L class, BC Law had shown me the famous cold calling scene from Legally Blonde multiple times. I understand why cold calling induces anxiety, especially in your early days of law school when you have likely never experienced it in other classroom settings. To be clear, this post should not be taken to suggest that cold calling does not make me nervous or that I never get a cold call embarrassingly wrong (I definitely do). But getting things wrong is kind of the point of learning and law school; otherwise, we’d be practicing attorneys already. 

Continue reading →

The Case for Doing Less

/ Ian Hurley / Leave a comment

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ― Ferris Bueller

In the throes of 1L year, while dealing with difficult material, a new learning environment, networking events, and perhaps feeling completely overwhelmed and lost, a law student is likely to hear a common refrain. It often goes something like, “I know this is rough, 1L is so tough, but it gets so much better in 2L.” And like most aphorisms, it contains a nugget of truth. In many ways, the law school experience changes fundamentally between your first year and your second. The classroom experience becomes less intimidating and more familiar. You can choose your own class schedule and have agency over the areas of law you wish to study. Even more importantly, for some, you have the chance to partake in experiential learning opportunities, such as clinics and externships, which are not available to 1Ls.

Continue reading →

Need a Reset? Find Peace on the BC Ski Trip

/ Catherine Beveridge / Leave a comment

I lived in Washington D.C. for two years before moving to Boston. After growing up in New York and spending plenty of time in Maine, the one thing I missed most in DC was winter. When I took my first BC Law tour, my tour guide mentioned the Killington ski trip. My mom, who joined me on the tour, saw my face light up and knew I was sold, as silly as it might seem.

This past weekend was the long-awaited trip, and I was nervous about it. I finally recovered from a bad flu that made the start of the semester wobbly at best. I got back to the gym and danced once I healed up, but was worried my body and mind were out of sorts. I was also rooming alone and wondered if I was missing out on the bonding experiences 2Ls and 3Ls talked about on prior trips. 

Continue reading →

How Do You Find Your Peace? Running Away from The Fishbowl

/ Ian Hurley / Leave a comment

I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. 

– Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About when I Talk About Running

Most days, especially as fall rolls into winter, I get up before the sun. In the pre-dawn hours, I fumble around in the darkness of my quiet, slumbering apartment, attempting to make coffee and not wake up my partner. As this process gets underway, my dog follows me around dutifully, eyes shining like copper pennies, ears at full mast, ready to head out for another morning jaunt. His herding eye remains trained on its quarry as I put on my running shoes, and he readies himself for our adventure, stretching and strutting around on my creaky wood floors. 

Continue reading →

The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned About Law School So Far: The “I Love Me More” Approach

/ Alexandra Staller / Leave a comment

Now more than halfway through my first law school semester, the initial warnings and disclaimers that I had been told before coming are starting to make sense. This line I am walking between letting law school take over my time and giving myself time to breathe is one I find becomes blurry depending on what my days or weeks look like. For example, last week my section had our first memo draft due on Friday. On top of all the other classwork I had, all I could think about was the memo. Wake up: memo. Drive to school: memo. Read my Contracts cases: memo. Fold my laundry: memo. Call Mom: memo.

One night as I was laying in bed, I felt an overwhelming wave of law school rise over me. My post-9pm thoughts were racing, and I wondered if this was the thing that was bound to happen that would stick with me until my graduation in May 2027: that all I am is law school. 

Continue reading →

From Teaching to Transformative Change: Meet Elias Massion

/ Sangeeta Kishore / 9 Comments

There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our new series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here! 

Our first entry was a Q&A with Sara Womble, a 2L from Winston Salem, NC. Our second entry is with Elias Massion, who comes from Nashville, TN and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What did you do before coming to law school?

I completed the Teach For America program in New Orleans! I was a 5th and 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher at Mildred Osborne Charter School. I taught Native American history and European colonization in the Americas as well as ancient civilizations (my personal favorite). I’ve always had an interest in teaching so this was a great opportunity to gain that experience on my path to law school.

Continue reading →

Do This One Thing to Protect Your Sanity During Law School

/ Seung Hye Yang / Leave a comment

One of the best pieces of advice I got in law school is to march to the beat of your own drum; in other words, pay little heed to what others are doing and focus on yourself. This has been invaluable in retaining my sanity and mental health.

Law school is designed to urge people to compare themselves to others. The unhealthy truth is that law school can be a breeding ground for comparative anxiety. Being graded on a curve means students are pitted against each other, because your own individual grade is adjusted based on how well (or not) your classmates have done. The uncertainty of job prospects also often incites fear in students; there is no guarantee that one’s actions will ultimately culminate into a result proportional to the effort put in. In this sort of environment, protecting your mental health requires a mindful effort, and the best way to do this is to tune out the noise and balance life to your needs.

Continue reading →

My 2024 Law School Resolutions

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

After a long, relaxing, and unproductive break, we’re back at school. While it can be nerve-wracking to start a new semester, with new classes, professors, and expectations to manage, it can also be a chance for a fresh start. We like to set resolutions for ourselves each new year to (hopefully) guide how we’ll live moving forward, but as law students, the same practice can be useful before returning to the classroom. Here are three of my resolutions for this semester that I think could be beneficial for us all.

Outline (Semi) Regularly

I’ve heard the advice that law students should add to their outlines every week, and I even know students who follow this practice. While that sounds borderline impossible for me, I also recognize that my strategy of waiting to outline until classes end is also…not ideal.

Continue reading →

What Students Are Thankful for at Boston College Law School

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

Thanksgiving comes at a difficult time of year for law students. While we want to enjoy the holiday, the hours of travel and time away from our computers can make it stressful as finals inch ever closer. But this year, I wanted to make sure we as a community took at least a little time to focus on what the holiday is all about. There’s plenty to be thankful for here at Boston College Law School, so take a moment to remember what you love about this school. Here’s what some students had to say when they were asked what they’re thankful for at BC Law.

Conner Packebush, 1L: The community, which is incredibly kind. It’s also so easy to talk and connect with professors.

Maria Russo, 2L: Friends who make the stressful finals season more bearable.

Adel Clemonds, 3L: Affinity groups and free food.

Meghan Doyle, 1L: The welcoming community.

Jared Coltey, 2L: First Generation Professionals — this group has given me a sense of community and belonging during stressful times in law school.

Katie Cross, 3L: The amazing friends Boston College has given me that make coming to school everyday something to look forward to.

Christian Bilgrien, 1L: The professors showing care for our mental health.

Laura Stateler, 2L: Community, community, community. 

Paul Sevigny, 3L: Community, support, and being treated like a human first and foremost.

Katarina Bettencourt, 1L: The kindness and support of students and faculty.

Nicole Kerrigan, 2L: My section’s softball team.

Aaron Morris, 3L: The understanding and appreciation of life outside of law school from professors, faculty, and other students that allow law school — and the stresses it brings — to not overtake my entire life.

Andres Leiva, 1L: The opportunity to meet lawyers from big law firm practices and make professional connections.

Cordelia Houck, 2L: The sense of community both inside and outside the classroom, which makes the stress of law school more manageable. When things get stressful, the people around me keep me grounded and remind me that there’s more to life than law school. 

Gabriel (Gabe) McCarthy, 3L: The friends I have met from all walks of life, and the chance to learn from such amazing professors.

Tess Halpern is a third-year student and president of the Impact blog. Contact her at halperte@bc.edu.

Memo Week’s Secret Memo

/ Alex Mostaghimi / Leave a comment

Memo week came and went with the grace of a Vanderbilt train crash. While all LP students are told at the beginning of the semester what they can expect, memo week still manages to derail our priorities. Nevertheless, if we heed the lessons learned from this short period, we might be able to build healthy habits to avoid future pains.

Memo week tends to bring the first symptoms of stress to the forefront, and its showing is magnificently diverse. 

Continue reading →