Semester Wrap Up

Today I've been groveling around my apartment trying to convince myself that being hungover never felt so good. Though it feels great to have the first semester of 1L year over with, this in fact does nothing to lessen the hangover.

But last night was amazing. We finished our final exam at 5:30 and immediately headed to Sao Paulo's, a Brazilian restaurant close to school, for their margarita and queso (http://www.saopaulos.net) happy hour. About 20 of us gathered around tables pushed together and promised we wouldn't talk about law school. Amazingly we succeeded! Rather than bitch about future interests or debate affirmative action, we talked about our families, our boyfriends/girlfriends, our plans for winter vacation. We then went to a classmate's house party and onto a 1L party at Maggie Mae's (http://www.maggiemaesaustin.com/), a bar downtown where there was live band karaoke. A friend and I sang "Santeria" on stage but the best performance was by our classmate Joe for his rendition of the Beastie Boys "You've Got to Fight." The evening was such a welcome and celebratory end to an intense period.

Fully knowing what I cliche it is to say this, I feel unbelievably fortunate to be surrounded by the best classmates in the world. UT divides the 1L class into groups of 25 or so and our small group has really bonded. The support we give each other is invaluable and especially meaningful in this competitive setting. During finals we would check up on each other regularly, sharing notes, complaints, and even desperation. We all hugged before our property exam last week; anyone who knows me knows I love hugs so this was especially comforting.

When I moved here and didn't know anyone I told Robby that I was surprised what I missed most was being touched. I didn't just mean by him so I'll elaborate. When you're in a city full of strangers there aren't hugs, there are just handshakes or maybe a brushing of shoulders. But when you're surrounded by friends there are hugs, arms around each other's shoulders, guiding hands on each other's backs. This is a primordial comfort that I had never thought of until I was alone for the first time in my life.

So when we hugged before tests, danced the night away after our last final, and lounged around entangled in each other and our hangovers the next day I didn't feel alone. It's almost overwhelming to reflect on last semester already. The city, the school, the people... it's been an amazing four months. If my thoughts become more cogent I'll post them here but right now it's a bit of a haze.

Robby and I are headed to Ecuador for 2 1/2 weeks this break so ideally I'll have some "1L in Ecuador posts." I hope everyone has a great holiday and sending my love especially to my fellow 4C'ers. Can't wait to do it all again next semester.