Five things I wish I knew before starting my LLB journey.
Starting my law degree was one of my life’s most exciting yet overwhelming decisions. Looking back, there are a few lessons I wish I had known earlier – lessons that could have saved me from unnecessary anxiety and helped me settle in faster.
Here are five things I wish I knew before starting my LLB journey:
1) I will be overwhelmed and that’s okay
In year one, when I saw the class schedule and the time alloted for some classes, I really felt I could handle a 120-minute class, especially because I am coming from a secondary school where my classes were 80 minutes.
So when I attended my first class and I couldn’t last through the entire class, I started panicking.
I remember that day so vividly, I went home with a headache and I still had to be in service that evening.
I kept saying to myself if you are already overwhelmed in year one what will happen in year five?
Gradually, as I continued in the journey, I realized that there were more things ahead and if I wanted to finish strong I would have to go through them, find a way to navigate the issue, and come out strong.
So I started saying to myself
“ Abasifreke you’re currently overwhelmed and that is fine but from now on you walk from the place of peace and calm because you are aware of who is with you “ ( basically positive confession from the word ) and then I return to the task or take a break but I will be back to handle the task again.
2) Trust the process.
This is so important, I wish I had known this quite early.
In my year one second semester, I was asked by Barr. Nkokom ( my legal method tutorial lecturer) to review the entire case of. National Bank of Nigeria Ltd v. Savol West Africa Ltd. and I went nuts
In my head. I kept thinking “What do you mean read the entire case and decipher what is ratio decidendi, I. just entered this school Guyy!! “
I could not believe it
Or is the time, we entered year two and for the first time we had to do four law courses and this meant I would have to answer problem questions and I would have to cite Cases in my exams.
I was so anxious, how will I learn to cite cases, how will I answer these questions?
I don’t know how but once I was able to cross this bridge
I began to tell myself “ Abasifreke trust the process, you will get it when you reach there”
So when I enter a new class and some courses and concepts look so difficult, I just tell myself This is your learning period, you will soon attain mastery.
I applied this to my introduction to Legal practice course. ( where I had to draft a lot )and I eventually had an A in that course.
3)This is a new territory; chase new glory
This should have been the first point, but I discovered this quite late
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When you are new to the university, it is a clean slate do not make the mistake of dwelling on your past achievements.
“ Those were the days of old, these are the new days”
And if you have never related to “ past glory “this is also a clean slate for you. You can achieve things you have never achieved before in your life.
You can be at the top of your class, you can actually get A’s in your course, you just need to put in more effort.
I also apply this lesson in every new session. I tell myself. “Year four is a new territory “, so that I do not dwell on the achievements I made in year three.
4)You will need help; ask for it.
I entered university with the “ I can do it on my own mindset “ and I suffered for a period.
I was struggling with my reading but I was not telling anyone, I didn’t have access to a lot of materials, and yet I was silent.
When I eventually started asking for help, my grades started getting better.
I started knowing the patterns of how questions are asked by certain lecturers and how they liked questions to be answered because my friend had asked senior colleagues and related their responses to me.
I got better access to pass questions and even better explanations of concepts and this reflected in my results.
It’s also important to know who to ask for help, because some people specialize in bringing down people’s dreams, or like my pastor, they are dream quenchers.
5) God, God, and again I say God
I don’t know if I have to explain this point too much,
I didn’t think I could do it without God in my year one but I definitely underestimated how much I did need Him.
It’s one thing to write an exam and expect a particular grade and it is another thing for the results to come out and it is the grade you actually expect or even better.
Every time I am in exam season and eventually when the results are out, I am constantly reminded of how much God is involved in my life.
As is a common saying it’s not by him who runneth but it’s by God who does show mercy.
I know some people don’t believe in God and may want to argue, but as for me I wish I knew how much of God I will need.
And with that, I have come to the end of my long epistle.
I know that there are certain things you wish you knew before starting your journey what are there lets continue the conversation in the comments.
With love,
A law student writing for law students.
