Getting used to law school is like going through JC all over again.

When I arrived in 2002 to do my A-Levels in Victoria Junior College, I had no friends from the same school, unlike the majority of my classmates. My weird uniform singled me out, and I didn’t understand the lingo.

Now, 13 years later, I have no classmates whom I know from JC or NS, unlike my freshman classmates. I just look older than the undergrads – I’ve been recognised off-campus by people I don’t know at all. It’s like a strange sort of unwanted celebrity.

And just like in JC, I’m struggling with the material. I got used to seeing Cs and Ds on my report card all throughout JC, even though they eventually translated into stellar exam grades at the finals. I don’t think I can fall back on that now – there isn’t a larger cohort out there to boost the curve, we are the entire population and it’s a shark tank. It’s not even the competitiveness I’m worried about – I objectively do not get the material. You could remove the top half of the cohort and I’d still be getting shit grades because WHAT IS LEGAL ANALYSIS?

Also, as previously stated, I have been slacking off and I am trying to remedy that (though I’ll be the first to admit I’m not exactly throwing myself at the work). In JC I busied myself playing with the original Sims game – now the distractions are Diablo 3 and dance. I’m trying to pick up the pace and clear some backlog before recess week, when I hope to make an actual effort and clear the entire backlog before the second half of the semester begins.

bleaaaaghhh why do I always take the circuitous route blaaaargh.

They warned us we would be drowning. They did.

I’m just doing my best to keep paddling because I spent the first 3 weeks doing less than the bare minimum and now I have to catch up. It’s less of a time issue and more of a laziness issue, I admit. And it’s not even as though I’m completely overwhelmed by the work. Focus a bit harder, leave off the social media for longer, keep the gaming to weekends, and bring out the tablet so I can read cases and textbooks while commuting.

All the GLBs are just waiting for recess week so we can catch up on some sleep and all the backlog of readings and cases… and come up for air.

SMU’s email came on a Thursday morning as I lay in bed checking my phone. I immediately sent off an email to my parents and my colleagues.

Half an hour later, as I was getting ready for work, an SMS came in from NUS admissions saying my status had been updated. The link took me to student login where the magic words “you have been offered” sat above “Graduate Law Programme”.

Another hasty email to parents.

By the time I got to the office, they were full of congratulations. I had already submitted my notice earlier that week but they obviously had not got the news, because HR works in slow and mysterious ways…

The handover for my replacement will be a rushed affair but he will have others to guide him along so… I’m outta here!