I did it!

So I did. I made it through my first year of law school at Michigan State University.

There were definitely times when I felt like I couldn't.  There were sleepless nights (due either to stress/insomnia or needing the time to finish all of my work). There were tears (especially after taking my first final, which I was convinced I failed. I'm happy to report, I did not.). And there were many questions (specifically, "you're in your 30's, all of your friends have houses and families, what are you doing going back to school?" and "how in the world am I going to do all this reading?/how in the world am I going to pay all these bills?").

There were times when I was filled with doubt, and the voices that told me I never should have left my job, should have followed Drew to Houston, etc. were hard to quiet.

But, in the end, I did it.

I'm not going to lie: law school is hard.  Law school while being on the road doing comedy, working part-time, and interning is doubly hard. Law school while being on the road doing comedy, working part-time, interning, and not knowing many people in your new town/having your partner move out of state/living alone is triply hard.

But, I got through it. On the days I didn't want to get out of bed. On the days I didn't think I could possibly cram more into my brain. On the days I passed out, fully clothed, at my computer. I got through it.

Along the way, I met amazing people, and I realized that I am so lucky because I have quite the support team in my corner.  Whenever I needed someone or something, it somehow seemed to appear. When I needed someone to listen to me cry, I was gifted with a willing ear. When I needed make-up notes from a class I missed, one of my new friends provided me with those. And when I needed some home-cooked meals, my mother loaded me up with tupperware full of them. I received countless check-in calls and cards of encouragement, and I even got a care package of homemade marinara sauce and pickles (thanks Tim!). To say I'm grateful for the awesome people in my life would be an understatement.

In addition to learning Torts, Property, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Research, and Advocacy, I also learned the following:

-the parking meter enforcers at MSU are no joke; I'm pretty sure I spent more on parking tickets than I did on books

-it's possible to need Botox after one really tough semester (that's right, I said need. Pumping your face full of botulism moves beyond a mere want once stress has caused you to have an eleven permanently engraved between your eyebrows)

-free food always tastes the best, and there's not a lot I won't do to get it

 -procrastination is not your friend

-nor is the Bluebook

-wine, however, is definitely your friend

-I actually kind of dig wearing suits (and posing like a news anchor, as evidenced below)