Legally Liza

My friend A.M. was in town this weekend and found it amusing to refer to me as "Legally Liza" every time he had the opportunity. The truth is, I've completed only half a semester of law school and I still feel like maybe I am here illegally. Pretty soon ICE is going to come and deport me back to undergrad.

Being in law school is like returning to high school. We have lockers. We have class together with the same group of people. I've had to return to using my backpack, because I am no longer just carrying around paperback versions of the Iliad or Uncle Tom's Cabin but 1,000+ page casebooks, notebooks, supplements, and 20 highlighters of varying colors. On any given day, it probably weighs close to 50 pounds. I have a lunchbox. And because we are around each other all day every day, there is gossip. Lots of it.

Don't get me wrong, most of the time I LOVE Law school. I like reading the opinions, figuring out the rules of law that apply, and trying to guess the ending before I get there. I like how after I finish underlining all the relevant things in the case in my color-coded strategy that it looks like a rainbow of information. I like how my professors make jibes at us if we are unprepared, and continue to find ways to make us laugh at ourselves and the material. I think that without this humor (and the fear that I will get called on and ridiculed), I would fall asleep in every class.

And that's probably what I was most unprepared for. I spend roughly 15 hours a day in class or reading. I typically go to bed at 1:30 or 2, and wake up at 7:00. Thursday and Friday get a little better, but for the most part its grueling schedule. Before I was to lazy to make a pot of coffee, but now it's the first thing I do every morning. Yesterday I bought 3 12-packs of diet coke so that I have some variety in my caffeine intake. The other thing I was unprepared for was the extreme loneliness that haunts you every day. Studying law is not really best done in groups. Its done alone, in your cubicle, surrounded by books. Luckily I have great classmates that plan some social events to break up this monotony, but usually I am alone. For an extremely sociable person like me, it's my equivalent of hell.

The other life-saving thing about law school is my acapella group, Headnotes. Its the one thing I look forward to, and we rehearse twice a week. For some reason, belting out high notes and hearing all of our voices come together in perfect harmony is a better stress-reliever than yoga. We have a few performances coming up next month and I am really excited to finally be performing again in front of people.

Although I occasionally feel upset about things, I try to remember that every transition takes time. Maybe soon I will begin to feel like I am part of this institution; but for right now I still feel like a stranger in a strange land...

Lauren Helps Me Write My Paper...

This is what I get after I ask my sister to help me summarize some points to my research paper:

Story - Girl lives in NY, lush, slut, anorexic, shopaholic, works in clothing factory, cotton particles of fire in her lungs, roommate says she is going to get TB if she doesn’t let her momma her, bf = sickness, doesn’t listen, dances, TB, too much dancing, stops at TBA and read symptoms, so her own damn fault, bitch is dumb, doctor says go to the country, meets another TB victim, and had TB sex….leading to a super TB. Ew."


I think I'm going to have to get some one who actually knows a bit about history to help me with this one...

So What?

I have run into a brick wall for this research paper. I've got my conclusion : The discovery of the tubercule bacillus by Robert Koch in 1882 and the subsequent public health movement lead by Lawrence Flick changed social perceptions of tuberculosis. Instead of being a beautifying, romantic disease of the noble elites it became the disease of the working-class, immigrants, and blacks. This change can be seen in fictional literature published in the early 20th century.

While this works as a research topic, it still fails to answer the question, So what? Why do we care?

And the problem is, I really don't have an answer for that. It's the same question I've been struggling with since I got started on the paper. I think the problem with this could be that I didn't choose my topic.

There comes a point when you have to stop researching and start writing. But when do you know when to finally stop? I think, (1) when you can finally answer the question So What? or (2) when you realize your paper is due in a week and you have to meet the deadline.

I'm hoping I can get to (1) before I am forced to accept (2).

Hypergraphia, and Other News

According to my friend Kyle, I have an incessant need to write. I think this might be true. But, several famous authors were sufferers of hypergraphia, so I don't think that it is entirely a bad thing.

In 24 hours I will be at home, with my family and doggie. The only problem is I have a ridiculous amount of things to do between now and then. First, I have to finish writing a paper for French class. Then I have to go check out a couple more books from Taubman, which means a hike up to the medical campus. Afterwards I must do more laundry, pack my suitcase, and write an outline/abstract for my paper.

I'm really feeling the pain of 4 hours of sleep and 3 cups of coffee.

Christmas can not come soon enough!

Re-Search

I hate the word Research. I mean, if you break it down, your basically searching for something that's already been found so you are re-searching it. Which makes me wonder why someone couldn't have just made me a list of key points so that I can write this damn paper instead of researching for all these sources, finding out there not at my library, then waiting for interlibrary loan... sigh. At least Google books is proving to by somewhat helpful.

At the present, I have approximately 1,000 pages I need to read before Tuesday, an outline for my paper due, a 2 page French composition, a rewrite of a 10-page paper, and an oral presentation to prepare for in French. And people HONESTLY wonder why I have anxiety. I think it's pretty obvious.

I need to find some restaurants to blog about for class next week. Anyone have ideas?

White Horse

I've been really busy lately with school and a new blogging projects for a class here at the UofM, so I'm sorry if you've all been left to wonder where I've gone.

School is going okay so far, although there is a very real possibility of me not passing French which will mean that I need to take it again next year. I'm usually good in French but my professor this semester is ridiculous. We had a quiz today and she quizzed us on a reading we never went over in class but that we were "suppose" to read on our own. Honestly, I think she forgot we hadn't gone over it but then she was angry because we told her that she hadn't taught us to it yet. Oh well. If I have to take it again next semester I'll take it with a different professor.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about how I have unrealistic expectations. And I realized that maybe I wouldn't get as stressed out as much if I just stopped making so many expectations and goals for myself. For example, my history professor this semester told us that he would select one paper to publish in the UofM History of Medicine Journal and so now I've been psyching myself out all semester for this stupid paper because I want to get published. But, realistically, I haven't found that much original research so the actual chances of me getting published are nill.

Maybe I should quit praying for miracles and just start asking for patience.

Also, I just downloaded some songs off the new Taylor Swift CD today. I know that it's not cool to like Country music, but give me a break. I'm from Tennessee. =)

That I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet,
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town,
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you
And your white horse, to come around

Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairytale
I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well
This is a big world, that was a small town
There in my rearview mirror disappearing now
And its too late for you and your white horse
Now its too late for you and your white horse, to catch me now

What's With The Rain?

It's been raining here in Ann Arbor nearly non-stop all weekend. I do not like rain. If there was a "Stuff Liza DOES NOT Like" here on this blog, Rain would be #1 for sure. I hate that my pants get wet and then when I sit on them my butt gets wet. I hate that my hair goes from being sort of puffy to an afro in a matter of 5 minutes. I hate that I feel sticky everywhere I go. I hate that my umbrella does not prevent my arms from getting wet. I hate the rain.

I managed to get a fair amount of homework done this weekend though, on account of the rain. I'm trying to get a lot of stuff wrapped up before Emily's wedding this weekend so I can focus on spending time with my family (it's one of my goals for '08-'09 so let's hope I do better than last year). I'm excited for wedding cake and baking cookies with Grandma =)

Today I also checked out the University Lutheran Chapel on campus. I really liked the small feel of the service and the fact that they have communion. Maybe I will go to the Lutheran church in the mornings and to Core at New Life in the evenings. I know what you are thinking..."Woah that's a lot of church!" It's good though, I probably need it. And as it's the only thing right now not stressing me out it gets me through the week. So yay for God and church families =)

Now, if I could only secure a recommendation for the Honors program, find a way to be the best RA ever, and manage to be swept off my feet by my Prince Charming my life would be all set.