Dear Miss Demeanor
Life, Love, Lust, and Law School
Law school is a lot like high school (except perhaps with a bit more alcohol, competition, and despair), which means you will experience no shortage of drama, relationships, random flings, and twentysomething angst. And despite the fact that we each have an entire library’s worth of textbooks in our backpacks and briefcases, there appears to be a dearth of resources providing answers to life’s more complicated questions. So now, here to answer your itching and burning questions (and questions about itching and burning), is Miss Demeanor. Best of all, I promise to never cite a single case in giving advice.
Dear Miss Demeanor,
I am a male 2L who is looking to date a female 1L. I don’t really care which one; I just want a chance to fish in a new pond. Any pointers?
-Older and Wiser Man
It’s nice to see you’re discriminating in your selection process. Nevertheless, I appreciate your ambition and advise you to use your recent experience as a 1L to get your foot in the door. Remember how clueless you felt about the law school process? Remember how all of the books in the library looked identical? Remember how tough it was to prepare for your first exams? As a 2L, you know the answers to these and other law school conundrums, so find a 1L that catches your eye (or, by your standards, just one that appears to be free of communicable diseases) and offer to pass this knowledge onto her. You can share your experiences, your study tips, your favorite places to drink in Arlington, and eventually, your Chapstick. Good luck.
Dear Miss Demeanor,
I have a problem. I just finished my first week of law school, and my boyfriend is already giving me a hard time about not making time for him. I’ve already explained to him that my classes are very demanding and that I want to make new friends and participate in extracurricular activities, but it feels like he just doesn’t understand. He complains that all I ever do is spend time at school or at home studying, but I can’t help it! What should I do?
-Baffled in Ballston
As far as I see it, you have two choices: you can try to help your boyfriend understand how demanding your education will be for the next three years, or you can kiss him goodbye. Your letter didn’t specify how long you’ve been with this boyfriend or how serious the relationship is, but if it is important enough to you, you should be able to make it work. Talk to your boyfriend about your classes and your homework so that he understands what you are up against in school. Bring him to social events so he can meet your classmates and hear other firsthand experiences about how challenging law school can be. If this doesn’t work, or if this sounds like too much work, then dump him. Move on to dating one of your new classmates; at least they’ll be suffering right along with you.
Need advice? Write to AskMissDemeanor@gmail.com