I want to do Good....but not that good

Ramblings Post #18
That time of the season when law professors start talking about that outline that we should have started working on that second week of January - started mine during spring break before I realized my notes sucked - and a first year law student's brain starts to turn to thoughts of "what the hell did I get myself into?" But before all that happens though, I got a couple more hurdles I got to get past, starting with that other speaking thing...

The second set of oral presentations is in the books and all that's left is the mandatory fake jury duty and it's over, and I can concentrate on what are called my "substantive" courses. The classes with those one shot exams we all love. Unless of course, I did too well, in which case I get lucky enough to have something else to concentrate on and get to do it all over again. Sweet!

Really? No not really, the best 16 presenters of the first year law students get to go onto our own little version of March Madness, doing our presentations again, and if we're really good, even again, all while prepping for finals. Oral presentations are a large part of the law if you going courtroom, and helps a lot in regular presentations and the like. But this is one of those rare occasions where you want to do well, but not too well. You know, like figuring out how to get it right on the green without knowing where the green is.

Easy.

So you want to good enough to get all ten of the points you get for your actual grade, but not so good that you end up having to do more work than 90% of your classmates.

I'm still trying to figure out who the judges are looking at, both of the judges (we get new ones each argument) this time told me I looked comfortable at the podium and seemed almost too casual. One said they could see me as a good litigator. I must be the world's greatest actor (missed my calling) because I was nervous as hell this second time around as well, after having invested a semester in one view of the case and then having to tear it apart on the other side, with only a week of prep time. I traded notes with my opposing council from the week before (it's allowed) and that softened the blow some, plus she used some of my stuff in her argument which the judge liked too.

But now comes the waiting for the news of how we did. You want to place fairly high, so you get all the points, but...well you know. The finals are going to be hard enough. Our Sunday afternoon tutor has already said one of my profs just "likes to mess with you"...well, she didn't use the word "mess".

I take heart because the judges are already raving about one or two people, and I'm hoping to just miss by that much. Is that wrong? Well if doing that is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Barkeep, I need one of them down the stretch dranks.