The First Year Forty

When I was at WSU doing my undergrad, much was made of the dreaded 'Freshmen Fifteen'. It referred to the 15 lbs that all students seem to put on during their first year at college. It was probably the lack of substantial exercise compounded by regular binge drinking and pizza delivery that did it. Anyway, it was dreaded and the source of much catty whispering in the cafeteria. Good times.

Well, I'd like to coin a new term for something weight-related that occurs your first year of law school: 'The First Year Forty'. In this case, however, the 40 lbs is not fat but paper. I just bought my books today. Just the required ones. Stacked on the scale, they weigh 35.5 lbs. The 'recommended' and necessary-though-not-required guide books and study guides that I'll be picking up over the next week will easily put me over the mark. One woman I met in the computer lab today told me that she had to bring a friend to the bookstore because she knew she couldn't possibly carry them all at once.

My first thought after schlepping these bad boys home was "They couldn't possibly expect us to read all this". Then I glanced at a few of the syllabi that have been published online and realized, "holy shit, we have to read all this." A note to anyone considering a visit to us in Boston in the next nine months: bring me coffee and don't expect anything more from me than a howdy during a potty break. That is all.

Also, I know I've been slack in responding to emails lately. I fully intend on replying to everyone very soon. It maybe the last you hear from me...

S.