As the fall semester winds down, we asked several first-year students to compare and contrast their Pierce Law experience with their expectations prior to entering law school. Students we spoke with reported a common theme: law school is hard work.

Emily Hahn said that she "anticipated it to be a very tough year" but wasn't prepared for the little amount of free time to see friends and family. Emily knows that managing her stress level is key to being productive and credits "Thursday happy hour's at Penuche's and getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night" as big stress relievers. It's no surprise that her plans for winter break include "sleeping a lot, eating home cooked food," and spending time with her boyfriend.

Brian Buonamano doesn't feel much different about law school now that he's got a semester under his belt. "Things haven't really changed. I thought it would be a tough but I'm surviving." Brian's response is typical of students who devote a majority of their day to going to class and studying. After arriving around 8:00 AM each day, Brian sequesters himself in the library until around 7:00 PM when he emerges for dinner. Yet it's not all work as he takes time to join his fellow students for Thursday happy hour. Over winter break, Brian plans to work extra hours at his part time job and catch up with friends from college.

Lillian Bozonie wanted to continue working part-time when she came to Pierce Law but "I quickly decided to focus on my studies." She points out that her day is filled with classes, study groups and TA sessions. "I get up and head to school around 7:15am and stay until sometime between 7:15 and 9:15 PM." The outside observer might think that leaves little time for Lillian to relax but she disagrees. "Baking is my primary form of stress relief" and she does it weekly. Lillian doesn't venture out much during the academic year but finds Concord "very pretty." Perhaps that's why she'll be spending most of winter break in Concord before heading to her hometown for the holidays.

The 1L year is often cited as the most difficult of a law student's education. While most students aren't likely to disagree, their testimonials suggest it's all about finding a balance. Every student's studying habits and methods will differ. Some will find it productive to spend several hours a day reviewing material in the library while others will attend a TA session and then take in a movie. A first-year student simply has to ask him or herself what works best for them.