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FearAndAnxiety 30 - 10 Feb 2010 - Main.FranciscoGuzman
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| | When Eben talks about the fear and anxiety created by law school, grades, and dwindling firm jobs, does this resonate with you? How about fear that you won't find something that you are passionate about, that fulfills you, and that allows you to support yourself and your family?
I wished that Eben had spoken more to that fear and anxiety today in class, and more specifically, what to do about it. | | | I'll submit that the anxiety level is probably the same -- and also to Severo's point, made in person, that many (most?) of those people who on the first day said they wanted a public interest job will more likely than not end up working at a firm upon graduation. But I do maintain that there is something particularly coercive -- and sometimes noxious -- about certain elements of New York's legal culture. And I wonder still how much our exposure to that culture early on bears on what we end up doing with our law degrees.
-- GloverWright - 09 Feb 2010 | |
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@Rory
I think that the level of anxiety that has been discussed here does not depend entirely on the city or the university where you are. You mentioned that it was similar in Gtown and I know it is also the same for many people in my law school in Chile, a completely different culture and educational system.
Regarding the source of the anxiety, I believe that the particular character of the person plays a significant role. There are people who are more obsessive about their own future and have a stronger need of certainty (maybe more risk averse?) than others. At the same time I have met people here in Columbia and from other law schools that seem to be more relaxed about their grades and their future and who are very good students at the same time. Unfortunately, I cannot think of many students of this latter type and the majority fits better in the former classification.
The other factor, which I consider the most important source of anxiety, is the pressure to be successful imposed by society. Apparently, at some point the only choices that students face are to be successful (measured mainly, if not only, by grades) or a complete failure. But I do not believe that this is an exclusive characteristic of law schools. I know people in other careers facing the same situation. In my case, even in high school I felt a very strong pressure to have a good performance in order to be accepted in the university that I wanted. Therefore, I think there is a whole system which threats students with the idea that if they are not among the very best, they have no future at all.
-- FranciscoGuzman - 10 Feb 2010 | | | |
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