I suppose I should actually blog, no?

Obviously, I haven't been blogging much in the last month or so. I've been busy teaching, moving, getting settled in, and now, going through orientation. And I'm not really sure how much I want to or should blog (content not frequency).

Quite frankly, I'm sick of hearing "Law School is unlike any other educational experience you've had". Well DUH. If it was going to be like something else I've already done, why fucking bother?

Orientation has been interesting so far, interesting in a good way in that I am actually looking forward to starting classes, and in a weird way in that for the first time in over ten years, I'm being herded around with hordes of other people just as clueless. But the atmosphere is very different than undergrad.

I'm a hell of a lot more cynical, but actually a lot nicer, but the unrestrained friendliness and well, craziness, that I remember from Freshman Orientation isn't here. Or even the casual bonding that happened during the first few days of grad school. This is definitely professional school, people are friendly, but I can kind of tell we're all evaluating each other. The higher-ups (2Ls and 3Ls, as well as faculty and staff) keep telling us there isn't a cut-throat, competitive atmosphere here, which I believe. However, it is different. This is the first time in my life that I'm being graded on a real curve. Yea, we had them in undergrad, but...they were flexible.

It's weird being older than everyone else. While almost everyone I've talked to has been wonderfully friendly, I'm realizing that I need my social life and friend base to be outside of school. To put a weak twist on an old cliche, it's not them, it's me. Although this is assuming I have enough time for a social life...but based on the ton of books I lugged home the other day, I'm not going to.

I think my ultimate question is how will this next year compare to my most intense and stressful times in grad school and undergrad. I know the work and content will be very different, but it's my reaction and response that I'm wondering about. It's not a question I can answer for close to a year, I suppose.