Hello beautiful people! What’s new? How are you? No, but really how are you. This post is just an attempt to answer that question with a general life update on (mostly) everything that I’m experiencing in life right now. Consider this to be like a Q&A that no one really asked for. After all, this blog is an opportunity for me to just express myself so if anything, this post is just for me to share for the sake of sharing. Feel free to leave a comment or send a DM just sharing how you’re doing. I’d genuinely be interested in chatting because. know these are still crazy times, despite what now feels like an attempt to normalize them. Alright, let’s get into it!
Law School
- So it’s my second year of law school and I’m here to tell you that it is no better than the first. There’s this idea that goes around about the first year of law school being the toughest. I’m not sure if it’s because of COVID (read: it probably is because of COVID) but that is a lie. Here’s why:
- Extracurriculars. The Second-year of law school sees more extracurricular involvement, such as journals and student organizations. I’m a staff editor on the Columbia Law Review and the Secretary for the Black Law Students Association. Those take up a significant amount of time.
- Job Hunting. By now I would have solidified and secured a job for my second summer of law school. Because of COVID-19, the application and interview process got moved from July 2020 to January 2021. This means that in addition to the extracurricular commitments I just mentioned, my inbox and schedule is constantly flooded with all kinds of virtual networking events in preparation for the January interview program. . .
- Oh and the school part too . . . and because of the interview program is now in January, and we second-year students only have one semester of letter grades under our belts, the academic stakes for the semester are higher. There was what felt like a push to take a sufficient number of “Black letter law” classes in preparation for job search season. Those tend to be the classes with heavier workloads. For reference, this semester I am taking (1) Law of the Political Process (i.e. Election Law), Criminal Adjudication (i.e. Criminal Procedure), Evidence, and a Seminar on Mass Incarceration.
- Needless to say, school is keeping me far too busy.
Blogging and #EniGivenSunday
- Overall things are going well. I’ve had to scale back on collaborations because of school. But I’ve had more paid opportunities which I’m excited about. But I still have the same standards and red flags for working with brands.
- As a result of the increased paid collabs, I was able to upgrade my camera equipment recently. I’m super excited by the quality of my photos.
Health and Wellness
- Managing stress. If you couldn’t tell from my law school section, and generally from the fact that we are still going through a worldwide pandemic, life is stressful. I’m trying to work on prioritizing mental health. I’m likely going to treat myself to a self-care weekend next weekend because I really do need it.
- Fitness. I’ve been able to maintain a workout schedule of six days a week, even if it’s only 20 minutes I can fit in. I don’t see myself going back to the gym anytime soon because cold weather makes it less likely for me to leave my home. So home workouts it is.
- Missed Routines. I miss my daily walks that I started during quarantine. I miss them deeply. But there really is not enough time in the day for me to do them before the sun sets.
Relationships
- Roommates. I recently had a change in my living situation. As a result, I’ve been enjoying giving my space a makeover. But don’t get me wrong, it can get lonely sometimes, so I have to be more intentional about reaching out to loved ones and keeping myself busy/distracted.
- Romance. See here.
- Friendships. I miss my friends. No other way to put it. Ironically, though I’m a native New Yorker, none of my closest friends girlfriends living here. COVID-19 further complicates travel and makes it difficult to tell when I’ll see people next. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip with friends to Grafton and I look forward to something similar in the future.
That’s all for my life updates at the moment! Thanks for making it to the end of this post. Once again, I truly hope you’re doing well. Enjoy the rest of your week!
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3: 8-9 (NIV)
