Shhhh

Law school is different. I tried to prepare myself for this, and I repeated the mantra all summer, "law school is NOT going to be like my college exprience, law school is not going to be like my..." But nonetheless, I'm taken aback. For starters, it's a lot harder. And it takes a lot more concentration.

Instead of studying in my space, as I always did in college, I've taken to reading in the "absolute quiet room", as my law school friends have nick-named it. It's a typical reading room, with soft light glowing from opaque tinted glass, long wooden tables, a few leather couches, and two full length windows that let in great afternoon sun. At 4:45 when I push open the swinging glass doors there is a student in just about every wooden slat-backed chair, all diligently hunched over books and laptops. I've never seen a library space so well-used. Or heard one so silent!

It is a sin to even whisper in the absolute quiet room, and the lord help you if you make any kind of bodily noise because there is no denying it here.

Witness this afternoon's episode: A guy who was sitting on one of the couches apparently likes to rock out while reading. His tunes were so loud (probably not that loud in any other normal circumstances) that they (along with the pin dropping and the water dripping) could be heard throughout the room. All the other students in the room started chuckling to themselves, and then to one another while this guy continued to jam to his torts reading. After all heads were turned his way and he continued to party on, oblivious, the statute of funny tolerance was up (that took all of 2 minutes among this crowd), and someone asked him to turn it down.