Student Contribution: Madeleine French
This week on Damages Incurred, we spent the week following in the footsteps of a third-year to delve deeper into the phenomenon that is the law student’s social life.
Meet Mark, a Deakin law student striving successfully develop his legal career. His weekdays are a blur of case readings and cold coffee spent in the depths of the library. He had mastered the art of attending networking events without actually networking, armed with a LinkedIn page shrouded in professionalism and a perpetual smile. He could navigate a room of legal luminaries with ease.
He had once believed in the myth of "work-life balance." He juggled lectures, seminars, and a part-time job, all while trying to maintain friendships outside the legal bubble. His attempts to schedule lunch catch-ups and evening outings often ended in last-minute cancellations or rain checks. He once attempted to schedule a "brief" coffee break with a friend, only to realize that he hadn't seen sunlight in three days. His social life is elusive—rumoured to exist but not forged in reality. His weekends are spent deciphering cryptic lecture notes and preparing for mock trials, his friends often joke that his social calendar resembled a courtroom docket—full of deadlines, devoid of spontaneity and lacking in emotional resonance.
As the semester wore on, his professors marvelled at his dedication and commitment to his studies. However, in turn, he mutters about the irony of studying justice while neglecting his own social life.
And so, dear reader, if you ever find yourself navigating the labyrinth of law school life, remember that while ambition is admirable, the pursuit of laughter and camaraderie is equally essential. For in the end, it is not just the cases we study but the connections we forge that define our journey to success.
