I hear my alarm clock buzzing
But my body refuses to budge
It needs another shot of caffeine
In the form of a latte with mocha-fudge
But it can’t allow itself that indulgence
Because then that time will be eaten away
Leaving me with yet another 15 fewer
In the count of minutes to my day
So I’ll fight the urge back
Get right back on the track
For I know the dreaded rule
I’ve still gotta cram
In prep for the next exam
I’m so totally sick of school.
This is law school, so I prepare
Study till my brain turns to gel
This is law school, so I better not slack
Because it’s death if one doesn’t do well
I’m told if you’re not in the top 10
You’ll be looked at by all as a jerk
You’ll be pitied by every employer
And, of course, you’ll never find work
You’ll watch your friends slave away in a firm
While you’re left working 9-5
Or be so miserably waiting tables
You might wish you weren’t alive
So might as well get used to this quite early
This lifestyle that seems rather cruel
Got to become a nice sweet workaholic
Despite being totally sick of school
I’ve got an hour of reading for torts
And a memorandum to write
There’s no chance in the world
I can hope to catch
A glimpse of sleep tonight
Got a midterm coming this friday
Plan to read 3 cases ahead
How I’m yearning to rekindle the relationship
I once had with my pillow and bed
I’ll grab a sandwich instead of a salad,
For that’s easier to wolf-down
Pick the nearest market to go to
I don’t have the time now to stroll around town
At noon there’s no time to take a walk
In a park that’s beautiful or serene
I have an interview for an externship
And have to meet with the dean
At least there’s a bright-looking future
They say the start of work life is all the worse
Though you acquire a bad vocabulary in law school,
That’s when you really begin to curse!
So I better get used to prison-full rote
Better get used to this gruel
Better get used to composing each memorandum and note
And get so much more sick of school
I sit looking outside my window
Wondering if there’s life beside
Full of laughter, and joy, and fun stuff
A world where happiness trumps people’s job pride
But not for me, no way no how
Not for us students, at least for now
Cuz they’ll laugh at me, and mock me
If I begin to complain or shed a tear
Call me a wimp for asking the question
What am I doing or why am I here?
They’ll ask me: Why’d we struggle to take the lsat
What about the tuition that you chose to pay?
I guess misery loves company
What else can I possibly say?
They’ll tell me, if you drop out, perhaps you’ll have a life
But you’ll be a loser in the law
And that’s something to avoid, at every cost
For it’s the world’s most fatalist flaw
So get ready…get set…get briefing
For you need not be a fool
Take a hornbook or easy outline
Even if you’re totally sick of school
It’s already 6PM,
and there’s so much to get done
Got to get my eyes glossing over hundreds of pages
While getting ready to start reading a ton
Have my fingers aright and lap-top ready
While keeping my brain super-sharp
Keep the world’s musings beside me
Let them go, just let them harp
Start with products liability theory
Continue till concepts in my brain start to swim
I’ll have to shove more info into my cerebrum
For the job market’s looking rather grim
And I guess I better finish this poem now
Or it will contain too many a rhyme
And then I won’t get very much done
While still keeping track of the time
Wish I could go back to my older-self
The one that thought lawyering is cool
And snap in some sense, prior to becoming so tense
And so totally sick of school