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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Some fascinating thoughts:
1. I'm looking at other law schools' modules (because I am still weighing the benefits of going for exchange) AND I really prefer their syllabi. I'm talking about UK schools.
Why?
a) They spread out some modules over 1 year instead of half a year (e.g. tort law, property law, equity and trusts). Now THAT makes so much more sense. Based on my experience, we are extremely prone to walking out of class either feeling like we've learnt nothing at all or feeling like no amount of studying is ever going to help because every class just makes us feel more confused than ever. More than once, I've thought that I would be able to understand my stuff so much better if only I had more time to absorb them. PLUS random holidays like Easter and summer break for me to mull over deep dark concepts. Here, we just force-feed ourselves readings with no rest for 13 weeks and that's how we prepare for exams in week 15. (This kind of method could work both ways: either it produces extremely fine foie gras or... I don't know, you think about it.)
Sorry, I'm exaggerating again, and I know exaggeration and tantrums cloud judgement, but there is more than a grain of truth in there.
And it could just be the saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" at work.

b) They have interesting modules.
Okay, we do too. But they have wacky modules about things such as how law interacts with gender perceptions. Do we?

I guess you should know by now that I'm really not proud of it. And I'm not proud of myself. The only thing I applaud myself for is my perseverance. (Try asking me what achievements I've had recently that I'm proud of, and you'll be greeted with a resounding silence. This is me, stripped bare of flamboyant flourishes, and this is me, distilled down to perseverance, and reeking of neuroticism.)
AND please pretend you don't know which school I'm from. I don't want to be sued for defamation. I don't want to impose my views on anyone. I mean, I would be absolutely fine with it everyone else was happy at school and I'm the only who's not. So please take my views with many pinches of salt.

2. I realize that I'm in the deep end of the pool.
I'm definitely the phytoplankton in the ocean. As a prof has reminded us, we are the phytoplankton in the ocean and we've gotta work real hard to prove our salt. Sorry, our chlorophyll.
I can't float along with the currents aimlessly. I need to a) know what I'm doing; b) why I'm doing it; c) do it good.
This was a rather startling thought that shook me out of my blissful holiday oblivion. I should be able to return to that oblivion tomorrow.

3. I am as indecisive as ever.
I cannot decide if I should go on exchange or not. I've changed my mind every few days. (Kind of telling, what if next time I cannot decide if I want to get married, or have kids, or... whatever. Whatever.)
On one side of the scale, there's all the stuff like adventure, the unknown, the thrill of being in a different environment, self-discovery and freedom. Sure it will be tough; an exchange is not an extended holiday, especially if you're talking about a law exchange. But it will be... a different scenery. Also, I estimate that the demand for student exchanges will go up in 2015 Fall, whereas demand seems low/non-existent (not sure though) for 2015 Spring. Vague, uncertain ideas that seem to promise adventure. 人不可以留在安全区,不然不会前进. Is this something I would regret not doing 5 years down the road?
On the other side of the scale:
a) Parental (dis)approval
b) Money (I would be draining my family's finances; that's something I would not be proud of; it's not my money I'm spending but somebody else's hard-earned money).
For UK, the cheapest option seems to be University of Southampton.
c) I will probably miss out on all the internship and training contract applications if I'm on exchange. And... I'm not sure how serious the repercussions are if I miss out on them. Either I'm lucky and I get accepted when I come back anyway, or... I don't.
d) Can I really take care of myself in a foreign land? Although I'm pretty sure that's something I could learn, it would come with... some unhappiness.
e) How much am I really going to benefit from an exchange? Am I simply overrating overseas universities?

4. I wish I could be easier to understand.
I don't know what to do with myself. Other people sure seem to know what they want to do with themselves. A comforting thought is I'm pretty sure I'm learning about this as I enter my 20s.
So, because I had nothing to do and I wanted to stay on the computer to listen to my favourite songs on YouTube, I did some random personality tests on Oprah Winfrey's website, which didn't help because I'm still as confused as ever. And I shall be pasting the results here for myself to refer to in future. I'm gonna sound really self-absorbed (if I haven't already); stay away if self-absorption disgusts you. Or you can go do it if you want to: click HERE.
Striving style:

Career recommendations:
Coach, Police Officer, Events Promoter, Family Lawyer, Nutritionist, Investigator, Broker, Travel Agent or Tour Operator.

Oh... okay. Family lawyer?? Maybe. But now I don't want to believe my test results. 

What's holding me back?

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