People are so much more happy and friendly as 3Ls. I haven't quite figured out why. I think maybe there's less stress. Lots of people know what they're doing after they graduate so they no longer feel the need to self-rank themselves among their classmates, perhaps. Or they just don't care anymore. There are still those few people who live and breathe for the competition. Most of them are on Law Review.

The really striking thing isn't the happiness or friendliness, but the openness. People are so much more willing to talk about their fears, their shortcomings, their insecurities. There's this unspoken idea, especially during your first year, that if you admit that law school scares you or you're worried that you can't do it or that you won't do well, some how you've admitted that you below everyone else. Even though everyone feels the same way - at least sometimes. Some people just continue to fake confidence, no matter what. It's so much better to confront those fears and figure out where they come from. Those people who keep faking it are robots. And I don't mean it in a tired metaphorical way. They are stiff, monotone, and emotionless.

A friend of mine yesterday told me that when he when to CPDC to get interview advice for OCI last year, they told him that you must stay confident, no matter what. If you have NO IDEA what you're talking about, it doesn't matter. Just keep talking. Keep up the confident exterior and you'll do well. You'll get the job. He was narrating this story as a way to describe his impressions of this.

I have to take Professional Responsibility this year.It is generally understood to be the most boring, obvious, useless class. Admittedly, I have barely read 10 pages for it over the last two weeks. But I am continually disturbed by culture that is engendered amongst lawyers and lawmakers.