The real world is fast approaching. Only one more semester of law school remains for me, if everything goes according to plan.
One of the things that I will miss most about law school is being around a bunch of bright and witty people in their early and mid 20s. My brain tells me that I am the same age as this group. If I did not know how old I was, I would say that I am 23. The face I see in the mirror is beginning to tell me a different story, though. Almost all of my friends from high school and college are now married with children. Quite a few have found me on Facebook after years without contact. It is startling how different some of them look. I wonder if I appear just as different to them.
A great thing about hanging out with law school students is that they help keep me on track with what is cool. I've never had a feel for that. When I was in high school, I remember playing in a pick up basketball game. One guy in particular trash talked a lot. I sank a shot in his face, and then tried to come up with some cool and original trash talk of my own. I can't remember what I said, but everyone stopped playing and burst into laughter. One of my teammates looked at me and said, "Dude, you just lost mad cool points." I had to laugh, too, as I'd never heard that phrase before.
While I may never be able to recognize on my own what is cool, being around students has helped. If I had never gone back to school, it is doubtful that I ever would have learned that wearing your shirt tail outside of your jeans is cool (if the shirt tail is not too long). I never would have learned that dark jeans are cooler than light jeans (the exact opposite of when I grew up), that my jeans should be so long that they are almost dragging the floor, that Mad Men is a cool TV show (I've watched three or four episodes- I guess I can see why), that Jersey Shore is also a cool TV show (though just why it is cool is more of a puzzle to me), that running in bulky sweat clothes is not as cool as running in sleek spandex type material which will keep you just as warm, that The North Face brand name is cool, that denim collars are not cool, and neither are sweaters that Bill Cosby might wear (at least such sweaters are not cool on me). I also would never have established a Facebook account if I had not gone back to school. Before I set up the account in 2007, I asked a friend which would be better- Facebook or MySpace. He replied, "MySpace is so 2006." There are also dozens of cool videos on YouTube or other websites that I never would have discovered on my own. The list can go on...
Of course, a lot of what is cool now will not be cool five years from now. And when I leave law school, I'll lose touch. It is somewhat of a concern for me, once I begin the practice of law. The school environment has made me happy. I hope I can stay happy once I am sitting behind a desk at a law firm, just me and a computer screen for hours each day. Except for the occasional interruption of a partner or other lawyer coming in to talk to me, I will be alone with my thoughts. There will be no array of law school students to study and observe and with whom I can exchange ideas. I know that I will quickly lose all of my accumulated "cool points."
While I will hate to lose this ability to recognize cool people and things, I have long since become comfortable with the fact that I am usually not cool myself. I think there has been just one night in my whole life when I passed for cool, and I have law school to thank for it. That was the night that the Mock Trial Team called me to say that I'd made the team. I was at Potbelly's club when the team members called my cell phone. Many of those who tried out were enjoying a combined social event there with Florida State's law school and medical school students. Word got around that I had made the team. Girls came up to me as I stood along the wall and asked me to dance with them. Some called me a "Rock Star" and a "Baller." A few gave me looks like I've never seen directed at me before or since that night. For that moment in time, I was cool.
We will see what the future holds. I have no idea where I will be or what I will be doing one year from now. Hopefully, my hard work at Florida State Law will turn into a career where perhaps, just perhaps, I can enjoy a few more nights of passing for cool.
Until Next Time,
Nathan Marshburn
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Back to the Future in the Civic Center Parking Lot
One night a few weeks ago, I left the law school library close to midnight. Walking up Pensacola Street toward the multi-decked garage where my car was located, I passed by the large and now totally empty Leon County Civic Center parking lot. It had rained that night, a warm soaking rain that made the orange glow of the street lamps reflect off the asphalt.
A lone car zoomed up from behind me on Pensacola, and then cut in front of me to zip into the Civic Center parking lot. I recognized it as an old model Toyota Celica.
To my fascination, the driver turned his wheels sharply and slid his car across the lot, nearly going up on two wheels. The driver began doing all sorts of sliding stunts at a high rate of speed. I stopped walking and leaned up against a railing to watch the show. He put his car in reverse, floored the gas pedal, then whipped the car around to speed forward. More than once, I thought the car was going to flip over.
The nighttime stunts in this large, empty lot reminded me immediately of a couple of scenes from Back to the Future, one of the great movies of the 80s and one of the best time travel movies ever made. In one scene from the film, Marty McFly has to get a DeLorean up to 88 mph in an empty mall parking lot to jump back in time and escape terrorists. At the end of the movie, there is another scene where Marty travels back to that same moment and is actually able to watch himself from a distance as the DeLorean races through the mall parking lot.
I felt a little like I was in a movie, leaning up against a railing and watching this car speeding and skidding across the lot. The driver continued his tricks for about two or three minutes before zooming out of the lot and away down Pensacola Street...
While this story has little to do with law school (and not to condone what was probably illegal activity), it was unique to come out of the law library after many hours of study and be entertained by a real life scene reminiscent of one of my favorite childhood movies.
I tried to find a movie clip on the Internet of the two scenes from Back to the Future that I am talking about. Nothing was very good, though. Instead, I found an enthralling clip on YouTube that a guy almost as nerdy as me about the movie has posted. He retraces in his own car the route that the DeLorean took through the actual Twin Pines Mall parking lot- only it is the daytime, cars are everywhere, and he is driving much, much slower. Check it out. Or not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51c-lRPokj8
Until Next Time,
Nathan Marshburn
A lone car zoomed up from behind me on Pensacola, and then cut in front of me to zip into the Civic Center parking lot. I recognized it as an old model Toyota Celica.
To my fascination, the driver turned his wheels sharply and slid his car across the lot, nearly going up on two wheels. The driver began doing all sorts of sliding stunts at a high rate of speed. I stopped walking and leaned up against a railing to watch the show. He put his car in reverse, floored the gas pedal, then whipped the car around to speed forward. More than once, I thought the car was going to flip over.
The nighttime stunts in this large, empty lot reminded me immediately of a couple of scenes from Back to the Future, one of the great movies of the 80s and one of the best time travel movies ever made. In one scene from the film, Marty McFly has to get a DeLorean up to 88 mph in an empty mall parking lot to jump back in time and escape terrorists. At the end of the movie, there is another scene where Marty travels back to that same moment and is actually able to watch himself from a distance as the DeLorean races through the mall parking lot.
I felt a little like I was in a movie, leaning up against a railing and watching this car speeding and skidding across the lot. The driver continued his tricks for about two or three minutes before zooming out of the lot and away down Pensacola Street...
While this story has little to do with law school (and not to condone what was probably illegal activity), it was unique to come out of the law library after many hours of study and be entertained by a real life scene reminiscent of one of my favorite childhood movies.
I tried to find a movie clip on the Internet of the two scenes from Back to the Future that I am talking about. Nothing was very good, though. Instead, I found an enthralling clip on YouTube that a guy almost as nerdy as me about the movie has posted. He retraces in his own car the route that the DeLorean took through the actual Twin Pines Mall parking lot- only it is the daytime, cars are everywhere, and he is driving much, much slower. Check it out. Or not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51c-lRPokj8
Until Next Time,
Nathan Marshburn
Friday, December 10, 2010
Exams, Gator Tail and a Cold Front
My fifth round of law school exams is now behind me. As exam seasons go, this time was less stressful than the other four. Most probably, it was due to experience and that I was pleased with how much I learned in studying for exams. A couple of classes came together for me more clearly over the last three weeks once I started preparing for the exam.
Still, it was a push. I remember one day this week, being in the library at a table and reading my class notes. A very bright friend of mine walked past the table. He is a fellow third year student, and on the law review. He was also in my "section" during the first year, meaning we had all of our first year classes together. You make a special bond with those students. As he walked past my table, he and I exchanged knowing looks. We'd both been through this before, and at that moment we were both in the thicket. We both knew what had to be done to be successful. He returned to his desk, and I looked back down to my notes as we continued our hours and hours of review... Now, I wait for the grades.
Before exams began, though, I took time to enjoy a huge annual event that alternates between Tallahassee and Gainesville- the football game between the Florida State Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators. Well over 80,000 people crowded into Doak Campbell Stadium on November 27th to watch the game.
At the tail gate prior to the game, I had the opportunity to taste gator tail for the first time in my life. This was not alligator meat that someone bought from the grocery store. One of my law school friends has a brother who actually went into the swamp on a fan boat and killed this gator with a bang stick.
They deep fried the meat right at the tail gate. It looked like chicken nuggets, and at first it tasted like chicken nuggets, too. After my fourth bite, though, a sort of gamey flavor covered my tongue- almost like a chemical. I was done. It was neat to try this new food, but I am also glad that they had hamburgers.
The football game itself was enjoyable, too. Florida State routed the Gators for the first time in several years. A large number of Florida State Law students were unhappy about that, though, as they spent their undergraduate years at UF...
A few days later, another new thing happened to me. I was walking back from the Suwannee Room dining hall, up Jefferson Street toward the law school. The sky had been patchy grey with clouds all day. Now it was after dark, but the weather was pleasantly warm enough to be dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. I reached the intersection of Macomb and Jefferson Streets, where the law school is. Cars were parked everywhere. Across from the law school is Leon County Civic Center, where Florida State plays its basketball games. At that moment, the men's team was taking on the #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes as part of the ACC/Big 10 challenge.
As I crossed the street to go into the library, a gust of frigid air struck me from out of nowhere. It suddenly became very windy, with tree limbs bending and leaves and twigs flying all over.
I realized that I had just experienced the very front edge of a cold front. This was the night of November 30th. By the next morning, the temperature had dropped drastically. I went for a run that day in ear muffs for the first time this season. On the morning of December 2nd, I had to scrape ice off of my car windows. It is still getting below freezing at night right now...
So, exams are done. I debated going out to celebrate with the first year students. I remember well what a huge relief it was to be done after both my first and second semesters of law school. But I think I will let the first years have this moment to themselves. They have their own "sections" with whom they have bonded, and I would have to work hard to match their energy level tonight, anyway.
So, it is off to North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with the family.
Until Next Time,
Nathan Marshburn
Still, it was a push. I remember one day this week, being in the library at a table and reading my class notes. A very bright friend of mine walked past the table. He is a fellow third year student, and on the law review. He was also in my "section" during the first year, meaning we had all of our first year classes together. You make a special bond with those students. As he walked past my table, he and I exchanged knowing looks. We'd both been through this before, and at that moment we were both in the thicket. We both knew what had to be done to be successful. He returned to his desk, and I looked back down to my notes as we continued our hours and hours of review... Now, I wait for the grades.
Before exams began, though, I took time to enjoy a huge annual event that alternates between Tallahassee and Gainesville- the football game between the Florida State Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators. Well over 80,000 people crowded into Doak Campbell Stadium on November 27th to watch the game.
At the tail gate prior to the game, I had the opportunity to taste gator tail for the first time in my life. This was not alligator meat that someone bought from the grocery store. One of my law school friends has a brother who actually went into the swamp on a fan boat and killed this gator with a bang stick.
They deep fried the meat right at the tail gate. It looked like chicken nuggets, and at first it tasted like chicken nuggets, too. After my fourth bite, though, a sort of gamey flavor covered my tongue- almost like a chemical. I was done. It was neat to try this new food, but I am also glad that they had hamburgers.
The football game itself was enjoyable, too. Florida State routed the Gators for the first time in several years. A large number of Florida State Law students were unhappy about that, though, as they spent their undergraduate years at UF...
A few days later, another new thing happened to me. I was walking back from the Suwannee Room dining hall, up Jefferson Street toward the law school. The sky had been patchy grey with clouds all day. Now it was after dark, but the weather was pleasantly warm enough to be dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. I reached the intersection of Macomb and Jefferson Streets, where the law school is. Cars were parked everywhere. Across from the law school is Leon County Civic Center, where Florida State plays its basketball games. At that moment, the men's team was taking on the #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes as part of the ACC/Big 10 challenge.
As I crossed the street to go into the library, a gust of frigid air struck me from out of nowhere. It suddenly became very windy, with tree limbs bending and leaves and twigs flying all over.
I realized that I had just experienced the very front edge of a cold front. This was the night of November 30th. By the next morning, the temperature had dropped drastically. I went for a run that day in ear muffs for the first time this season. On the morning of December 2nd, I had to scrape ice off of my car windows. It is still getting below freezing at night right now...
So, exams are done. I debated going out to celebrate with the first year students. I remember well what a huge relief it was to be done after both my first and second semesters of law school. But I think I will let the first years have this moment to themselves. They have their own "sections" with whom they have bonded, and I would have to work hard to match their energy level tonight, anyway.
So, it is off to North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with the family.
Until Next Time,
Nathan Marshburn
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