Losing Cool Points

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