High Expectations

I was speaking to an incoming 1L and he was buying books at the SBA book sale. He needed a little help find his books so I helped him out. He told me who his teachers were and found out he has my same section. I began to give him advice on the teachers on what not to do, what to expect and the ends and outs and he kept stating "Oh I'm not worried, I was a great student in Undergrad". 


It took me to experience my 1st semester of law school to be able to say to him. "This is nothing like Undergrad". Law School is totally new experience. You don't come in prepared for law school. You can't expect to be a straight A student because when you get your first C your world as you know it may come crashing down. 


I understood where he was coming from. That was me last August. School has never been a challenge for me. I am a perfectionist but in law school I faced reality. I lowered my expectations so that I can see what I needed to improve and grow from my experience. 


Had I kept my expectations high, not getting an A in a class I felt I should have gotten an A would have prevented me from comprehending what I did wrong and how to go forth. That is not something someone can tell you because you will not receive what someone is telling you. 


I did not try to tell him to lower his expectations. Me and a friend reminded him that almost everyone in Law School was a straight A student but not everyone can get a A because Law School has a mandatory curve. Maybe he listened, maybe he didn't. Come June he will understand all to well what we meant.