To
whomever is reading this, firstly, hi (I don't know, I just felt compelled to
write this in this particular blog post for no reason whatsoever).
As I'm
currently on my winter break, I thought I should post a worded update on what
I've been doing with my life for the past few months (or, since I last
posted...) instead of just posting photos (which is what I have been doing of
late).
First
things first, I know, as mentioned, I'm having my winter break right now, but,
my courseworks are giving me anxiety. We're on our winter break and we were
given FOUR (yes, you read correctly, four) courseworks to complete
(each coursework will be due in separate weeks ranging from the first week of
January to February but we probably won't have time to work on them when the
next term starts so we'll have to finish them before our break ends or get
ready either a) for sleepless nights; or b) to not give a sh*t and get
screwed over by shitty grades), a test (which will be held on our first
Wednesday back at university) to revise for and seminars* to
prepare for. Gee, thanks for the non-existent winter
break! I mean, to be fair, considering my tendency to constantly
procrastinate for days, which is getting to the point where I'm
pissing myself off, it is partially my fault, but four courseworks, a test to
revise for plus seminars to prepare for during a four-week break is just, I
don't know, inhumane? Also, doesn't it completely defeat the purpose of having
a break? I swear, educational institutions are weird. High school
teachers (or at least my high school teachers) be like, "Since you'll be
on such a long break, I'll give you more homework!!!" Like, uh, how does
that even work? In that case, you might as well not give us a break at all?
To
complement that (the last paragraph), here's a Tumblr post and two tweets which
are so correct, completely on point and accurate in describing the bipolar
feelings I've been having for the past few days (or weeks?):
Source:
[x]
Source:
[x]
Okay,
moving on...
Let's talk
about my course and how I find it so far. I'll describe Law with one word:
tough. Or perhaps more of demanding (in terms of time)? In the first semester
of our first year (September - December 2014), we had four main modules -
Constitutional and Administrative Law, English Legal Process, Law in Practice
and Legal Method, Skills and Reasoning. We had 2 one-hour lectures for each
module every week, and one 2-hour seminar* for each module every fortnight. And
apparently we were expected to spend about 200 hours on each module
(preparations for lectures, seminars and self-study and all that), which I
don't think I did...... Oops?
Speaking
of which module I enjoyed the most, English Legal Process would probably be it
as I found it quite easy to understand since the topics it covers are
essentially what I learned during my Foundation in Humanities and Law course,
albeit more in-depth. Constitutional and Administrative Law would probably have
to be the most complicated one, if I had to choose. I think it's just because I
don't spend enough time trying to understand it and reading up on it? Again, I
always wonder if it's because of my time-management skills. I would always
think and be like, "Maybe if I sorted my time out properly, I would be
able to do more revision on the topics my lecturers have been going through
each week, fully understand each and every one of them (the topics), be able to
really prepare for every seminar and do all the required reading?"
considering how I (quoth my friends from the Malaysian Society) "don't
party, don't drink and don't go out that much (or at all)..." But then
again, I have no days off during term time (if you don't include weekends),
like literally no days off at all. I guess you
could say that I had every alternate Wednesday off, but I have Innocence
Project meetings on those Wednesdays, so I wouldn't consider that an
off-day.
And yeah,
about the Innocence Project. It's one of the many pro bono projects my
university's Law Clinic carries out. Pro bono, in its literal meaning, is
"for the public good". In this context, it basically means giving
professional legal advice for free (voluntarily) to members of the public who
are in need of it. The UEA Innocence Project isn't exactly about giving legal
advice, though. The UEA Innocence Project is more about reviewing cases of
convicted individuals (who maintain their innocence and want to have their
conviction quashed/overturned) and trying to find fresh evidence to help
overturn their convictions. I was rather fascinated when I first heard about it
in my first week here during one of the talks given by the committee members of
the UEA Law Clinic, and started thinking about applying for it. I was quite
hesitant initially as I was unsure if I would be able to juggle between coping
with my course itself and working on the Innocence Project but for some reason,
I ended up applying to join it and got shortlisted to be a member (which
surprised me, actually). I am not allowed to disclose information on the case
my team is working on, but I have to say, it is really interesting to actually
be able to go through real-life court case materials instead of mock-trial
materials and seeing the actual documents for yourself. It just feels
different, you know. Also, it helps me with my studies in the sense that I get
to apply in real life and make practical use of what I've learned in lectures.
And, I get work experience as well. Killing two birds with one stone, I guess?
If I were
to define my first semester?:
the first semester of a LLB Law student's first year in university
Definition of the first semester of a LLB Law student's first year in university in English:
NOUN
Definition of the first semester of a LLB Law student's first year in university in English:
NOUN
Twelve weeks of sleepless nights.
Also, I don't think I've mentioned it yet but I am currently living on campus (for this academic year, at least). I'm not going to lie, after I completed my Foundation course at INTO University of East Anglia in July, I went back home for a month (August to September) and was quite nervous about moving into the university campus accommodation buildings because... I was kind of intimidated by the fact that I'd be living with Caucasians (I don't know, I feel like Caucasians sort of intimidate me, especially when I don't know them well...)??? And the fact that 99.9% of the people I lived with when I was studying at INTO University of East Anglia were Asians (who were horribly irresponsible and enjoyed leaving the kitchens at our INTO accommodation disgustingly filthy after cooking and eating) did not help at all (i.e. did not give me the exposure to various types of people I thought I needed). But I've been living with my flatmates - Josh from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Katie from Peterborough, Guilleaume from Vienna, Austria (although he was born in Canada and apparently lived in Singapore at some point in his life), Daniel from Essex, Tom whom I presume is from either China or Hong Kong as I have yet to have a proper conversation with him ever since he moved in (after a Hong Kong girl - Joanna, moved out of our flat for some reason still unknown to my flatmates and I), Rylan from Canada (he was an exchange student here for a semester and has returned to Canada for good now), Lotte from a small town near Oxford and Kate from Northampton - for over three months now (although not at the moment, i.e. during this Christmas break, as they basically abandoned me and returned to their respective homes for the break and to celebrate Christmas) and it's safe to say that they're lovely people and I wouldn't change them for anyone else. I remember our first week here (when everyone had just moved in) when we would gather in the kitchen almost every night to chat and it somehow felt like we were sort of, I don't know, a family? And I personally think that our impromptu gatherings were vital for the sake of my sanity at that point, as I remember wanting to return home really badly the very day I moved in (which was also the day I returned to Norwich from Penang). I think having human connection (getting to know people i,e. my flatmates, chatting, and basically just having people around) helped me feel more at home and less dreadful (on the day I moved in, hardly anyone had moved in yet). But yeah, we still do chat when we see each other around in the kitchen nowadays, albeit significantly less than when we just moved in, as most of us are usually preoccupied with work, lectures and/or seminar preparations etc. All in all, I no longer worry about "living with Caucasians", and
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So yeah,
that basically sums up most of the things in my first semester, I guess.
Also, I
have posted a string of (long overdue) photo posts (on past happenings in my
life), so if you're interested, do check them out!
— Links to my previous posts on: the day it almost snowed (as I'd like to,
perhaps foolishly, believe) | my day trip to London | the UEA lake trail (my personal favourite, I'd say) | Christmas decorations in Norwich
And yes,
you guessed correctly: I'm procrastinating yet again by typing this blog post
instead of working on my essays.
Oh, it bugs me - the things
I could do and the time I could use to get proper rest if only I insisted on
taking things more seriously and not wasting time.
But I will turn my life
around soon (be it in an hour's time, a day's time or a week's time), I will, you have my word.
*seminars - also known as tutorials in some other universities (I have no idea why my university calls them seminars)
Thanks for dropping by, and till next time!
(Photos taken on: Sony Xperia L)
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