Corpus Law Diary TT 1
Item
Title
Corpus Law Diary TT 1
Experience
The point of this diary was always to give an insight into what life is like as an Oxford Law Student at Corpus, to show that despite the challenges, it’s an amazing experience. That is not something I think I can achieve in this diary entry. Like many people across the country, and the world, I am in lockdown. Each day - as I’m sure you aware in your own experiences - is monotonous. I get up, I eat breakfast, I revise, I eat lunch, I revise some more, go for run, dinner, revision, bed. Oh, and sometimes throw in some bouts of crying, painting or shopping to keep things spicy.
It is day somewhere between 30 and 50 of quarantine, and all the days kind of merge into one at this point. Last time I wrote a Corpus Law diary entry, things were very different. I wrote about the thrills and challenges of my first term at Oxford, new found hobbies and new found friends. A lot has happened in the past three years and I’ve changed immeasurably, which is probably why being back in my hometown, overlooking my old school, is so surreal. I never imagined my final term of Oxford would look like this, I don’t suppose anyone did. IT IS HARD. REALLY HARD.
Yet, even in the grimmest circumstances, the lessons of Oxford (both official and not, are resonating). Oxford builds up special skill set, one that can probably only seen in an institution with such a high workload and focus on academic rigour. In school, I was one of those irritating kids, the kind who had about 200 folders, answered ALL the questions (even the ones that weren’t really asked) and sulked when they only got 90%. You can’t do that at Oxford: there’s too much work for every piece to be perfect, too much content for beautiful notes and always someone who knows something you don’t. In first year, I really struggled with ‘imposter syndrome’, the notion of not being good enough for Oxford. It’s taken me three years to realise that the journey isn’t about ‘being good enough’ it’s about being the type of student and the type of person you want to be.
Oxford taught me (the hard way) how to fail and how to get back up again. How to keep being knocked down by a problem but carry on until you find an answer. It also showed me, in so many ways, that everything comes to an end - a mentality that is particularly useful both for finals and for quarantine.
I found myself many a time sat in the Library at 2am, cobbling together a half-hearted attempt at an essay. Sure, those 2am sessions are horrid and you promise yourself you won’t let it happen again (until you find yourself the next week in the same position...) but this experience teaches you one very valuable thing: you can get it done and time carries on. You won’t be in the library until 2am forever. The same goes here. The situation is quite frankly rubbish, but I know that it can’t go on forever. The most important lesson Oxford taught me is how to see the joys.
The little bits of humour on an incredibly dry reading list about land registration; the hidden joke in your essay - because let’s face it by 3am everyone is a little insane; and the knowledge that 1 minute from the library is a room of people who know exactly what you’re going through and are ready to cheer you up and give you the motivation to carry on. Oxford taught me to love a subject in a way I never before imagined I could. Sure, I liked my A-levels but not like this. I drive my friends insane picking up on legal anachronisms on TV or being incredibly excited by something quite niche, like the Water Framework Directive. In the current situation, I don’t know where I would be without revision (ok - perhaps I am still that irritating kid). Although it is an arduous process and the stress of finals is obviously looming, each day I escape from the four walls of my confinement, into the lives of those frozen static in cases; into the minds of judges with bizarre reasoning; and through different time periods from across history.
Over the past three years I have learnt to be excited by the mundane and I cannot wait to spend the next year studying it further on a Masters degree. Despite the utter turbulence of the last 2 months, on an international, national, university and personal level, I’m so glad of the lessons that Oxford has taught me and more than that, what Oxford has taught me about myself. I know that this will pass eventually and until then, I’ve got law.
It is day somewhere between 30 and 50 of quarantine, and all the days kind of merge into one at this point. Last time I wrote a Corpus Law diary entry, things were very different. I wrote about the thrills and challenges of my first term at Oxford, new found hobbies and new found friends. A lot has happened in the past three years and I’ve changed immeasurably, which is probably why being back in my hometown, overlooking my old school, is so surreal. I never imagined my final term of Oxford would look like this, I don’t suppose anyone did. IT IS HARD. REALLY HARD.
Yet, even in the grimmest circumstances, the lessons of Oxford (both official and not, are resonating). Oxford builds up special skill set, one that can probably only seen in an institution with such a high workload and focus on academic rigour. In school, I was one of those irritating kids, the kind who had about 200 folders, answered ALL the questions (even the ones that weren’t really asked) and sulked when they only got 90%. You can’t do that at Oxford: there’s too much work for every piece to be perfect, too much content for beautiful notes and always someone who knows something you don’t. In first year, I really struggled with ‘imposter syndrome’, the notion of not being good enough for Oxford. It’s taken me three years to realise that the journey isn’t about ‘being good enough’ it’s about being the type of student and the type of person you want to be.
Oxford taught me (the hard way) how to fail and how to get back up again. How to keep being knocked down by a problem but carry on until you find an answer. It also showed me, in so many ways, that everything comes to an end - a mentality that is particularly useful both for finals and for quarantine.
I found myself many a time sat in the Library at 2am, cobbling together a half-hearted attempt at an essay. Sure, those 2am sessions are horrid and you promise yourself you won’t let it happen again (until you find yourself the next week in the same position...) but this experience teaches you one very valuable thing: you can get it done and time carries on. You won’t be in the library until 2am forever. The same goes here. The situation is quite frankly rubbish, but I know that it can’t go on forever. The most important lesson Oxford taught me is how to see the joys.
The little bits of humour on an incredibly dry reading list about land registration; the hidden joke in your essay - because let’s face it by 3am everyone is a little insane; and the knowledge that 1 minute from the library is a room of people who know exactly what you’re going through and are ready to cheer you up and give you the motivation to carry on. Oxford taught me to love a subject in a way I never before imagined I could. Sure, I liked my A-levels but not like this. I drive my friends insane picking up on legal anachronisms on TV or being incredibly excited by something quite niche, like the Water Framework Directive. In the current situation, I don’t know where I would be without revision (ok - perhaps I am still that irritating kid). Although it is an arduous process and the stress of finals is obviously looming, each day I escape from the four walls of my confinement, into the lives of those frozen static in cases; into the minds of judges with bizarre reasoning; and through different time periods from across history.
Over the past three years I have learnt to be excited by the mundane and I cannot wait to spend the next year studying it further on a Masters degree. Despite the utter turbulence of the last 2 months, on an international, national, university and personal level, I’m so glad of the lessons that Oxford has taught me and more than that, what Oxford has taught me about myself. I know that this will pass eventually and until then, I’ve got law.
Date
2020-05-02 See all items with this value
Where
UK
Creator
3rd year lawyer
Item sets
This item was submitted on June 11, 2020