Advice from a mediocre law student to another

Whilst we have all made quick judgements about studying law through our peers and TV series, it is difficult to know what it really does involve – and there’s no shortage of stories out there, from the mostly accurate to the utterly fantastical. This post should debunk a few myths and confirm a few things to ensure you that you are doing the right thing before you send in your application.. but first things first, law is a great subject albeit it is VERY challenging I have not made any regrets of accepting Leicester three years ago to read the subject.

1. There's too many readings

Getting past the cliche first, do not expect to get out of tutorials alive without doing the required case readings. Tip: you don't have to read the subject like a novel as this will save you from all-nighters (although this is still nevertheless inevitable)

2. Everyone in your class claim to have brains with bulging IQ points (except for maybe one or two)

There's a rat race and guess what? you don't really have to join in! They’re big fish rearing for their chance to rush into the deep blue ocean and overachieve on a yet grander scale and yes, they’ve already done the readings. 

3. You will find yourself doing pro bono work for your friends

Whilst you would happily explain your knowledge on land law to your friends, you can't help but repeatedly telling them that your best legal advice is to obtain a legal advice from an actual lawyer. 

4. Apathetic half way through the semester? That's normal.

The idealism often fades.. On the very first day of law school, you want to change the world.. Halfway through your degree, you couldn't even care less. I find it very helpful to watch Ted talks and films that help remind me why I'm passionate about justice in the first place. 

5. Save your arguments for your tutorials and essays

It will become a common occurrence where you always find yourself in arguments over petty things with your friends and like any law students, we always try to sound smart to win arguments... here's a tip: bite your tongue and walk away because that is the main reason why you're not invited to dinner outings.

I had my share of late nights and sacrificing my social life but I can honestly say that studying here for the past 3 years has been well worth the effort. I never thought I could even make it to this far so whatever shit your degree may throw at you just make sure you battle on.

love,

Working Hardly

Being a law student requires 3% talent and 97% of not-being-distracted-from-everything.

New home + new treasures

For every renegade in the blogging world there is a debunk to  these classic behavioural stereotypes and I have every reasons to justify my absence hehe.. A classic testament to this is me working endlessly yearning to see the next ray of sunshine everyday since the start of term (Just check my twitter rants for the past few weeks for proof). My days are now occupied with an accumulation of cases and statute readings, assignments and society related work. Then there's the case of the mundane of having nothing to blog about. Which is partly true, because I haven't been going away nor have I bought anything new (not quite true) that is worth to blog about until my short trip to LDN last weekend.

Welcoming the crisp days of winter with new things (just because):

My kind of winter would see an abundance of colour and sparkles so this ASOS bag would be put into good measure.

Walking pretty with these pair of studded heels from Forever 21 which will hopefully work with most of my outfit

Ok after my Rome trip I was supposed to go into a frugal, necessities-only saving mode but this was too ambitious of me. Ever since I've lived under the same roof with with Amal R who is crazy for makeup, it's safe to say that I am slightly obsessed (but less crazy) with makeup as well.

And the wildly excessive list of new makeup I got since last month:

Naked 2 palette (£36),  Bobbi Brown shimmery brick (£32), NARS Desire blush (£21.50), NYX Black Label lipsticks in Chocolate and Princess (£4 each), NYX Burgundy gloss (£4), Sublime de Chanel mascara (£24), Smashbox baked stardust highlighter (£23), Benefit Brow Zing kit (£23.50) , YSL lip stain in No 6 (£23.50), YSL Palette City Drive Classy (£42.00), Revlon Black Cherry (£7.49), Revlon Lip butter in Juicy Papaya (£7.99), Maybelline matte mousse (£7.69) and Revlon Nearly Naked pressed powder (£7.99)

And more pictures from my LDN trip:

Until then!

love,

Packing summer

This is exactly what happens when you're done with the exams. Suddenly the nights are longer, the days crisp and you've forgotten that you have a week left to pack everything out into your new house. Packing is something I am a master at. And by that I mean packing a veggie burrito into a semi-full stomach and then squeezing in an instant teh tarik, and a handful of panfried halloumi cheese. Rolling is my only trick, which means my suitcase is a hot mess with a few cinnamon bun-like rolling things doing nothing at all. Right now I'm torn in between packing what I want to use in Brunei and what I actually need!

Putting aside the packing commotion, I've gone from having the craze for outerwear to collecting crop tops now. I have bought 3 new crop tops this week and I have a feeling that I will find myself omitting the normal length shirts and blouses to my new found love. Oh dear god.

Forever-needing-my-mom-to-help-me-pack,

PS: This is some serious gif party post.

Study break

Here we go again with the whole cycle of consuming way too much caffeine in a day and becoming the most prolific procrastinator of all time. I will be sitting for my first paper this coming Monday and words can not suffice to tell you how exhausted my brain is from taking in too much statutes and judgements. 

I've said it before, it is almost impossible to be incompetent at procrastinating. After all it is our best forte as exams are drawing nearer. The best defence for this academically adverse behaviour of mine is motivation. And sometimes the best motivator is a well-deserved break. Note that while ‘well-deserved’ is a subjective threshold, there might be a fine line between motivation and procrastination. However, I am yet to find this line. 

And sometimes the best motivator could be something else. Something beyond a well-deserved break.

Here's to you with an oddly character that marches to the beat of your own drum. Never a day goes by that I don't ever think of you Mr. 

Yes you are my motivation and yes I will get on with my revisions now :p

Too happy,

N°33

Uprooting to a new country is not in any way akin to being on holiday, especially when you're only a student. Everything else was completely foreign, including your new home. And then winter arrived, I was already comfortable with my new place despite it lacking spaces. (Although, I'm not completely sure where home is these days, I do like the perspective of me no longer feeling like a tourist living in a tiny space i.e. my room). So today I want to welcome you to a little tour of my bedroom.

               ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ 

Almost every student I know sleep on a single bed and complain how they are too big for their bed. Exceptionally, I revel in the cosiness that this tiny bed of mine brings.

I like to store everything as visually as possible. I love being able to see my clothes and accessories at a glance. It saves me so much time when getting ready.

One glance at my jewellery collection and it becomes apparent that I have a pretty solid uniform of chunky accessories. 

I like to keep my perfumes together with pretty things. Details make me happy! The vintage camera is a little souvenir I got from Camden market which I managed to score for £35 and the name tag is a small token that I've walked off with from this year's Law Ball (I paid £45 for the Ball surely I deserve something).

My study table also functions as my vanity table. Needless to say, I rarely use this table for the former purpose.

My mini mood board where I pin almost everything. I like to keep photos and details changing as often as possible.

I don't have a proper make up organiser at the moment, so for now I keep all my make up in one place. I think lipsticks are so beautiful so instead of hiding them I like to display them on my study table. Also, displaying them out in the open is the best way to make sure they get worn.

And ordinarily, the table would be cluttered with the usual things I use daily. 

xx,

Pearls of wisdom... or something like that

First Year of Uni is substantially different to my A Level days. For one thing I have a lot of free time in my hands which corollary to it results in more procrastination being done rather than real work. OF COURSE I do my work or at least I try not to be underprepared for tutorials and exams. Granted this year's modules are supposedly less cumbersome than next year's but there are a few straggler modules that I have to take to graduate i.e. Tort and Contract!

While most of my fellow course mates will spend the next few weeks determinedly draining accumulated facts, statutes and legal arguments from their minds, I’m pondering some of the useful lessons I’ve learnt at law school so far:

1) As soon as your tutor knows your name do not immediately think you can get away with the tutorials easily. Do not even bother of showing up in tutorials if you haven't done your readings! 

2) Keep your mouth shut if you haven't read the cases. (I still haven't read the Donoghue v Stevenson case and it's already week 16)

3) If you are in any way a self proclaimed slacker Law School will destroy you!

5) Sometimes less is more. After having done multiple problem solving questions, I realised that sophisticated language does not equate to dismantling the thesaurus with neologisms. The key is simplicity; a trait that I’ve just learnt to appreciate.

xx

Get ready for Uni with me

                                       

Here is a peek of what products have been under heavy rotation:

On my face: L'Occitane organic Angelica water face toner, Naked 2, Bobbi Brown Espresso for the eyebrows, Sephora orange punchy sunbaked blush, Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner and Bobbi Brown Mauve lipstick.

I can't say enough good things of Urban Decay's Naked 2, they're just a dream to work and blend with!

Scarf from Zara, Printed blouse and blazer are both from H&M, F21 jeans and Kate Spade bag.

xx,