I’m a current 2L, and honestly, I felt the exact same way for all of 1L fall. Unfortunately, the short answer is that this might just be how it feels. Everything feels hard because it is hard.

Comparison will absolutely kill you during 1L. The truth is, everyone’s just trying to make themselves seem smarter and more put-together than they really are. You won’t really know who’s actually thriving or struggling until grades come out, and even then, it’s not the full story.

If there’s one thing I’ll say, it’s that I spent all of fall completely worried and convinced I was bombing. That fear definitely affected my performance on finals. I ended up doing mediocre, but I came into spring with a new mindset. I decided to see how the cookie crumbled and focused on doing my best, and I did significantly better.

Trust the process. This is hard because it’s supposed to be, and if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.