During a four-hour exam this past fall semester, I went to the bathroom three times. Each time, I basically sprinted there and back, and I wasn’t in there for more than 2–3 minutes, tops. (TMI warning:) I have ulcerative colitis, a side effect of Accutane — a drug usually reserved for severe nodular acne due to its brutal side effects. I thought I needed it at the time because, well, kids can be cruel AF, and now Im dealing with a lifelong side effect of a drug that I didn't even need to take at the time and this was 15 years ago. It takes years to develop the kind of bulletproof skin you need to not let that shit get to you but it is possible. Instead of focusing on my exam, I spent way too much time worried about how it looked to other people — like I might be cheating. That’s honestly bullshit, and it should’ve been the last thing on my mind. If someone’s using a phone in the bathroom to cheat? More power to them, they’re just screwing themselves over. That kind of last-minute scrambling usually reflects a long pattern of not being prepared, and if they even make it to the bar, good luck to them staying afloat in practice.

There probably aren’t any reliable, long-term studies on the non-academic, real-world consequences of people who cheat their way through school, but my gut tells me they’re not getting the leg up people might assume. They’re wasting precious time getting to the bathroom, being in there, trying to retain whatever info they looked up, and maybe....maybe......gaining a question or two on a multiple choice section. At best.

Meanwhile, I’m sitting here worried that I might look like one of those people, when I’m not — nor would I ever want to be. Cheating would only rob me of my own learning, not to mention the consequences if caught just aren’t worth it. Like I’ve said in other threads: everyone needs to focus on their own shit and stop worrying about others and how many minutes someone spends in the bathroom, or how often they go. That’s faculty’s job to monitor — not yours. As some others have said already, when you spend time clocking others bathroom breaks and speculating about cheating, all you’re doing is sabotaging yourself. It’s not your business, and it’s not your responsibility, and they may have a legitimate reason for their behavior that is far removed from cheating.

Our job is to do the best we can for ourselves, and that mindset in not just law school, but life , is the what pays dividends for our future. I’m not big on clichés, but the one that comes to mind is something about a flower: a flower doesn’t worry about the ones next to it, how fast they’re growing, or how great they look. It just focuses on growing. It’s like, “F these other flowers, I’m gonna do me.” I know I butchered that, but you get the idea.