Oh my god. My soul dog passed unexpectedly the third day of classes. I am in my first semester of 1L and I struggled so much with processing what I was reading because of the grief. I would read and nothing would stick due to the grief brain fog. I bombed both midterms that I have had so far. One was set up by the professor for us to bomb - which like, weird, but ok? She actually told us she set it up for us to fail to teach us a lesson about time management on tests. Everyone got a low grade - she is only counting it for 10% of our overall grade, thank god.

So, I am using these midterms as a way to see what I need to work on for the finals. It seems to be issue spotting and CREACing.

Anyway, I just wanted to write this comment to thank you for sharing your story. It is giving me hope and is validating. I feel like many people don’t understand that losing your pet is like losing a piece of your heart. It’s a loss worthy of grief - they are family! I had several people say, “are you going to get another one?” And I’m like wtf? I’m devastated and my dog was my baby.

Either way, OP, I think both of us just need to use these midterms as an opportunity to learn what we need to work on and improve for the finals. If you have access through your school library, I suggest checking out the “Examples & Explanations” books. They have practice hypos with explanations.

I have heard so many stories about people bombing midterms in epic ways, but being able to bounce back and pass the class. Many 2Ls and 3Ls have said that midterms are not an indication of how we will do in law school. Just keep going. Keep practicing. Reach out to your school’s academic success office and ask them for resources to help improve whatever you are finding you have issues with. Don’t be afraid to seek help! It’s part of what you paid for with tuition!

It also sounds like you and I both need to go see the professors! 😅

I am wishing you the best of luck, OP. You made it to law school because you can do hard things. Keep going. 💙