Thoughts on 3L year

It's so unnecessary. I realize this is not a revolutionary observation, but there it is. I can't get excited for any of my classes. I have a job lined up and I know with a fair amount of certainty that I will be a transactional lawyer; yet, I have to suffer through most of my completely irrelevant classes to get credits in order to graduate. I am not placated by taking classes relevant to what I want to do either, because it would be so much faster to learn this material on the job from a practical perspective, without all the administrative and academic hassle.

Don't get me wrong, law school has some value: teaching students how to do legal research and writing, think analytically about legal issues and present legally sound arguments ... I think almost every 3L has gleaned everything possible in the first two years, and the third year just yields diminishing returns. It's not that I don't enjoy a year as a student as a final hurrah before joining the working world for good; I just resent the fact that I have to actually go through the motions now. You should be able to get a waiver or something, like the law school equivalent of the G.E.D.

The only part of being back in school that is actually exciting is the early-Fall reunions with friends and professors. I guess it's amplified this year because my classmates are finding out that I'm pregnant as well. Of course, it is proving to be much less drama than I imagined. Everyone has been congratulatory and still treats me the same as always. I had assumed that everyones perception of me would change as much as my own has, because I mean, it's a drastic change to go from carefree, mid-twenties, student to a full-fledged PARENT. Not to mention the general apprehension about law-students and lawyers "jeopardizing their careers by having a family." To my pleasant surprise, it's almost a non-event. Even the people who I thought would at least ask about how it is all going to work out have been nothing but supportive and excited. [Insert huge sigh of relief].
In fact, so far all the attorneys I worked for this summer and my fellow summer associates have been very excited and sweet as well. Even if they are blatantly lying and in actually think I'm crazy, I appreciate their believable extensions of congratulatory remarks.
It's kind of like being a science experiment when you're pregnant in law school ... everyone can watch you grow and change like some sort of exhibit, and they feel free to comment upon your appearance. But it is better to be an experiment that everyone is excited about than some sort of tragic experiment gone wrong.