Semester 2: Case Closed
School’s out, scream and shout! But how to while away those long summer days and hot summer nights?
Semester two is over and out already? It feels just like yesterday it was O-Week of semester 1 and we were all scrabbling around campus sweating bullets and getting our L-Cards in anticipation for the Law Ball coming up in the middle of semester. Now it is the end of semester 2 and even though we are all sweating our hearts out again, the main academic year is over! So what is there to do aside from twiddling our thumbs for the coming two months as we eagerly await the arrival of semester 1 of 2020?
Take a summer semester! If you want to fast track your degree or if you are afraid of getting out of the study swing, a summer semester might be right up your alley! Spots in the library during the break are plentiful, so you will never miss out on a seat there. Conversely, what is sexier than watching Administrative Law lectures with your shades on by the pool, fruit salad in one hand and ice-cold cocktail in the other?
If a summer semester is not really your tune, do not let the precious break go to waste! The holiday is your perfect opportunity to get some real-world work experience under your belt. Missed out on a summer vacation clerkship? Not to worry; plenty of small firms and even medium tier firms love to take on board law students for a few days a week as an extra pair of hands. Take a weekday off and print a bunch of resumes and cold call into the offices of boutique firms in your local suburb and sit back and let the offers roll in.
Have you promised yourself that you will “do better next semester”? Believe me, we have all said that one to ourselves after a particularly stressful and full-on semester. Take some time to sit down with yourself and flesh out your goals for the coming academic period. Do you want to get better grades? Do you want to get involved in extra-curricular activities and social sports? Once you understand what you want to achieve next semester, start planning out the small steps that you need to take in order to achieve those aspirations. Do not forget to break them down into your SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
Apply for a short-term study exchange. There are heaps and heaps of ways that you can take your degree overseas! The QUT Global Portal has opportunity after opportunity to study a short two to four-week program in dozens of universities all over the world. Dreaming of a white Christmas? Or maybe something a bit more tropical in South East Asia? Check out the Global Portal for everything on offer. Depending on where you are in your course, you can put it towards your degree!
Get your textbooks for the coming semester. If you are like me, reading the prescribed textbook for a unit is a brilliant way to consolidate information and rephrase concepts taught during the lectures and tutorials. Chasing the books down may be a boring endeavour at best, I know, but you will seriously thank yourself for it. There is nothing worse than being three weeks into the semester and trying to get your hands on a textbook only to be scouring the second-hand Facebook pages to no avail and either buying brand new or not snagging at all.
Pursue a hobby project or take a course in something you are interested in outside of law. As law students, we are notorious for keeping ourselves busy with a number of things during the semester to keep our minds stimulated. Just because the academic side of our pursuits is over for the year, unless you love torturing yourself with a summer semester, that does not mean that you cannot take up something really fun that you have been dying to start but just could not find the time or energy for. Course-wise, the website Udemy has some brilliant upskilling courses that cover a range of topics and disciplines and are usually quite cheap.
Every other suggestion aside, make sure that you actually take a break over summer. The burnout is real, and in many cases, it creeps up on us at the least expected and most inconvenient time, namely that one week that everything is due! Take the time to spend the silly season with everyone that you love the most. A few ideas may include but are not limited to Secret Santa with friends, a beach-side picnic with your immediate or extended family, a cruise or other getaway trip, or driving around in your pyjamas to see the Christmas lights in wealthy suburbs!
These are just a few suggestions for some ways to spend your valuable time over the break. In the wise words of Cady Heron from Mean Girls, “the limit does not exist!” So go out and make some memories to make the class laugh during the awkward ice-breaker activities in the first week of tutorials. Believe me, telling the class a fact about yourself is not confined to first year!
Article written by Ashton Darracott
This article appeared in the Torts Illustrated I Object (2019) Publication