It’s hard to believe that Spring Break has not yet begun and already exam and paper panic has descended upon the exchange students at NUS. I’ve yet to board the plane which will mark the beginning of a week long expedition to Bali and Penang to relax, soak up local culture, gorge myself on food and (hopefully) develop a respectable tan and I’m already worried about squeezing in time to prepare for a hefty number of papers, presentations, projects and exams. Never did I think that I would sing the praises of the single-exam-or-final-paper system. I could be wrong. Today might just be that day.
Let me explain. This week, mid-term papers and exams (a concept generally unheard-of in North American courses) have begun to come due, and the list of projects and papers due throughout the rest of the semester has begun to seem endless for many would-be-travelers. For all of us who are used to taking notes all semester and beginning the outlining process about a month before the semester’s end, everything suddenly feels very unfamiliar and, at times, frantic. In the past two days, I’ve taken a midterm worth 50% of my final grade in one class, turned in an outline of one research paper and been handed the topic of another.
Currently, I just keep reminding myself that I survived this type of continual pressure in undergrad, when it was unusual to have a week without a paper or a test. Honestly, getting past this obstacle seems to simply be a matter of re-programming myself to accept constant, rolling demands rather than to expect to perform once per semester. Perhaps this renewed familiarity with a rolling system of performance and evaluation won’t be such a horrible experience. In fact, this might even prove to be a nice segueway into life after graduation. My experience is, of course, very limited at this point, but I’m pretty sure that law firms, government agencies and other employers won’t be handing us assignments in September with a due date sometime in late December. Perhaps this experience isn’t for naught in the practical skills department? Maybe, on top of acquiring substantive knowledge in previously foreign (no pun intended) subject matter, such as offshore business trusts and law and economics, learning to perform constantly on tight deadlines will actually prepare me for life as a practicing attorney? Maybe . . . what doesn’t kill me makes me a stronger lawyer?