Somebody shake me, please

Grades have not come out yet for me, but a few have for some in other sections that I know. I am fully expecting to get average grades, which sounds to those I tell that are not in law school like I am just being down on myself - but I know I am not.

From their perspective, they knew I was in the library constantly, especially at the end their. My roommate knows that I practically lived at the library and my cat probably forgot who I was for awhile there. I know that I read a lot of supplements, and I read every case assigned as well. I know that I outlined my ass off, made flashcards, bought flashcards, and studied with a few others when I felt it was necessary. What I also know is how many others were doing the same things to prepare as I was. And I also know that I left out, in all but one final, a key element or many key elements that were most likely necessary for an above average grade.

What I am not expecting is to receive a below average grade, because of all the preparation I did. However, it is difficult to say who in my section will fall below me on the curve - I might be able to name one name, but I am not even sure about that. At first, me and gossip girl tried to come up with names of people that we knew we would out perform, but when push came to shove and we really began cramming, we realized that was not the right thing to do - after all, any name we came up with, they were right there in the library with us, apparently studying their asses off too. There is no way to predict who will do better than who, the right attitude is to just focus on doing your own best.

In actuality, I think the lower grades are going to come down to those who missed an issue here an there, of course, and also those that didn't finish, those who only answered 2 of 4 questions, those who may have had catastrophic bad luck in computer failures or forgotten outlines on test day. And that, to me, is really sad. It seems to come down to luck over hard work, and if anyone does talk about their grades openly it will likely be annoying because soon everyone will discover that the ones they thought were not a threat, really were the whole time, and those that appeared and sounded ultra prepared in class and out of class, really were lost the whole time. But I don't think that is really the case, I really think what will separate the C-'s from the C's and the C's from the Bs, is luck. The exams is really where being OCD comes in handy, because even if you didn't do your reading as strictly as others for every class - if you have made sure your computer runs properly, and you remembered to bring more than one pencil, and you remember that the professor specifically asked you to organize your answer in a certain way, those things will help you. Those that forget...as smart as they are, aren't smart enough to remember.

I'm not saying it is all about those little things, you need to know your stuff and know it well, but the professor's aren't trying to trick you, at least it appears to me.

And I know I remembered a lot of the small stuff, but I just think it's those that forgot the small stuff, or had bad luck on test day, that will perform below average. I just hope I'm not one of them.

I guess I can predict my grades ... and I'm already at peace with what I think they will be (4 C's and B) so if they are better, fantastic, but if they are worse - oh, shit. I wouldn't advise anyone else to try and predict their grades like I have, but it's hard not to.

Good luck to all that have grades coming out soon. All I keep remembering is that they can't (I don't think) kick me out after only one semester...