Columbia Law School Class of 2012

Today, Amanda and I sat down and decided which borough of NYC we are going to be living in for the next three years. We were considering two different schools in NYC so while we were planning on moving there, we didn't know exactly where. I feel very blessed to attend the school that has been my first choice for the last several years. In fact, I have wanted to go to Columbia since I watched President Hinckley's biography video as a Freshman and found out that he had wanted to go there for his graduate training. If it was good enough for him then I am more than happy to be there too. Thanks to family and friends for your support and encouragement. Most of all, thanks to Amanda. She has been the best support I could ever ask for and she deserves a lot of the credit for any good things that happen to come my way.

manners are simply overrated.

FALSE.

manners are a sign of respect for others and invites respect for yourself.  

of course, there are times where it is difficult 

to know the most respectful way to address a situation.  

but an effort is always appreciated.

here is one example making an effort.

try to phrase requests in a manner that they are a request.  not a demand.

for example:

INCORRECT:

"You're going to campus right?  You can give me a lift."

this demand will usually be followed by an awkward silence.

CORRECT:

"Amanda, Would you mind giving me a lift to campus?  I would appreciate it greatly."

this request will usually be followed by a simple yes or no, 

cheerfully given, usually coupled with an explanation or an apology if necessary.

*end of rant*

p.s.  i'm not usually a stickler for manners. 

(although i always appreciate and respect *envy?* 

those who have an understanding of the art)

just when dealing with young single men.  

who make me slightly uncomfortable,

 i would appreciate a little more respect.

(which is highly unusual-

according to my husband i am far too comfortable around single young men)

NEXT TIME-I might just EXPLAIN to him that he needs to ASK, rather than DEMAND.

But it won't change the fact that I am uncomfortable and don't want to give him a ride anyway.

What do I do?  Can I say no?  Is that unkind?  I am willing to give rides to my other classmates.... It's not like he's going to do anything to me... 

i'm such a wimp.

List of good things that happened today

1. I ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
2. I gave Amanda her very own Krispy Kreme doughnut.
3. Amanda finished her 4th and final paper this semester. I'm not sure who is more relieved.
4. Dinner was just about ready when I got home.
5. I was accepted to Columbia Law School while on the phone with the in-laws. It was ironic because I was secretly hoping that they were calling because the acceptance had come in the mail. Then, the long-anticipated email spontaneously arrived in the middle of our conversation.
6. Amanda plucked my eyebrows. No, wait, that belongs on another list.
7. I worked out on our home gym.

I think I can see Columbia down there.....

That's us getting our celebration on, 10 months in advance.
(We are at the Empire State Building where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan celebrated too).

THE END OF GOOD THINGS TODAY

do i cry? or shake my fist? maybe a high five?

I just turned in 3 of my 4 papers. The last one is due next week.

I am struggling to know which I should do...cry out of relief or dance on the table. I have never so fully engaged myself in my academic pursuits as I just did in writing those papers. During college, after I turned in papers, I usually forgot about it. It was like a paperweight (think the size of one of those 2 pound weights you can strap onto your ankles) was lifted off my shoulders and I went on my merry way. Don't get me wrong, it was always nice to get the corrections, but I never worried about it. I never felt a deep connection to what I had written. Bad grades weren't a reflection of my intelligence. They were simply a reflection of the time I spent on the paper. And in college, no paper took that much time. It couldn't. There were too many other things to do. Like go to Smart Cookie. And football games. And dates with cute boys. And dances.

But this time is different.

I feel like I just turned in my soul. Dissected my intellect and put it onto a plate for my professors and external examiner to devour. What if it's not good enough? What if I failed?

I don't know. That was the best that I could put onto paper. It was the best research I have done in my life. And if that's not good enough...well, maybe I'm just not cut out for this. But I finished them. And for now, I guess that will have to be enough.

humble pie

Dear Professor Jones,

I am the student that you so kindly walked to class with today. Once again, thank you so much for helping me find the class. I appreciated it greatly.

Although, I do feel a little sheepish and hope you will forgive me. When you mentioned the credit crunch I, embarrassingly, launched off into my own woes-a far cry from important or tragic compared to the worldwide crisis. I have been known to have the propensity to speak without thinking and I would like to apologize for sharing so much. Maturity is something that I am still working toward.

I look forward to the module immensely and particularly appreciate the extension of the course to include poverty within developed nations like the UK and Japan.

See you next week!

Warm Regards,

Amanda L. Berns

dear uber liberal french teacher

dearest lecturer,

first, let's not start on the wrong foot.  so i shall put this forward-i think you are a wonderful person.  i appreciate your ramblings into Mr. Holland's Opus and how it is a case study of education, your endearing french accent, and how you have encouraged all your students to find a christian church like you have to fulfill our need to worship.

however, your socialist ideals are beginning to encroach far too much into your teaching.  i understand that you think education is above the market/business model.  and i know that you think that the invisible hand has failed to regulate the markets.  but i really don't want to hear only one side of the political spectrum-all the time.  i would appreciate an unbiased or at least even opinion of the topic at hand...in this case, today was accountability in educational administration.  a simple list of pros and cons would have done nicely.

i propose the following-

1) please stop bashing on marketisation of schools unless you find a better model than markets to govern the competing interests of stakeholders in the educational system.   you keep saying that education is dealing with the molding of young minds, not simply products of a machine. i agree with you.  however, is business simply working with products?  don't businesses have to work with and develop their employees as well?  aren't those employees...gasp...people?  i don't see how private and public organizations are that different.  both are run by people, just vying for continuation of existence.

2) please learn more about economics before you propose the markets have failed.  the fact that these banks are failing is a sign that the market is working.  it is weeding out those businesses that have made poor investments (and have all this corruption that you are complaining about).  the government is only failing to allow the market to work (yes, i agree with you that the governments should NOT be bailing out these businesses).

that's about it.  i would appreciate a good grade as well.  even if we disagree.  i hope the external examiner will be open-minded.

your sole conservative student,

amanda 

group woes resolved

Just in case you were wondering, I have a group now for my group project. Yay! It turns out I wasn't the only one who hadn't made connections yet.

I am meeting with Lamin from Gambia and Uni (I don't know where he's from yet) tomorrow.

So exnay on the isolation.

Oh...Branden had his first day of work today. I'll let him report on how it went (I don't know yet anyway).