On January 16th, I attended “A Day in the Life of a Harvard Law Student” which fulfills the Professional Development category of IA requirements. At the meeting, Samantha Harris depicted her experiences so far at Harvard Law School. I found this event to be particularly interesting because she didn’t just speak on classes and studying, but also how her school affects her outside life. She first spoke about how mental health, especially during heavy course loads, is imperative; she bought a St. Bernard just to keep herself from fussing over her life too much. She then branched into substance abuse and how there’s a lot of pressure to drink in law school. Around 76% of lawyers develop a substance abuse problem, a statistic that is rooted in stress and networking events. She explains that Harvard rents out bars and has free bottle service at events so that companies can come drink and network with the students; with that, she said that there’s immense pressure to drink to fit in with the corporate employees. Outside of her social life, she said that law school differs from undergraduate education because the workload and terminology are vastly different; she said it’s like reading books in a language that you learn as you read. Moreover, she said that professors always cold call and some knock your grade if you misspeak a few times. Overall, I learned that while the workload in law school is heavier and different than every other subject, I learned that one’s personal calendar, including self care and a social life, are just as affected as one’s intelligence.