During finals, one of my favorite things to do is to close out the library. That’s crazy, right? Well, as I’ve mentioned numerous times before, in order to psych myself up for finals and studying, I often go into the mindset of being a pitcher striking out batters with my “knowledge.” Basically I swap the traditional adage of “throwing a curve” since that would usually apply to the professor writing the law school exam. I guess I just think of it differently in that I want to be the one tossing mind-boggling answers over the plate - can’t really explain it other than to say that’s how my competative, baseball-saturated mind works.
Anyway, I apply this state of mind to study-time duration as well. I think of it like pitching a complete game; going the full 9. Possibly the best performance on a baseball field I’ve ever seen was Jack Morris going 10 innings to pitch a shutout to win Game 7 of the 1991 World Series against John Smoltz (who went 9 himself). I also remember shortly after he was acquired by my World Champion Cardinals, Mark Mulder temporarily silenced his naysayers by going the distance with extra innings. I’m also reminded of Roger Clemens coming in for the Astros in extras a couple postseasons ago and just going inning after inning to keep the ‘Stros afloat. I like the work ethic and the idea of giving your all to finish something you start. See also: women’s college softball where the starters will throw back to back games with insane pitch counts.
So, despite the fact that I rarely actually open the library, I do like to push through from a morning arrival time all the way till lights out during the finals season. It sort of psyches me up in a weird way; though I can’t do this too often in a row or else I end up having to wind down big time after midnight, just to get to sleep which leaves me unrefreshed the next day. As sick as it may sound, I think this little baseball mentality I build in my mind makes me enjoy the grind of finals, even for the small period of time I actually invest in studying. Maybe I should expand the fiction to include the offseason and the regular season instead of just trying to pull it together for the “playoffs,” where playoffs equal the finals study period. At least I’m still toiling a little as a 3L. Whatever it takes, right?
-jd
