Packing frantically at 5am on August 15th, I started my journey to VLS at 5:30am from Fraser, MI and arrived in East Randolph to my new home just 15 minutes North of VLS at 12:30am.  A 19 hour drive with many stops along the way including my favorite, Niagara Falls.  After making it to my new house, meeting my roommate, I fell asleep.  In the morning, I woke up to the rising of the fog over the mountains as the sun started to slowly show itself.  With the fog came a dampness that covered everything, but after the fog arose I saw the most amazing scene right outside of my bedroom window.  Now coming from a city just outside of Detroit, I have never awoke to such a view and I was very thankful and finally relieved that I was here.  Each day I have been here begins with the fog, but the great thing about it is that you never know what the day will bring once the fog lifts - rain, sun, cloudy days - you just never know.  I love this aspect about Vermont - having the sweet serenity and relaxation right at your fingertips.  I know that this will come in handy once school begins - the outdoors will be my getaway from reality.

 

After seeing off my family that helped me move out here, orientation started in a day!  Okay so I was relieved that I was here, but what next?  A thousand questions were rolling through my head the night before orientation- what to wear, how early should I arrive, and many others, but I did just fine on the first day.  I just wore something that I usually would and got there just in time to eat some breakfast and pick up all my orientation materials.  Each day of orientation they had a breakfast in the morning and usually provided lunch and dinner, but it depended on the day and the event.  The best day I of orientation was the trip to Montpelier.  On this trip, we listened to how the Vermont government was actually run by those who knew first hand.  The Capitol is a must because it is a very unique, small building and the government structure in Vermont is different compared to other states and this information may be useful for future classes.  Another aspect of orientation is that the MSELs actually start learning about the different aspects of law and researching methods in your sessions called “Legal Studies.”  I found this very helpful because as orientation went on I started to realize that I was going to be in classes with the 2L and 3L students (2nd year and 3rd year law students).  I just didn’t know if I could perform as they did, but these sessions definitely helped alleviate most of my concerns.  During orientation, I also picked out my classes by getting feedback from Anne Mansfield, my faculty advisor and alumni of the MSEL program.  I found this very helpful and finally figured out my schedule and turned it in to the Registrar.  Overall, orientation week was long, informative, but very helpful and fun since I met so many new people from around the nation.  It helped me understand what was expected of me and what to expect throughout the year.

Tomorrow is the first day of class!  I have been studying, getting last minute projects completed, setting up my computer to access the VLS network and looking at my budget for this year.  I am not too worried seeing as I am very relaxed and have gotten many of my “to do’s” done, but there is an unknown about tomorrow.  What will my first day bring?  Will the professors be exciting and interesting or will they use the Socratic method to embarrass me because I didn’t understand something in the reading?  Will I be prepared?  Should I bring my laptop to take notes or just write them by hand?  With all these questions jogging my mind, I think I may just take a leisurely hike through my backyard and then come back to reading for my first class assignments.