Obiter Dicta Issue 1 - September 2, 2014 | Page 2

EDITORIAL 2  Obiter Dicta You made it to Osgoode! Now what? Just keep calm and remember to sharpen your axe A f t er m a n y sl eepl e ss nights and much anticipation, the day you have all been wait ing for has finally arrived. You may now officially tell your family, friends, and the guy sitting next to you on the bus that you are a firstyear law student. With that comes an unease over what this year will possibly bring. Some of you more studious folk may already have the year planned out, charted, graphed, diagrammed, annotated, printed, spiral-bound, and sitting on your nightstand. Others may feel like a deer caught in the headlights as you experience the infamous “Imposter Syndrome.” And a select few may still be recovering from O-Week and having difficulty keeping this page in focus. Whichever camp you fall into, my words of wisdom remain the same: believe me when I say that if I can do this, have faith that you can as well. Understandably the pursuit of law attracts a disproportionate number of perfectionists and overachievers to whom the thought of failure brings about a great amount of anxiety. I wish I could say that I felt differently but I’ll admit that I entered law school with the idea that my first year would play out like a scene from Battle Royale. Or I suppose, for this audience, The Hunger Games would be a more appropriate reference. Either way, it was only fitting to discover that the theme of my Orientation Week was Game of Thrones. Yes, let the beheadings begin indeed. So with that said, let me pass along a few self-evident truths that I learned in my first year. Arrive to your exams early. The day before if necessary. In my final semester, I was headed to my Property final exam when suddenly the next subway station happened to catch fire! I have rappelled down the sides of mountains in BC that have left my heart in my throat but that pales in comparison to the terror you feel when faced with the thought of missing one of your final exams. If your life seems to operate under the guise of Murphy’s Law then you ought to be mindful of expecting the unexpected. You never know when that hovering asteroid will suddenly fall directly in the middle of your path. Better to be safe than on academic probation. Never swear at the judge. Ever. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, “Derp. What kind of an idiot would let an f-bomb fly during a a. Osgoode Hall Law School, 0014g York University 4700 Keele Street Toronto, on  m3j 1p3 e. [email protected] w. obiter-dicta.ca t. @obiterdictaoz “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” theodore roosevelt If I still have yet to soothe your nerves, then allow me to pass along some proper advice. The truth of the matter is that first year is exactly what you make of it. It can be the most challenging if you choose to make it or you can sit back, eat pizza, and drink beer. We often make things harder by placing a tremendous amount of pressure on ourselves to be ahead of our peers. We don’t want to just keep up with the Joneses, we want to be them. This is something that most of us have grown accustomed to from our previous studies. While you may have been at the top of your class in undergraduate, you are now surrounded by others who were the same. I think this realization leads many of us to take the attitude that if we just work harder we can maintain the status quo that we have been so comfortable in. I remember my father used to tell me this little story at times when I’d start to lose sight of the forest for the trees: ê “Give me one hour to cut down a tree and I will spend the first forty minutes to sharpen the axe.” Abr aham Lincoln moot?” You’d be surprised by the things that leave your mouth when confronted by a line of questioning you hadn’t anticipated. Don’t be tempted to admit that your client is up shit creek without a paddle. No matter how charming you make it sound, I can assure you that the judge is not nearly as amused by it as you are. Neither is your mooting partner. Mix equal parts solitude with study group. Garnish with paper umbrella. Despite what some believe, the endless hours you spend in your Fortress of Solitude simply cannot make up for the fact that you are but only one human being with one single mind. Admittedly, at times my study group would leave me wondering if we were even taking the same classes but more often I was left with a new perspective on a case that I never would have considered without it. Try not to fall into the trap of thinking that the curve makes competitors of everyone around you. It’s an exhausting road for the one who travels it alone. The shots of whiskey at the end are far better enjoyed in the company of those who helped you along the way. editorial board editor-in-chief | Karolina Wisniewski managing editor | Sam Michaels layout editor | Heather Pringle editorial staff business managers | Alvin Qian, Adam Cepler communications manager | Angie Sheep copy editor | Subban Jama news editor | Mike Capitano opinions editor | Carla Marti arts & culture editor | Marie Park Once upon a time there were two men in a woodchopping contest. They were tasked with chopping down as many trees in the forest as they could from sun-up to sun-down. The winner would be rewarded with both fame and fortune. From morning till noon, both men steadily chopped and chopped. By noon they were neck and neck, but then one man took a break and stopped chopping. The other man saw this and thought to himself: The lazy fool, he’s probably taken a break for lunch. He’s given me a chance to get ahead of him and I will without doubt win this contest! A while later the man got back to work. As the day continued he chopped more trees than his hardworking (and hungry) competitor and by midafternoon he had taken a clear lead. When sundown came, the man who had taken the break at noon had chopped almost twice as many trees as the other man, who was drenched in sweat, hungry, and exhausted. “How did you beat me?” he asked puzzled. “You were lazier than I and even took a break for lunch!” “Ah,” said the other man, “I did take a break, but it was during that break that I sharpened my axe.” So just keep calm and remember to sharpen your axe. Welcome to Osgoode!  ◆ sports editor | Evan Ivkovic website editor | Asad Akhtar contributors Noorain Shethwala, Career Development Office Submissions for the September 15 issue are due at 5pm on September 7, and should be submitted to: [email protected] The Obiter Dicta is published biweekly during the school year, and is printed by Weller Publishing Co. Ltd. Obiter Dicta is the official student newspaper of Osgoode Hall Law School. The opinions expressed in the articles contained herein are not necessarily those of the Obiter staff. The Obiter reserves the right to refuse any submission that is judged to be libelous or defamatory, contains personal attacks, or is discriminatory on the basis of sex, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Submissions may be edited for length and/or content. The Obiter Dicta is a member of Canadian University Press.