Within the walls of law school, it is a popular stance to take that you dislike law school. This stance is popular, I’d wager, because many people really do dislike law school. However, a percentage of these people who proclaim a dislike of their current lot in life in reality enjoy law school immensely. These are the High School Smokers.
If you’ll recall back to your high school days, one of the worst labels you could get was that of a “good kid”. You know the type: They volunteered at soup kitchens, prayed around the flagpole, and the principal knew his or her name, but not for a bad reason. These kids were tragically uncool, and in those days, that was one label you simply didn’t want. Some kids avoided the label naturally, because that’s just how they were; others had to make an effort, like by hanging around the bad seeds even though they weren’t bad themselves; and the rest? Well, they volunteered at soup kitchens, were active in their church, and the principal knew their names for good reasons, but to divert attention from their good side, they smoked.
This literal and figurative smoke screen served the high school smoker well. Simpleton jocks would see the high school smoker and be confused. "Is he a nerd or a rebel? Better play it safe and beat up a guaranteed nerd," the jock would say before moving onto easier prey. The high school smoker would exhale a tobacco-stenched sigh of relief as the jock ignored him and the Asian kid who claimed to know karate
In law school, the High School Smokers don’t actually smoke to blend in. Around their friends and acquaintances that are truly fed up with law school, they laugh at cracks about professors; agree with complaints about the administration; bitch about the class offerings; and make fun of those who don’t hide their love of law school. But when they do, a little part of them dies inside, because they themselves are fully enjoying their law school experience.
Why would someone pretend to dislike something just to fit in? Just like the high school smoker, they are more concerned with how other people perceive them than they are with being true to themselves. There is nothing wrong with being a “good kid”, just like there is nothing wrong with enjoying law school. To each his or her own. But some people need the approval of their peers, and so they try to avoid being associated with the less-socially acceptable group.
High School Smoker, you may imagine yourself as a law school Olivia Newton John who's traded in her poodle skirt and ponytail for a leather jacket and a perm but you're truly just a "Can't Buy Me Love" Patrick Dempsey, hoping your sunglasses will turn you into a "Risky Business" Tom Cruise.
So, High School Smoker, you can stop pretending. We’re on to you. We see that you attend every class, are a member of numerous clubs, and chat up professors during their office hours. And I’m here to tell you, it’s okay. Your first step towards self-actualization is admitting you’re a nerd.
