Lucky Me

So it just so happens that I'm going home for a visit over Labor Day. I figured that I'd call up the University of Michigan Law School and see if they have any events going on, since the students are back in town. Lo and behold, there is an Admissions Tour of the Law School being conducted the day after I arrive. I even get bonus points because the tour is being conducted by the Associate Director herself--yesssss, perfect brown-nosing opportunity! ;p

Now yes, I did indeed grow up in Ann Arbor.
Yes, I did attend the University of Michigan as an undergraduate.
And yes, I've been in the Law Quad many a time during those carefree days. Then why do I need a dang tour, you ask? (In fact, this was exactly what a friend of mine said when I told her of my plans. She is not understanding at all of why I'd return to Michigan--and some days I even wonder myself.)

Well the fact is, undergrad was more than a few years ago; and the chance to take a guided tour of all the secret areas that weren't a part of my UG life, *while* having access to the brain of the Assoc. Director, *and* while in the mindset of actually seeking to attend law school this time around, makes the whole experience a brand new enterprise, and an opportunity not to be missed.

I do have fond memories of the Law Quad. I remember wandering through the campus in the wee hours of the morning and watching sunrise hit the towers of the majestic Reading Room.

I remember tramping through the snow blanket that covered the Law School grounds, while taking a shortcut to the Student Union and savoring the peace and old world charm of the gothic architecture.

I remember spreading a blanket on a sunny day and lounging about with my friends, watching law students throwing a frisbee around and biking through the quad.

I remember wandering through the quad in the Fall when Ann Arbor's magnificent trees were turning colors and strewing leaves across the ground in a thick pelt of orange, red, and yellow. Growing up in Michigan, Fall has always been my favorite season, and you just don't see all those colors out here.

Whether I go to the University of Michigan again or not, I hope to hold onto those uncomplicated memories of an outsider looking in. Next year at this time, I'll be just getting started, and my idealistic memories will be threatened by the knowledge of what learning the law actually entails. I am truly looking forward to gaining that knowledge and building those new memories, but at the same time I know that once I enter that hallowed hall, everything I thought it was will be replaced by what it actually is. I just want my old memories to be able to live comfortably alongside my new ones.