I have recently started second semester at
Maldives National University (MNU) as a first year law student. And to be back
after spending over a month, in my home land makes me gloomy. Nevertheless, I’m
all set and prepped up for this semester. Motivation level is currently at peak
and procrastination is still in hibernation.
Having met some old classmates and teachers I
always get posed with questions about my studies, friends, lifestyle, etc. And every
so often, I get asked about the learning environment here at the University and
the lecturer’s. That’s the easy part. However, when asked about my fellow
classmates I get stumped. I mean hypothetically it’s a vast topic and I can
present you with pre-designed pie charts and research findings if that’s what
you are looking for. But expecting a one word answers like ‘Awesome’, ‘Cool’,
‘Boring’ would be simply unjust to their whole being.
So let me get started. In a typical law class
I attend, there are around 20-30 students, most of them who stick to the same class
schedule as me. Yet in some classes I might spot new faces. And like the 12
zodiac personalities, every law class consists of students with distinctive
moral fibre. I personally classify them into 6 categories.
Mr Know-it-all
You know
the type. They are a God’s gift to law school; every word out of their mouth is
gold. Their hands are always up in the air and mouths are wide open. Always
waiting and ready for a moment to talk. They always come up with the rarest and
weirdest ‘Did you know facts’ that will stun you. Going to office, keeping up
with the current affairs of the world, talking the ear off anyone who will
listen about their theories of justice and bragging about almost everything is
the typical picture of the Mr Know-it-all.
The silently overconfident overachiever
This
person will just sit back, absorb the scene, then do what most of us have
always done in school – cram for exams and get straight A’s. However, cramming
is rarely the winning strategy for Law school. These overachiever’s at times work wonders but very so often they
get away with just a pass.
The bundle of nerves
Where the
overconfident overachiever is calm and collected, these people are a walking
disaster. The thought of being called on makes them hyperventilate. They can
barely focus in class because they’re so paranoid about saying something
stupid. Just by looking at them can make you feel exhausted and mentally
drained. Never sit with them. Never!!! They can definitely pass their anxiety
cooties on you. These people actually make you curious as to what it will be
really like if they actually graduate and become Lawyers. The horror!!
The Good Girl.
They are
the teacher’s pet. They persistently do every assignment and attend every
class. They believe every word that comes out of the lecturer’s mouth
(literally). They sit at the front row, thoroughly taking notes. Always taking
notes. Literally, the pen never stops. Not even when the lecturer is sharing
some heart to heart stories about his/her childhood. What the hell are they
thinking? Writing that down too?
The ideas guy.
People who
fall under this category have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and love
learning the law. Except they are just always so frustrated about the already
existing doctrines and rules. They just always want to invent something new,
something creative. The ideas are exciting and fresh too. But sometimes, it’s
just too overwhelming. If it were up to them, these people might not think
twice before changing the already existing judgements. They are just so full of
ideas and opinions that it can’t be helped.
The slacker.
Every class
has a few slackers. Instead of going to the law library, the slacker goes home to
play video games, tweet and chat on Facebook. However, the annoying thing about
the slacker is that they are going to do better than you expect. I don’t know how
they do it. But, they just do. May be Magic?
Then there are people who don’t fall into any of
the six categories. The Normal people. And lemme tell you this. These so called
normal people are very very rare, just like unicorns ;)