Fin.

Done.  Finished with finals and the feeling is fantastic.  This was the most difficult finals period I've had to endure since first semester of first year, thanks in part to the way my three exams were scheduled.  I had my fist on December 1st and my last on December 15th.  Due to outlining and intense studying to prepare for the first exam, I had to buckle down and begin preparing toward the beginning of November.  This necessitated a studying and class schedule that didn't allow for a full day off between November 6th and December 15th.  Yep, that's a total of 39 straight days of school work, including a few hours on Thanksgiving morning.  It may seem a bit insane to work that many days without a break, and to many it may even seem unnecessary.  However, I've worked really hard thus far in law school and every semester and every class is incredibly important to me.  When grades are released in the coming weeks, if I don't do as well as I hoped or expected I would hate to look back at my preparation and think that I could have done more.  I feel really great about my preparation this semester.  That doesn't always equate to good grades, but I can confidently say that I did all I could to prepare.  Of my five semesters I feel as though my  level of understanding of the classes I took this semester is second to none.  I'll certainly be disappointed if  things don't turn out well with my grades, but I won't be disappointed in my preparation and what I've learned, and isn't that what really matters?

With all of that said, these next 3 weeks are going to be glorious.  In fact, the first two-and-a-half days have already been great.  Thursday after my exam I got together with a bunch of friends from school in a non-studying setting, and had a great reunion with the 2010-2011 Civil Rights Clinic.  On Friday I started my break-long movie marathon and watched The Big Lebowski and Die Hard, neither of which I had seen before.  Saturday was devoted to holiday shopping, which, due to the insane crowds of people, was stressful (but much better than studying).  Today is my first day of uninterrupted football watching of the season, and I'll finally get to enjoy the games and follow my fantasy teams without worrying about the 4th Amendment, secured transactions, or Section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act.

Now, as I finish my second cup of coffee and an entire episode of Sunday NFL Countdown, I'm looking forward to heading over to my buddy John's house to check out a little Tebow Time.  Go Broncos!