August 18, 2017

What's in My Law School Backpack

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I officially start my last day of school on Monday 😱 but that hasn't stopped me from getting all packed and ready now (I'm that person who is completely packed 3 days before the flight). As I was running around my apartment trying to find all of my supplies and pack them just right, I just was so giddy I figured I should write a post about it!


The big things

Every single morning, I make sure to throw my laptop in my bag. I've had my MacBook Air since college and it's my whole world. It has my notes on Evernote and my case briefs on Quimbee. I love how light and thin it is so it doesn't take up much room in my backpack.


The next important thing that every law student always needs is your books! I seriously can't stress this enough because I know in undergrad I rarely took my book to class, but in law school if you don't have your book then you might get kicked out of class. To save my back, I only keep the books for my next one or two classes. My 1L year I kept my spare books in my car and made a quick trip between classes, and my 2L year I kept the extra books in my study carrel.


I personally prefer to take notes on my laptop, but I've come to find out that it's common for law professors to ban all electronics for their classes. If I get more of my notes information from class than my book, I'll bring a Cornell Method notebook and usually I'll write down the black letter law on the small side and the rest of the class notes on the big side. If I get more of my notes information from my book than my class, I'll just bring my padfolio because it's just enough paper for me to keep my quick notes and has slots for handouts.

And of course I always have my planner in my backpack. Law school has seriously turned me into a planner addict and I'm always finding new ways to use it to keep my life organized. TBH, sometimes when a fellow student is going on a long-winded rant, I'll get out it out and start writing down to-do's that I need to get done after class!

Related: Law School Planner Reviews Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 (was not kidding about the planner addict part)

The little things


One thing that I use the most in every single class is my pencil bag. I always keep a set of pens in there, a few pencils with a giant eraser and extra lead, a small set of highlighters, page markers, a flash drive and of course an EOS egg. Truly I think this is all you need and I definitely use all of these at least once a week.
Because I always end up referencing my book in class, I'm extra and keep this bookstand in my backpack at all times. It actually frees up a lot of space on your desk and really helps your neck. The one I use folds up completely flat and takes up practically no room in my backpack.

I also keep a GridIt full of chargers for my laptop, iPad, and phone, and a pair of earbuds. This is sooo handy to keep everything from falling to the bottom of my bag and I've noticed that a few of my classmates have gotten some mid-semester after they ask about mine.

I always bring a water bottle to class because True Life: I'm Addicted to Water. It's not uncommon for me to go through 24 ounces in one class, so I have to have a reusable water bottle that's big enough to keep me from having to leave class to refill it. My favorites are Tervis, S'well, and CamelBak.

I have a keychain wallet that is on me constantly that keeps my car, apartment, and carrel keys, student ID, driver's license, and debit card all together in one place. Since I have my whole life in one place, it'd be absolutely terrible if I lost this so I make sure that there's a Tile on there.

I used to keep a little makeup bag in my backpack, but once I got a carrel it just made sense to keep it in there since I usually don't touch up my makeup mid-class. I have this makeup bag that I keep full of ColourPop lip stain, Better Than Sex travel mascara, a few hair ties, a travel hairbrush, travel lotion, a Tide to-go pen, and Advil. I also keep a minimergency kit in my carrel just in case I need something quick.

The backpack


One thing I learned my 1L year is that you will need more room in your backpack than in college. I actually had to buy a bigger backpack in the middle of my first year because my undergrad one could only fit one or two books and that just wasn't cutting it for me. I don't worry about having a "professional" backpack because the only people who see my backpack are other law students and idc about impressing them. I've seen some people use a small backpack for their notebooks/laptops and a tote bag for their books, but I just can't do this because putting the weight of 5 books on one shoulder kills me. Another big plus for my backpack is that it's waterproof. Literally the worst thing that could possibly happen to you as a law student would be that your books and laptop get water damaged. I can't stress this enough to consider rain when getting a backpack. 

Related: The top 5 law school backpacks under $100




2 comments:

  1. Just pure brilliance from you here I have never expected something less than this from you and you have not disappointed me at all I suppose you will keep the quality work going on .

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  2. These are just some of the questions that you need to ask yourself before making a decision on what size briefcase you should purchase check this article out

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