By Dyan Cuevas

I AM officially out of college.

I mean, not since today, but since March, and I’m only feeling how official it is last week. I feel it when I’m seeing hopeful freshmen wait by the school’s entrance for their new-found college friends. I’m feeling it when my friends tell me about their jobs (or lack thereof). I’m feeling it when younger people find out that I’ve graduated and they ask for advice, and I stick my chin up as I sagely offer them some vague statement that makes me sound so wise. I especially feel it when I sit in my law classes.

Yes, I’m taking up law. Yes, that’s another four years of fun-education-or-academic-torture-take-your-pick. And that’s another year of being a freshman yet again, a greenhorn in a competitive environment surrounded by would-be sharks. (No offense to my fellow students. You know the jokes.)

So here’s what I’ve learned/observed so far, after five days’ worth of law school experience:

1. Befriend everyone and anyone in your class

I’m sitting smack in the middle of a five-column row. The two people to my right seem to be childhood friends, and the two people to my left… seem to be childhood friends. And the people behind us are their friends too. What do I do aside from stare straight ahead when the teacher’s not around? I disregard conventional wisdom and join in on any conversation within arm’s length. It’s embarrassing at first, but you have NO idea how much practical stuff I learned from them–like where to buy cheap books and how one classmate’s annulment prospered. Yes, you meet ALL kinds of people in law school. (Rule of thumb: Get their names before you actually delve into their personal lives.)

2. An overdue book ain’t so bad.

Right now, I am in possession of a Persons and Family Relations Law textbook that I borrowed from the library this afternoon. Yes, I legally checked it out, and no, it is not overdue. But it will be starting 8:30 a.m. tomorrow until I return it after the weekend. My conscience tells me that rebellion IS rebellion, even if it is against library protocol, but learning IS learning, and for the price of a P26 fee, it ain’t so bad.

3. Your teachers may be judges and prosecutors, but they sure are funny.

Contrary to popular belief, lawyers are people too. And they can be funnier than that guy on TV.

4. Give dinner a kiss and a big hug. You will miss it a lot.

All law classes are held at night in my school since the teachers are practicing lawyers during the day. That means I’ll have to train my stomach to get hungry at 9 p.m., when I get home. Unfortunately, I’m having no luck at that department and my stomach is growling come 7 p.m. Oh, and make sure your prominent judge of a teacher doesn’t enter the classroom while you’re stuffing your face with a large banana. It’s not scary, just embarrassing.

5. I’ve learned and experienced enough to like law school, but not so much that I have a fifth thing to write about here.

So far, I still get excited at the thought of going to school (haha, loser) and I haven’t gotten bored in class (yet). I don’t even have gripes about my teachers, classes, or classmates, and I hope I never will. But the fact is, I have so much more to go through (celebrate/suffer through?) before I go around telling people what I’ve learned. So for now, five days’ worth of experience will do. Maybe until I ace a big exam or until I lose a debating contest. Then that’s another story. (Sun.Star Cebu Zup!)