Graduating from law school was just another day to me. I did not feel the need to celebrate it, so I chose not to have any form of celebration. Most of my friends celebrated with their families, which was nice. I found myself very busy during the weeks surrounding my graduation. There were still some COVID restrictions in place, and our graduation happened online. I did not join the ceremony to see what was happening, and when my name was called, that was just about it—I was not there to physically respond.
I did pick up my graduation gown from school, took a few pictures with my friends, and later returned to collect my transcripts and law degree from the school. Most of this was because I knew that law school was not the end of the journey. The Kenya School of Law, where I would pursue my postgraduate diploma, was the determinant of whether I would finally enjoy the feeling of having completed law school.
We had about two weeks to apply for the postgraduate diploma at the Kenya School of Law and relocate to Nairobi for the same. At this time, I was also very busy with work and did not pay much attention.
My four years at university went by very quickly. Reflecting on my first year of law school, I can say that I was completely new to everything. I did not know how to study or how to revise properly for exams. There was a lot of information to take in, and I struggled to distinguish what was important from what was not. By the time I was in my fourth year of university, I knew exactly what was examinable and what was not. I had learned how to filter out irrelevant information and focus on what mattered. This was clearly reflected in my performance graph.
There were units that I came to love. Intellectual Property was my favourite, and I eventually wrote my dissertation on it because I found the subject so engaging. On the other hand, there were units I would never want to repeat, Public International Law being one of them, simply because I did not enjoy the classes and never anticipated the lectures.
The second year, first semester, was by far the most difficult one. For the first time, we had to take on eight legal units, which was a challenge in itself. My fourth year was my favourite; I easily understood the classes and could quickly discern what was examinable and what was not compared to previous years. This made sitting for exams far less anxiety-inducing.
In retrospect, I could have developed a better strategy at the start of law school to handle exams, but I would give myself grace and say that nobody really prepares you for what you will encounter. You grow into it over time. I also wish I had taken quality photos during my graduation so that I could look back and better remember the moment in the future.