Back and Better

Apologies for the sudden blogging hiatus, and thanks to everyone who checked in to see if I was okay. Before I sent in my laptop to the Dell doctor, I had not contemplated that I would not be able to update without a computer at home.

While my laptop was being fixed, I put in a request for a school laptop, but they were all checked out. I thought not having a laptop would be horrible, but it actually turned out to be a great experience. Here's what I learned in the week and a half without my laptop:

-Class is a lot more interesting and goes by faster without a computer. People do not believe me, but I swear it's true. I have actually been enjoying my classes (even Business Associations) a lot more, and have participated in all my classes (which is shocking if you know me). Everyone thinks they would die of boredom or would not be able to get notes down fast enough without a laptop, but this amazing thing happens with pen and paper. You actually listen and write down what is important rather than transcribe notes inbetween web browsing. And you realize your professor is actually pretty funny. Even though I got my laptop back this weekend, I think I am going to forgo to bringing it to class for the rest of the semester.

-I carry around five plus pounds for no good reason a lot of the time. I have gotten so used to carrying around my laptop, that it naturally goes in my bag wherever I go. Half of the time I do not actually need it or there is a computer around if I need it for things like email.

-Websites do not update as frequently as I usually check them. Without a laptop, I only visited my usual websites once a day instead of ten times. I realized that I was not really missing out on anything except for breaking news, which is usually not even that noteworthy (though I did feel behind when I didn't know about the sad Chris Brown/Rhianna story).

-I work so much faster without a laptop around. I have a horrible tendency to check my mail or browse the internet every five or ten minutes while I am reading. Now I have just been cranking it out when I have nothing I can use to procrastinate.

-Outside of academics, not having a laptop does slow down productivity in other areas. Not having a laptop was a pain when I needed to do editing for journal or administrative work for my Dean's Fellow position. I like to do this at home instead of staying at school all day. So I am not completely shunning my computer; just leaving it at home more.

I like how I am making all of these academic revelations just a few months before graduation, but better late than never. Also, I do not know if I would have been so willing to ween off of my computer during my first or second year in law school. Hopefully I have regained some good study habits in time for bar studying.