<p>My son just started medical school last week after a year of working full time. We all knew he would have to adjust again to reading and studying after not doing much of either for the past year. While he was being funny, we got a text message this morning asking if he can return to work! I could tell before classes started (during orientation) that he was a bit nervous, but I know he will do fine, he is a smart boy if not a little lazy!</p>
<p>The thing he seemed the most worried about was finding his group of friends. He said this was like starting college all over again; the friends you make the first few days might not be your friends by Thanksgiving. I think he is also aware that the students he wants for study partners might not be the same students he wants to hang out with on the weekends listening to music and watching sports. I know it won’t take him long to know most of his classmates and find his group, but it has been interesting listening to him talk about finding his place.</p>
<p>First yr law school is just like that; I went through it a few yrs ago and though it was a ton of work, it was great. One thing he’ll discover is that given the small med/law school classes, you end up seeing the same people all the time. Thus, it can be hard not to hang out with your study partners without feeling like you’d be stepping on some toes.</p>
<p>I went to law school and my (ex) husband went to medical school (while we were married) so I’ve seen both in action. In many ways they’re like college, but in some ways not. Depending on the size of your class, you are in a defined group of students, often all day, every day. (Not like college where the people in your English class can be completely different from calc which is completely different from chem.) </p>
<p>I liken the experience (socially) to being more like high school, or even junior high - often cliquish and silly. There are hurdles to jump - figuring how to finesse friendships with study groups, not to mention the romances that often arise and then end (often badly because you have to sit in class or lab with the ex for the rest of the year!)</p>
<p>BUT, the intellectual challenge usually overcomes the rest of the craziness. The first year of law and med school is tough in every way. Lots of people consider quitting for lots of different reasons. Some do. Tell your son to hang on and see how he feels at the end of the school year. He’ll probably be fine.</p>
<p>My friends in law school morphed quite a bit from first year (where they were mostly concentrated in my small section of 30, with whom I had all my classes, usually with one or two other small sections) to second year (when my friends became the people I spent most of my time with on extracurriculars). But I stayed close with several people from my small section, and made a couple of friends outside the law school, too. </p>
<p>Many of my family’s closest friends are people my wife met her first couple of weeks in law school, with whom she has been continuously friendly for 27 years and counting.</p>
<p>I am sorry if I made it sound like my son was having trouble adjusting; he is more than ready for this journey. He has been waiting for this new start for awhile and is really excited if not just a bit nervous. Besides getting along with his roommate, he has been to a couple of cookouts, a few nights out listing to bands, and a couple of class get togethers.</p>
<p>My son was being funny when he texted about going back to work; he wasn’t serious. He also texted during his class on professionalism and wanted to know where burping and farting fit in! Sometimes little boys never grow up :-)</p>