Is it normal to feel nostalgic for graduate school once its over, in spite of the tears, stress, and physical injuries I endured while there? This bar study process makes law school feel like a wonderful adventure — I even miss the sterile smell of the library, the familiar faces congregating on the bridge, and late nights studying with my closest friends.
Needless to say, this has been some of the most uneventful and stressful weeks I can remember, only to get worse. My peers are slowly succumbing to the inevitable emotional breakdowns. Still, I’m trying to keep my spirits up!
Here are 5 things that are keeping me sane during bar study (also known as, Ruchi’s bar-study guide to Cincinnati):
1. The 21C Museum Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. What’s cooler than a modern art museum housed in a hotel? A custodial staff member kindly let us into some conference rooms he was cleaning to show us additional galleries.
2. Cincinnati Music Hall. Coming to hear the Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the opera and the ballet are some of my favourite memories from childhood, along with picnic lunches in Washington Park. I recently went back to visit after lunch in Over-the-Rhine the other day, and while the building looks so much smaller than I remember it, it looms just as grandly as ever.
3. Sometime over the last seven years, Over-the-Rhine became the new, hip neighbourhood in Cincinnati with a vibrant art scene and a happening nightlife. Talk about reinvention – don’t you remember riots and violence in OTR? I still do! I’m still finding my way around, but it’s been a treat to explore the neighbourhood with fresh eyes.
4. Sitwell’s Coffee House on Ludlow. My new favourite study spot with the most delicious mixed coffee drinks and sandwiches. The SANDWICHES. Smoked gouda has never tasted so good.
5. Radio radio radio! On occasional Saturdays, I’ve been guest-hosting Bollywood Music and Masala on WAIF-88.3 FM in Cincinnati. That’s right — I’m on the air, waiving my “brown” card with pride and playing my favourite Bollywood songs. What’s more relaxing than that?
Anyone else suffering through a study prison?
Legally Ruch. 