Take, for instance, this morning as I was driving into work. There was this car driving by smoking like there was no tomorrow. Approaching, I noticed that his front right tire had worn away and that he was riding on his rims. Basically, his tire had disintegrated which was the cause of all that smoke.
I got to wondering how long he had been driving like that. I mean, by the time I saw him, rubber was flapping in the wind and sparks were popping up as his (now increasingly bent) rim was dragging on the asphalt.
Down to his last steel belt, he was.
I got to thinking how this guy was not unlike some law students I've work with. They struggle. They fight. They do everything in their power to understand what I'm talking about in class - but sometimes it's not enough. On their own, they just burn rubber all semester long. Instead of reaching out for help and ask questions as they go, they come up with excuses and keep fighting on their own. Nary an email. Nary a visit.
Thing is, law school isn't cheap. I was talking with a guy that went to law school up north paying $1,000 per unit (that's $3,000 per class). Can you imagine paying $3,000 for a class and then not do everything you can to get the best grade possible? Hells Bells, if I had to pay $3,000 for a class, I'd be ringing up the professor every time I had a question. I'd be emailing whenever I ran into a roadblock. I'd be asking them how to answer questions, how to study, how to do whatever it took to get the best grade possible.
But that's me. When I get lost, I ask for directions. Sometimes I wait until I'm up to my neck in hot water but more often then not, I ask for directions. I ask because I don't know and don't like wandering the wasteland in a state of confusion. Yep, when I realize that I don't know something, I ask. Just ask my former boss. I was in her office at least once a week.
In fact, my former boss inspired me. She had a very open door policy (which I adopted). Basically, if the door is open, then I'm available to you. Have a question about an assignment? Walk through my open door (or drop me an email) and ask away. Want to know what resources to use for a research paper (or a motion or a brief or whatever), walk through my open door (or drop me an email) and ask away. Need help using any of the dozens of online databases we have in our collection? Walk through my open door (or drop me an email) and ask away.
I guess the moral to all this is: don't wait until you are running on bent rims to ask for help. Reach out and ask for help before you are up to your neck in hot water.
I'm just sayin.
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