The Bitter Law Student

Battle of the Bulge

So... as I've been stressed out lately, I've noticed that there has been a change in my number on the scale. NOT A GOOD CHANGE, mind you. As I'm a girl who favors taking action to solve my problems, I recruited my friend Marilyn to join Weight Watchers with me. I'm not sure if it's something that we NEED, mind you, but I think it's a great way for us to bond as well as work towards our collective goals together. We have fun, and if we come out of it a pound or two lighter each week, that's awesome!

Anyway... Marilyn and I were at our weekly Weight Watchers meeting when we were approached by a girl that I go to law school with named Lowe. A few minutes later, my friend Recovering Catholic (SHE gave herself that nickname, not me!) came in. As RC sits down next to Marilyn and I, she whispers that two other girls in our law school class were planning on attending the meeting. Okay... so, by my calculations, that's SIX girls affiliated with my law school at ONE Weight Watchers meeting.

It doesn't stop there. My friend Q (also a law student) has informed me that she's been tracking the calories she eats lately because SHE gained 10 pounds last semester. Not only that, but people have been noticing what she's been doing on her laptop (honor code be damned! We all know who's surfing what sites during class time, or who's IMing excessively.....) and asked her what she's been up to. When she tells them, they have told her that they, too, have been battling with their weight since they started law school. What does that say about law school? Is it because we're so stressed out that all we do is eat? Is it because of the "freebies" that the law school likes to bestow upon us, usually in the form of cookies, doughnuts, pizza, and beer?

Or... is it a sign of something deeper about our society? Is my law class trying to say that in order to be successful, you have to be thin? Are we thinking about how our appearances will affect potential clients, judges, and juries? We've all heard about the studies which show that an overweight person is seen as less competant than a thin person. Is my law class, in essence, saying that in order to be successful, you have to look like Ally McBeal? And if THAT's the case, then what the hell is wrong with us, as we are only perpetuating the standards that we've been trying to break?

I don't know.... what are your thoughts on the matter?

posted by The BLS @ 9/17/2005 01:30:00 PM