Small Group Bowling

January 2, 2008

J.B., 1L

I tried to explain to them that the last (and only) time I had gone bowling I was roundly beaten … by a group of children … under the age of 12. But they weren’t having any of it. My small group was competing against three other groups in a bowl-off (the technical term, I’m sure), and I was playing. That was that. Nearly every member of my group took a shot at teaching me to bowl: underhand, overhand, granny style, underoverhandgranny with a twist. I would like to say that that night I experienced a miraculous bowling transformation, but it turns out that after several rounds of competition, I was still an astonishingly terrible bowler. I can say, however, that I had a ton of fun!

When the semester began, my small group was just the thirteen other 1Ls who were in all my classes. Now, they’re the thirteen awesomest people I know. I have bowled with them, debated with them, shared cupcakes on birthdays with them. Together, we’ve written memos, watched movies, thrown parties, and exchanged countless emails, ideas, and baked goods. My small group has become a sort of large family – exuberant, supportive, and ever-so-slightly crazy. No matter where we end up next semester, next year, or even well after law school has ended, I know that we will always be able to turn to each other for friendship, support, and perhaps the occasional bowling tutorial. There are many things to love about Yale Law School – the classes, the professors, the freedom – but above all, I love the community.