This article is written by Arunima Bose, a student of Amity University, Lucknow.

I was a core science student. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science were my subjects at 10+2. All these subjects were never interesting to me. No matter how hard I worked, how many hours I studied, I never succeeded in excelling them. I was hopeless in Mathematics. I always had a weird urge to debate, talk and have discussions, but, there was something which stopped me from doing so. I don’t know what it was, hesitation or fear to go wrong and make a fool of myself. In 2008 when I was in class 9th, I went to the Republic Day Camp. I did a lot of public speakings. A lot indeed!! After this golden experience of mine, I developed an inevitable love for public speaking. I never left a single opportunity to get out of my hold, when it came to debating. When I was in class 11th, some career counselors named “CAREER LAUNCHERS” came to my school and gave information regarding how law has emerged as a profession and the way it is improving by the tick of the clock. The salary package was very fascinating too, but more than that was the skill of speaking one gets to learn. I knew, it requires a lot of reading, discipline, dedication, passion, perseverance, determination, skill and a stoic will on the part of a law student. Intelligence is just not enough to excel at a law university. Studying law is not a left-hand job; it has to be taken very seriously. The greatest challenge I ever accepted was to study law but I knew it from the very moment that it was never going to be easy. I was prepared for this new phase. THE COLLEGE LIFE OF MY LIFE!!! I was ready for this challenge in earnest. Life at a law university is not only full of opportunities but colossal amount of experiences too.

I am pursuing B.com LL.B (H). So, I study commerce subjects along with law subjects.

FIRST YEAR
My experience began on 16th August 2011. As soon as I entered the college, there was this strange emotion of nervousness and joy. In short, I was perplexed. There was a small orientation programme organized by the college itself to provide us with the information we will need as beginners. It was quite an interactive session designed to know the faculty and resources. As a first year student I should have been more dedicated and focused on my studies which I was not, as I took part in sports, dance competitions and various other competitions including an intra moot court competition too. My subjects during the first year were Business Organization and Management, Financial Accounting, Business Mathematics, Microeconomics Law of Contracts, and Legal Method. In addition to these subjects, Legal Hindi and Legal English were also taught so that we can learn what a particular legal process is termed as, in English as well as in Hindi. The subjects of commerce are some from first semester and some from the second, but the core subject like Contract lasted for the entire year. Contract Law is one of the most interesting subjects I have ever read. The terms which earlier were just dictionary words now started having a completely different meaning to it. For ex: sale. Earlier for me Sale was shopping on discounted items but now it had a more technical meaning to it. The complete year was full of such technical terms in law. Law of Contracts as a first-year subject was really motivational for me, as it never required hours of study. The professor who taught us Contract was strict and expected us to be prepared with the topic a day before. He used to ask questions in front of the whole class and so the fear to go wrong and get insulted in front of 44 students gave a good push to me to be prepared for my lessons. The toughest part was to cope up with all the commerce subjects as most of the students were having a commerce background. The subjects like accounting, business mathematics needed daily practice. It took me a while to get acquainted with subjects like microeconomics and Business organization and management. I got acknowledged with so many new things. I started gaining confidence slowly and steadily, as firstly, the subjects were no more alien to me and secondly, to think I knew more than any of my science ex-classmates knew. I knew things about science, commerce as well as Law. They say, “Knowledge gives you confidence.” I second it. My academic performance was going excellent till the day I involved myself more in co-curricular activities. Dance is my passion and being a trained classical dancer I never leave any opportunity to dance and showcase my talent. I enrolled myself in the Dance and Drama Club of my University. All the seniors who were already there were really impressed by my talent. I started skipping classes, missing lectures and got myself engaged in dancing and rehearsing for different programmes held at our department including fests and seminars. I also participated in an intra moot held that year which was only to acknowledge, guide and teach myself the science of mooting. All this affected my end semester examinations. The people with whom I used to roam around secured 8 pointers and I was stuck on 6. It was like an eye opener and I decided to prioritize everything.

SECOND YEAR
As soon as the first year ended, most of the students started looking for internships during the summer break. In most of the places, internships are not available to first-year students. So I applied at a local firm through a source. It was a small firm but the experience was huge. Sticking on to the topic, my second year was the busiest year to say the least. My second year began with back to back classes, and really strict faculty in terms of academics and attendance. The only free time we had was the lunch break as there was no free class. All the teachers used to come on time and leave late. Earlier I had a habit of writing my notes in a single diary but now I made different sections in the same diary for different subjects. I used to attend all the classes, and take all the notes like an ideal student does. The lectures were clear and the faculty was very welcoming if we had any queries to discuss. My subjects in second year were Constitutional Law, Family Law, Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Administrative Law, Macroeconomics, Investment and Auditing. I never missed a single class of Indian Penal Code and Constitutional Law, as they are my favorite. Though, Cr.PC is my weakest area. Among commerce subjects I enjoyed studying Investment. The share market and its technicalities are really interesting to read and know. The subjects in my second year were really interesting and the best part was that in spite of mugging up the sections, I had an in depth understanding of all the subjects. It all resulted in good grades and 6 pointers from the last semester improved to 6.6 straight. It’s not like I didn’t participate in any of the departmental activities, but now I realized how important it is to get good grades at law school to stand with head high. I also participated in an intra moot again this year. Moot courts are really important for the budding lawyers as it gives a true insight as to how a court is like and how one has to face and deal with the questions asked by the judges. During winters, this year, I had a wonderful experience of working with an NGO called PUCL (Peoples Union for Civil Liberties) which changed my thinking from viewing law as a profession which gives you authority to a profession which can change the world, help the needy and give justice to people who are not only poor but unaware of their rights. I conducted surveys in police stations, night shelters, Aangan Badis, Nari Niketan, Mahila Thana. It was terrible to see the characteristic cluelessness and unawareness of the people about their rights. Most of the poor and needy people just said one thing “Kachheri k chakkar kaun kaate”!!!

This transformed my thinking as lawyers can not only sit in a cabin and earn lakhs but also help by giving free legal aid to people who are poor and belong to low-income groups. I experienced how lawyers can make a difference to the people and to the society. Earlier I knew it but thought how, but, this time I experienced it. This year offered me great number of joys, interesting and educational activities which rejuvenated me from time to time from the busy class schedule and tedious academics. All in all it was a great learning year.

THIRD YEAR
The third year of studying law at Amity University was fun and the most enjoyable year. It was equally crucial for my career as I had to perform really well in my academics and score so that I may reach my target of 8 pointers. My subjects for this year were Law of Torts, Code of Civil Procedure, Law of Evidence, Labor Law, Property Law, Company Law, Cyber Law, and Statistical Methods in Research, Financial Marketing, Corporate Tax Planning and Cost Accounting. Studying Company law is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It is because Company Law is applied in all businesses for the objective of creating wealth and identifying and mitigating risks. My goal for pursuing law was to work in the corporate sector. Company Law is the one subject which deals real-life and business-related problems. It furnishes one with an array of analytical, critical thinking, communication and comprehension skills that are required in the management of both corporate legal and non-legal affairs. This year brought forth many a brilliant opportunities and experiences which include MUN’s, a National level Parliamentary debate and a National level Moot Court competition in which we stood amongst the top five. Though we didn’t excel in it but I am highly contented because it was a life time experience as I gained so much confidence and even after such a wonderful level of competition offered by the NLU’s we were amongst the top five. This very year I also was assigned with the cultural coordinator ship of the law department of our university. My grades improved from 7 to 8 and finally I was happy with the year. Overall this year brought multiple joys and valuable experiences in my law life. It added very many wings to my personality and enhanced my dimensions as a future lawyer.

FOURTH YEAR
Generally most of the universities offer specialization and elective courses in the second or third year but our university offered it in the fourth year. I chose those subjects for specialization which come within the periphery of Business Law. I always had a longing to work in the field of corporate law and by that means in the corporate sector. I take great joy in studying these subjects. It is in light of the understanding of these subjects which dawned on me this year I think my future as a corporate lawyer is up and coming. Now law is not just a subject for me but it is my stage upon which I have to perform and outshine my own self each day.

CONCLUSION
Law is such an enlightening subject that it doesn’t really matters from where you study it. Be it an NLU or a private university. It enlightens one so profoundly that learning doesn’t renders one in ennui and understanding it is not cumbersome if you think about the perks it has in disguise. Though theoretical but this is one subject which has some veritable practicality about it. It gives one an insight about how this world works. It gives one the wonderful insight about how India in particular functions judicially, administratively, executively and commercially and what not wise. It gives one the massive legal superiority, the very power of which gives one a sense of justice and righteousness. It gives one the power to not only defend oneself but also others when in crisis or under an atrocity either active or passive. It has amplified the entire intellectual, emotional, spiritual, lingual and colloquial dimensions of me. This is one subject which is a teacher also as it not only gives knowledge about itself and how one can attain prowess in it but also teaches one rectitude and gives an infinite depth of an abyss of confidence.