July is always an interesting time in the world of law school. Those who have recently graduated are nail-biting their ways through the home stretch of bar exam study. Those who have yet to begin law school are nail-biting their ways through days leading up the start of their 1L year. For those of you in the latter group, I’m here with some (hopefully) useful advice on what you ought and ought not to do before you plunge head first into the 1L abyss.

What You Ought to Do in Your Final Days of Summer Before Law School:

– Whatever the hell you want.

I mean it. Sleep until the afternoon. Have a beer in the morning. Have breakfast for dinner. There will soon come a time when your hours are consumed by reading, analysis and writing. You won’t have a whole lot of room for frivolity. I heartily recommend a heaping helping of frivolity over the next couple weeks. You’ll need it.

– Get some recreation.

You’re going to spend a lot of time indoors as a 1L. Whether you study in the library, a coffee shop or on the cozy comfort of your living room couch, sunlight will not be in ample supply. So go running. Play disc golf. Play real golf. Play beach football. Get those good B vitamins (and maybe even two scoops of raisins) from good ol’ Mr. Sunshine.

What You Ought Not to Do in Your Final Days of Summer Before Law School:

– Fret.

You can worry about law school once you’re in law school. Sitting in a pool of sweat in your bed isn’t going to eliminate any of the reading you’ll have to do. Deal with things as they come. Don’t believe the awful stories you’ve heard, and don’t watch The Paper Chase. Law school is a lot of work, but you’ll be just fine.

– Read anything that isn’t fun.

Firstly, it’s probably not a bad idea to read something, just to make sure you can still sit in front of a book for an extended period of time. That said, you shouldn’t have to dedicate any serious thought to whatever it is you choose to read. So dust off the Harry Potter series, revisit Goosebumps, or open the pages of any piece of delightful fluff that you enjoy for precisely its lack of meaningful content.

Best of luck in law school!