u/ManufacturerAdept863

I just finished 1L and this is hypothetical because I haven’t received an invite yet, but I did very well in legal writing and think there’s a decent chance I could be invited to moot court. I’m trying to figure out whether I should accept if offered.

I genuinely enjoyed writing the appellate brief, researching issues, and refining arguments, but the oral argument portion was incredibly stressful for me. I got through it, but it honestly felt miserable while I was doing it, and I’m not sure whether that level of anxiety is something that gets better with repetition or is a sign moot court just isn’t for me.

For people who participated in moot court despite being anxious about public speaking/oral advocacy: did it get easier over time? Did you end up being glad you did it? Or did you continue to dread oral arguments throughout?

I’m also wondering how bad it looks to decline a moot court invitation if offered one. Is it considered a big missed opportunity, or is it pretty normal for people to decide it’s not their thing?

Part of me thinks law review or another writing-focused activity might make more sense for me because I clearly enjoyed the research/writing side much more than the advocacy side. But I also don’t want anxiety alone to make me turn down something valuable professionally.

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who’ve been in a similar position.

I just finished my first year of law school and my mom flew out to visit me. Things had honestly seemed okay between us before this. We talked regularly while I was away at school, and although we have definitely had issues in the past, I thought we were in a relatively good place.

During the visit I decided to finally tell her that I am in a serious long distance relationship. This is not a random person I met online a month ago. We were together in person before I moved, and after I left for school we decided to continue the relationship long distance. I love him very much, he has been a huge source of support during law school, and I genuinely see a future with him.

I expected the conversation might be emotional or awkward, but I was completely unprepared for how she reacted. She immediately became extremely angry and started saying really cruel things about me, him, and the relationship. She told me I was delusional, that I was living in a fake reality, and that I was ruining my life. She also started bringing up every grievance she has apparently had with me since I moved away for school, including multiple things she had explicitly told me were okay before. It felt like years of resentment suddenly came pouring out all at once.

The conversation went on for hours. I cried a lot. I tried explaining myself, reassuring her, defending my relationship, and asking her to stop insulting me, but nothing seemed to matter. At a certain point I felt so overwhelmed and emotionally cornered in my own apartment that I finally told her to pack up and leave.
She flew home early and now will not speak to me. The last things she said to me were that I live in a “deluded reality” and that I would “never be forgiven” for this.

I think what is really messing with me is that I genuinely did not think this would be treated like some catastrophic betrayal. I understand parents not loving every decision their adult children make, but I never imagined telling my mother about someone I love would end with her speaking to me this way and cutting me off.

Right now I mostly just feel hurt, confused, guilty, and honestly kind of numb.

I just need advice on how to get through this 😞