If you think back to since the Coronavirus lockdown started in the UK, it is easy to argue that university students are among the groups that have been most affected. In this article, I will be taking you through what it meant for me to transition from life as a final year undergraduate student at Newcastle University to embarking on the Bar course in a way that I would have never imagined. What were the unexpected turns? What were the challenges? And ultimately, what led me to the successful completion of my vocational modules?
My transition from LLB to Bar Course
In February last year, I was volunteering at a local community cafe in Newcastle when I heard somebody saying characteristically that ‘that’s now turned into a pandemic’. After a few days, my University e-mailed me stating what I feared the most; namely that my graduation ceremony would not be happening. As a child of parents who were not as lucky as I was to receive higher education, but who instead left their homelands and migrated to Greece for a better future, this graduation meant a celebration not only of my success but also of their sacrifice.
I was soon overwhelmed by e-mails from the university explaining that teaching will continue online. Face-to-face teaching ended abruptly, not getting the chance to say farewell to our university friends. We also took our exams from home. However, the greatest challenge was the drafting of my dissertation. When I chose it as a subject in my second year, I promised that I would give myself the best experience in writing it, moving between my student accommodation, the university library, and study cafes in an attempt to be open to as much inspiration as possible by switching working environments.
In the meantime, I knew I was accepted on the Bar Course at City University, so it was an exciting step to get to move to the other side of the country and experience the cosmopolitan vibes of a big city. So, after completing my exams and submitting my dissertation, I set off for Greece, relieved that I survived my last year and ready to reward myself with the greatest summer holidays ever.
Challenges of living with family again
However, as summer progressed, I realised that my return to the UK was going to be delayed. The re-adaptation was not easy, as I was used to living independently for the last three years. The most obvious challenge was to get in the habit of following the same old rules – something that I like to call ‘re-experiencing adolescence’. The next challenge in line was to find an appropriate study space. Now, I shared my room with my sister again, so that made it difficult to also make it a study space of my own.
Also, I faced difficulties at a psychological level. Co-existence implies sharing into the family’s concerns and problems, and so the other family members’ issues automatically became my issues, as well. This is unavoidable, despite the efforts to over-focus on studies in an attempt to detach yourself. Linked to this is also the endeavor to make your family apprehend the importance of your studying. Often when you are doing something totally different from them and especially now that all my work is done while sitting at a desk, they tend to underestimate the level of effort involved, so I had to constantly remind them by sharing my provocations along the way with them.
Language seclusion
Nevertheless, engaging in the new routine caused me to experience language seclusion. I define this as the lingual detachment caused by scarce use of a particular language in one’s everyday activities, preventing the speaker from maintaining a standard of speech and thinking as related to the culture of the country in which the language in question is the official language.
While studying from home in Greece, I gradually became detached from everything that the UK meant for me. In the beginning, I was excited at the idea of staying back for a longer period, as it would feel like a prolonged summer vacation, with the difference that I had to fit in some studying also. However, this enthusiasm became to decrease when I realised that I missed British society. My lack of using English in everyday collaborations and engaging in conversations at different levels had me putting more effort into studying for the Bar Course, where I was expected to use professional English, something that would otherwise come naturally if I was to at least use casual English daily.
Thus, the biggest challenge on the Bar Course was the Advocacy module, where you are required to represent a fictional client in an improvised court environment. Essentially, with a certain level of practice, you can perform well on the module, and for all barristers, practice is key to successful performance in court. But if you only use English to represent clients in court, isn’t that going to impact your overall performance at some point?
How I overcame the challenges
These challenges peaked after the Christmas holidays, during which I dedicated most of my time to revision for the upcoming exams. When teaching resumed, I noticed that I had a mental hesitance to show up. That was what triggered me to seek assistance, and I think that that was the biggest favour I could do to myself.
I went straight to my Advocacy tutor, and to my surprise, she immediately understood my situation. Her advice was to prefer calls instead of messages when speaking with friends from the UK and to keep up with the news happening there. But the piece of advice that truly made a difference to my way of thinking was that during this difficult period of the Bar Course, I should not perceive collaboration with others as a distraction. On the contrary, I should seek company more often and take at least one day off per week. She further linked this advice to ‘advocacy’ and said that this is a transferable skill and as long as a student has developed it enough in their native language it then comes very naturally in English.
Taking her advice on board, I was able to find the balance between studying, collaborating more with friends in England, and also taking some time off. In practical terms, this also meant efficient time management. Revision planned to last for a specified time each time, allows for more confidence dealing with topics and grants me some unwary time off outdoors. Thus, I renounced associating studying with stress and anything away from my desk with pleasure.
Another important step I undertook was to apply for the Sponsorship Scheme at my Inn. This is a programme offered by Middle Temple by which student members are assigned to practicing barristers who are able to guide them through their way to the Bar. I received a lot of support from my ‘sponsor’ barrister, who gave me some real insights into what life as a barrister involves and what I should be prepared for. This truly served to remind me of my goals.
How do the skills that I developed reflect the attributes of a barrister?
First of all, persevering with the circumstances and searching for solutions helped me to focus on my goals and to keep focused on aspirations. Also, by being able to objectively evaluate myself as well as differentiate from otherwise negative situations, I built on my resilience, which is too one of the most important attributes of a barrister. Leaving the long days back and carrying on with your personal life is essential for a barrister’s mental health. So, I feel that my rather abstract experiences on the Bar Course prepared me for an easier adaptation to the routine of a practicing barrister.
Conclusion
My language seclusion came mainly from subconsciously turning English into an exclusive characteristic of the Bar Course, as I began to miss substantial verbal communication with friends from the UK and lacked the need to use English in my everyday life. Simultaneously, I started losing the balance between studying and spending enough time with people, so I eventually sought support from tutors. What I learned is that I should always take advantage of any support available, as it helps facing challenges. However tough it was to embark on this course conforming to the new idiosyncrasies, I developed an ability to evaluate the consequences of my decisions much better. If it weren’t for this odd journey though, reaching Ithaca – which is the successful completion of my vocational modules on the course – would have been less triumphal than it is at present.
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