A few years ago I bought new glasses. One with round glasses, a discreet metal frame, with a reinforced rim at the top - retro flair, but please without fifties bigotry, because I'm young and urban and modern. The new glasses came with a new course of study, maybe the course came with the glasses, it seems like a chicken and egg story, because suddenly I was sitting in a lecture hall with almost five hundred noses, one of which was hip on every second one, highly individual retro glasses creation enthroned. So now law - the course for all those middle class children who were too bad at studying medicine in the natural sciences, but too elitist to study business administration.
After a few months of studying, I found that the new Jura glasses were slowly changing the way I looked at my everyday life and completely uninvited.
In the supermarket, I still strolled past the chips and flips shelf three times in order to not buy anything, but then suddenly I wondered whether it would count as the start of contract negotiations if you just wanted to take a look.
Shopping suddenly gained new facets through the Jurassic glasses: With an arrogant smile, my gaze wandered through the aisles, knowing full well that the price tag was indeed an offer, but of course it should actually be "Invitation to an offer".
Unfortunately, I was unable to derive any direct advantages for my daily life from this triumphant advance in knowledge.
"It depends."
In general, the only thing that changed at first was the patience of my family and friends, with whom I generously shared my newly acquired expertise.
From experience I can say that when you tell friends about the difference between “owner” and “owner” you are not only grateful.
I started reading shop policies before signing contracts.
Admittedly, that would not have been a bad idea even before studying.
But in the second semester I happily looked for surprising clauses in my contracts, like looking for Walter on a picture puzzle.
In political discussions, I no longer accepted arguments if they were not acceptable from a legal point of view.
I still consider this to be a relevant level of discussion, but have now learned that nobody wants to hear about the protection of fundamental rights in the multi-life system at 1 a.m. on the balcony.
Law students are exhausting conversation partners, especially at the beginning of their studies.
Suddenly you speak Latin, even though you really don't know any Latin, but “sui generis” has a better sound than “its own kind”.
They know a lot better, but they like to answer questions with a big smile: “That depends.” - the favorite sentence of every lawyer, because that's always true.
I find terms and conditions as boring as woodchip wallpaper
The latent know-it-all stands in stark contrast to the feeling of not actually having understood anything in the lecture and of being more stupid than all fellow students.
It is a paradox of self-confidence that unites us: In the first semester of law, we usually meet those who found a lot easy in school, who were known in their class for their discussion skills.
And suddenly you're just one of many.
Some time has passed since I started my studies.
The Jura glasses have grown dear to my heart.
In the supermarket, I'm more interested in pasta and red wine than in chips.
And I find terms and conditions as boring as woodchip wallpaper.
I read the important ones anyway, maybe there will be something surprising in there after all.
Lina Kujak
(22 years old) is studying law in her sixth semester at the HU Berlin. Relationship status to the subject: “It's complicated.” I would like to know who ran through 2020 with an umbrella and a black cat under a ladder.