Reading.

"Law banyak baca". That's what we all hear innit? While I was fazed by that, I was more concerned with what I'd be reading. So Sem 1 passes, and wouldn't ya know it? There's a lot of reading...but not in the way you'd expect. You see, Form 4 and Form 5 semua tu was like baca, hafal, muntah, congrats! You made it!. Here, you do read and memorise too. But above all, you really gotta understand. Memorising won't get you far. Because in the first place, ko tak faham pon apa yg kau tgh hafal tu HAHAHA

For example, Law is divided into many types. You got Criminal Law, Contract Law, and so on. The laws are all written in one book, known as an Act. So we get our Contract Law from the Contract Act. It's basically the guidelines of making a contract. Still with me? Now in that Act are a buuuuunch of do's and don'ts, each known as a Section. Each section can also have subsections but we won't go too deep.



As far as the exams go, they'll usually give you a situation, and you have to answer it based on the Sections in an Act to back up your words. Otherwise, you'll have no proof. Honestly man, I went into Law thinking, "well it's just reading right?". Boy was I wrong, You won't believe how dumb i felt staring at a Section for 10 minutes, reading it in English, yet not being able to grasp what the heck it meant.

Read (d)

The real magic happens when you understand the context. When you understand the context, you understand the text. I didn't believe it at first. How am I supposed to faham something, in order to faham something? I can't find words to describe it, but it happened. And it was amazing.

Months past, and I finally started seeing what Law is all about. You're learning about who's right and who's wrong, based on the established laws of man. And the laws of man? That's where things become dodgy. Laws tell you what's right and wrong. But most of our laws are subject to what we think is good or bad. So laws don't need to make sense. If something ridiculous was made to be Law, like it's obligatory to slap yourself every Monday, then good or bad doesn't really play a role. You just...follow it.

In fact, a country can just make laws that only benefit the upper echelons of the government, while the citizens are left to suffer! Now why don't they do that? It's just not practical. Good, in and of itself, is practical. It doesn't cause chaos. Chaos is impractical. Chaos is expensive. They could pull some fishy business in a smaller scale (*cough* rasuah *cough*), but other than that, the Law is pretty good. So you learn that good and bad is subjective, and only in Islam do you find absolutes. 






That means that we believe that some things are bad, and will always be bad no matter what. Same goes to the good as well. Like if there's a law saying you need to chug a mug of rum on Thursdays, and everyone and their grandma is doing it, it's still gonna be a bad thing, no matter what. So in this case, breaking the law, is a good thing.

Nampak tak?

One subject in particular, helped me understand what Law was really about. LAW012. It's a subject where we learn about the philosophy of Law. What makes Law...law? Who makes the Law? Where did it come from? In fact, what is Law? A book? Rules? One of the best fighters in Tekken 7? 

Well from what I learned, Law is about understanding context. It's about understanding something for what it means, instead of what it says. "What kind of mumbo jumbo are you talking about Syafiq?" Allow me to elucidate (*fancy music plays*)

Jim and Daniel go to the museum. During the trip, Jim starts making 'yo momma' jokes about Daniel's mother. Daniel was tolerant at first, but after a while, he started to get offended. He demanded Jim to stop, but he kept going. Daniel punches Jim! and he goes stumbling into a priceless ancient vase, breaking it into pieces. The museum wants compensation. Eventually, they both go to court to decide who's fault it was.

So who's really guilty here? Is it Jim, who provoked Daniel? Or Daniel for radically punching his friend, who ends up breaking the vase?

Tough innit. 

Sorry if my example sucks, but in Law macam tu lah some of the cases. Of course not all cases are convoluted. Some are pretty straightforward. Caught smuggling drugs? You're gonna get punished. But above all, It's about understanding people, the 'why's' of their actions, not just the 'what's'. 





The World

"Da warld"

So here's the unexpected part of my foundation studies. Law teaches you about the world. It starts that spark of curiousity inside you. Like, you learn about the government and why it's like that, you learn about people and why they react differently to things, why did that guy get jailed instead of that guy? Why can't we just print money? Why can't we all group-up and obliterate all terrorists? (Short answer: it's not that easy)

You learn how interconnected the world really is. How events in one country affect another. How the Law reverberates inside the hearts of each country, each community, each individual. It's like this invisible pool we're all swimming in, without realising we're even in it! Law opens your mind, in a Doctor Strange flying through dimensions kind-of-way. It takes time, but once you grasp it, things will start making sense.

Before this, newspapers, berita, and all that only seemed like boring stuff that I didn't need to know about. But now, learning about what goes on in the world is like getting a peek behind the scenes of life. . You become engrossed in knowing, learning, and taking part in the Story of Life. Because whether you realise it or not, you are a chapter in someone's story. I learned about the United Nations, the world wars, what NGOs are, how countries treat each other, why countries treat each other the way they do, how one person's actions can change an entire nation.

It really makes you feel small, but at the same time significant. Like you don't exist to wait for the next Avengers movie, or the next comeback from a Kpop group. You'll feel like you can really make a difference in life. Sure you'll need to remember what this philosopher said, and what that politician said. And I admit, there is A LOT you need to memorise, tapi last2 exam keluar sikit je. But ape2 yg kita belajar tapi tak keluar time exam, feel good about it! You chose to learn it, that's an accomplishment. Just because you couldn't use it in the exam, doesn't mean it's useless knowledge.


The Not-So-Fun Stuff

Does this look like fun to you?

Law is dry. That's my only grudge with it. Ok katalah Science kan? Science is so visual, fun, and engaging! All the chemical reactions, the physics, the animals. It's all imaginative. Like you can picture almost everything you learn. Law is almost all words. Words. The ideas? You have to come up with em yourself in your head. Imagine learning Sejarah, only 3 times more reading. Even in Sejarah at least you have some pictures.

Science is more like "you know the facts? Write em down". But Law is more like "state your opnion, and back it up with proof". Granted, both subjects involve lengthy essays and reports. But imagine sitting through a 2 hour lecture looking at this:




But yeah, studying Law can get bland. So what did I do? Well I tried my best to make it fun! I talk about this more in my "How to study post" I did (link here).

For lecture notes, use different colours and sizes!

Add some random things. We memorise things that stand out more than plain words.

Campur Melayu pon takpe, dalam exam kita tak lah ckp mcm tu. At least we remember the content

That's how i do my cases. I write in my style of language

I draw a little icon next to each case. Cuz if i forget the case, i remember the icon and poof! Faham balik.

Stress tak?




After 19 years of life, I can safely say that stress can exist in any stage of life my friend. I said 'can' because not all stress is...well......stressful. Like during some assignments, my friends said "bapak ah, stress bodoh. Mcm nak buat ni!?" While I found it easygoing and nice. Other times, I'd wonder how the heck am I suppose to siap this assignment, while my friends dah siap dah hahaha.

My point is, stress can exist in any part of your studies, but you don't have to let it drag you down. Itu lah hikmahnya kita ada kawan! Never be afraid to ask, even if you feel like it's an easy question. Dalam kehidupan ni kita kena saling tolong menolong. Because ape yg kau takde, org lain ada. And apa yg kau ade, org lain pulak takde. That's how it is.

So is it stressful? It can be. Will you get stressed? Most likely. But you'll make it :)  BTW, aku takde idea nak letak gambar ape, so letak je lah kucing eh.

The Verdict (get it?)

So to sum it up, when you study Law, you're gonna reveal a part of life that few have seen. The secret glue that keeps our society, the global society, from going haywire. Yes, there's reading, but there's something I wish someone would've told me. "There's a lot of reading, but hey, you might enjoy it!". Couple this with your friends, and lecturers, and Law won't feel like the grueling thousand-page reading bonanza everyone paints it as. It'll be a fun and memorable experience. So, you're probably wondering, why am I not continuing Law? Well that's a story for another say my friend. Thank you for reading ^_^

Alexa, play Law & Order outro song.