Perhaps now it’s an appropriate time to share how JustFollowLaw.com came about. I am a fledgling law student in a fledgling law school. I turn 40 this year and my last experience as an undergraduate some 19 years ago is already a distant memory. My main regret was that I did not take many photos or document my journey. JustFollowLaw.com was registered on the 11th of February 2021 with the intention of documenting my hopefully successful journey through the SUSS Law School.

Then came the dreaded Bootcamp. Four full Saturdays of lessons to drill the 1Ls (1st-year law students) into the rigours of law school. Spread over five weeks, punctuated by a Chinese New Year break, it was hectic but enjoyable. Most importantly, it got me my beloved study group. Wendy, Kunhe, Nicola, Aaron, Raj, Jonathan, Daniel, Derick, Jared, Brenda, Kwong Ee and Kester are the people who I debated about TMAs and PCQs, discussed concepts and issues of cases. I’ve lost count of the number of occasions we’ve called each other in the middle of the night and deliberated over cases just to improve our TMAs. These people, and many others with whom I’ve forged friendships, made me realise that there are so many with great ideas and thoughts. There are so many times where I failed to “get it” but through discussion and debate, concepts become clearer.

There is so much one person can achieve. I initially envisioned JustFollowLaw.com to be my personal blog but then this idea was quickly replaced when I shared this idea with some members of my study group. I realised that this platform could be a platform for us to hone our writing skills and collaborate on a project that could give identity to us as a cohort. I am an avid cyclist and back in my NUS undergraduate days, we often remarked that the NTU cycling fraternity was something that we wished we had. We envied them for their ability to organise the annual NTU Bike Rally and other cycling-related events. A few fellow undergraduates and I decided to take things into our own hands and drew up proposals to form the NUS Cycling Club. As part of NUS’ Centennial celebrations, the NUS Cycling Club cycled from Singapore to The University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. To this very day, I still keep the very bicycle which I rode up over 4 days. JustFollowLaw.com should be the indelible mark that my classmates and I leave on SUSS. Just like when we did up proposals to form the cycling club, the founding group of writers for JustFollowLaw.com met on occasions to deliberate on plans for the blog. We have a framework to recruit new contributors and we planned for the semesters and years ahead.

In time to come, I personally hope JustFollowLaw.com will be representative of our law school. I sincerely hope that it will be able to show a glimpse of like as a student in SUSS. I found information about the SUSS School of Law on online forums and after experiencing a semester, I would say that the depiction on online forums can be rather inaccurate. Contributors to the blog should not do it for fame but treat it more like a passion project. We, as a team, are still trying to find our direction and have been very fortunate to have the guidance of some of the faculty members. I am personally very encouraged and humbled when my fellow coursemates read my work.

Here’s to a great blog!

Yours sincerely,

Daryl

 

Here’s the bicycle which took me to KL! I fitted it with slick tyres for the trip. It is still in pristine condition. Other bicycles may have joined the household but this may form part of my family heirloom!

This bike is about 18 years old!

This bike is about 18 years old!