One Year Down...

            Unlike many, my ultimate goal has not always been to go to law school. I know that some have dreamt of becoming a lawyer for as long as they can remember. Not me. When I was young, I wanted to be a chef. I dreamed of wearing a starched white coat, and a tall hat (and… a hairnet), however that dream was quickly put to rest when I realized that the cooking gene definitely does not run in my family- I literally cannot even scramble eggs. It’s pathetic. So, I decided it was time to move on to another passion… but it certainly was not easy for me to decide what that passion was. Other than my failed culinary ambitions, I never had a definite idea of exactly what I was meant to do. So, like many others, I went through four years of undergrad and, having graduated with a degree I didn’t know what to do with, I decided to try my hand at law school.  It can’t be that hard… right? Wrong!

Law school is most certainly not the piece of cake I had expected. I knew it would be “hard,” but I was an A student all my life, so I was sure that I would just sail through like I always had. Well, guess what? Everyone in law school had been an A student all their lives. For the first time, I wasn’t the “smartest kid in the class.” My peers and I were neck-and-neck, all striving to prove something to each other, and to ourselves. And suddenly it became very clear to me that the drive and push that I was experiencing, forcing me to learn, to thrive, to succeed—that was the passion I had been looking for all along.

I’m not sure if anyone can truly appreciate this until you’ve experienced it first-hand, but law school changes you. And, despite the grueling hours of reading, the endless cases, and even the paralyzing anxiety of the Socratic method, I can honestly say that it has changed me for the better. I am a completely different person that I was 9 months ago- I am disciplined, thoughtful, thought provoking, and most importantly, proud. It amazes me to think of the amount of work I put in this past year, and the amazing rewards of having learned so much. I view everything- everything- from the eyes of a law student! I can look out my window right now and spot 15 potential torts; I absolutely refuse to sign anything without first reading every single word and making sure there isn’t a hidden unconscionable clause; and I pay particular attention to zoning regulations, with every intention of waging my own war against an unreasonable decree that I happen across.

In any event, law school changes the way you view the world, and the way you view yourself.  And so, here I am! One year down, two to go…  Bring it on, law school! I’m ready!

Summer Opener: Reality Check 101

I started in the County Court Division of the Public Defender's Office here in Miami about a week and a half ago. Last Wednesday was a real eye opener. Like a skilled sushi chef, Law school packages concepts, subjects, theories, and law into neat little segements for adequate student consumption. Like a rich southern bbq, court is messy for all involved, bib required.

Picture this a small court room with four rows of bench seating. Such seating is vastly inadequate for accommodating the accused, witnesses, other parties, etc. Thus, waves of individuals overflow into the already overcrowed hallway outside the door. A baliff, who seems to have never taken elementary geometry insists that everyone must be seated.

Running perpendicular to the abysmal mass of seated (and not so seated) clients is a row of attorneys. The courtroom is also inadequate to accommodate the attorneys that are waiting to announce mostly whether their clients want to take a plea offered by the State or exercise their right to trial. I cannot help myself in being amused by the fact that these attorneys must wait so long to utter a few sentences before the judge. But, anyway, the row of attorneys spill into and out of the vast amount of individuals entering and exiting the courtroom.

In the midst of all of this, I realize I really love this mess. It is a chaotic orchestral symphony of past actions coming together with present pressures, legal concepts reaching into reality, competition mixed with cooperation, emotion with control. I have not experienced any environment quite like this, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.