“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
—John A. Shedd
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Why I Don’t Hate My Student Loans
A couple of months ago, about eight years after graduating from law school, I used my tax refund to pay off the remainder of my law school loans. It felt amazing. I have a few student loans left from undergrad, and I’m on track to pay those in full by the end of this year. (I paid the law school loans first because their interest rate was higher.) Watching the balances shrink as I’ve thrown money at them has been exhilarating, and I’m excited to be able to focus more on saving and meeting other big financial goals going forward. I began attending college in 2002, and more than sixteen years later, I’m finally almost finished paying for it.
Quote of the Week
“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
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Imagining the Ideal Life
Yesterday I had the pleasure of conducting mock interviews of law students in preparation for the upcoming interview season. They were eager and well-prepared, looking out at the endless possibilities that lay ahead if them. I asked them where they saw themselves five years after graduation, and I answered their questions about my job, including what had led me to it, what I loved about it, and what, if anything, I might change.
When I was in their position ten years ago, I hated the “where do you see yourself in x years?” question. I had no real vision for my future. I guess I figured if I followed all the recommended steps — work hard, get good grades, network, get a good job at a big firm — everything would fall into place and I’d end up with the life I was supposed to have, whatever that was. I really didn’t know enough about the world or myself to know what I wanted my life to look like. I could recite answers to interview questions, but the visions I described were really other peoples’ ideas of what a good life and career looked like.
Quote of the Week
“[E]very small change you make pays compound interest. It helps you make another change, another mind-set shift, another decision to live a new way.”
—Cait Flanders, The Year of Less
